Houten is a municipality outside of Utrecht, Netherlands. Currently, 48,000 people reside in the town. For a number of years, the area has seen exponential population growth, along with many initiatives to create a sustainable living environment.
The ZEN Research Centre3 pilot projects serve as innovation hubs where researchers, together with building professionals, property developers, municipalities, energy companies, and building owners and users, test new solutions for the construction, operation, and use of neighbourhoods in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions to zero on a neighbourhood scale. In total, the ZEN pilot projects encompass more than 30,000 people, more than 1 million m2 built
area, and more than 5.5 million m2 land area.
Smart cities shape their future by leading in technology adoption, resource efficiency and citizen/ stakeholder engagement.