Lunetten

A map of Lunetten on OpenStreetMap

Lunetten is a neighbourhood in the southeastern part of the city of Utrecht, that has approximately 12,000 inhabitants. It is mainly a residential area, since there is no significant industry present. Lunetten was constructed as an urban experiment mostly during the 1970s and 80s. It was designed and planned by a combination of students of architecture and urban planning and the then foreseen future inhabitants. The most striking result of this was the use of a ring-road with many circular bifurcations running back onto themselves or with dead ends. In Dutch this is called a Bloemkoolwijk ("Cauliflower-neighborhood"). This urban setup results in the whole neighborhood becoming like a single living street, much like a distinct village within a city.

Lunetten has a network of alleyways connecting the inner courtyards of the urban blocks. This creates a child-friendly neighborhood with many playing spots. There are also many sportsfacilities within and around Lunetten.

Lunetten is surrounded by major railroads and highways. To cope with the noise and pollution a giant park was created to surround and insulate the neighborhoud. Current infrastructural plans are however posing a threat to the park.