Successful, innovatory regions in Europe and the United States expressly advertise themselves - without exception - with the landscape in which they are situated. Generally speaking these are first-rate landscapes, such as the Alps or the Mediterranean Sea. Although many Dutch people have a soft spot for the Brabant landscape, a competitive position on a European scale cannot be taken for granted. If the Brainport is to succeed, then in addition to knowledge infrastructure, this especially demands an investment in an inviting urban landscape.

The bio-industry is partly responsible for the loss of the Brabant landscape, but with the release of the Brabant sandy areas a new man-made landscape can come into being, in which a desirable rural residential idyll can be accommodated on a large scale. The greatest challenge for south-east Brabant is to bring as many homes as possible 'into contact with' a green environment. Decades of land consolidation have led to a fragmented wooded landscape, in which never-ending, smaller spaces are hidden. These existing woodland fragments manifest themselves together as an extensive and complex landscape structure, in which the 'rooms, corridors and recesses' are formed by the trees in alternating shapes and sizes. It is therefore possible to create appealing green residential environments that contribute to a further detailing and refinement of this landscape. Mechanisms should be sought whereby building in the outlying area means 'building' the landscape at the same time. Not elsewhere, by means of compensatory green areas, but precisely on the spot where the development is taking place; where inhabitants can derive the most benefit.