The landscape of the region around Etten-Leur, Breda, and Moerdijk has been historically intertwined with the city and has evolved over the centuries through a continuous interaction between urban and rural areas. The Mark River played a central role as a lifeline, with Breda serving as a seaport until the 19th century. This allowed for the supply of the surrounding landscape and trade with other regions, particularly Flemish cities. Peat, wood, and animal hides from the peat and sand areas around Breda were traded via the Mark River and the North Sea.

Peat extraction was the primary economic driver of the region for centuries. Both sweet peat, extracted from higher peat bogs and used as fuel, and salt peat, which was inundated with seawater and boiled down for salt production, were extensively traded. From the 13th to the 18th century, peat digging was the cornerstone of the regional economy. The cities of Zevenbergen, Breda, and Etten grew and thrived partly due to this peat economy, and the infrastructure of peat waterways and peat ports in these cities still reflects this prosperous period.

The strong connection between city and landscape has shaped both the physical landscape and intangible heritage, with the growth and transformation of the cities always closely linked to economic activities such as peat extraction. This historical interplay constitutes the landscape DNA of the region and continues to be a significant factor in the area's development.

A valuable landscape encompasses more than just productive agricultural lands. The United Nations has identified various ecosystem services provided by landscapes to society. These services include supplying products such as drinking water, regulatory services like crop pollination, cultural services such as recreation, and supporting services like fostering biodiversity. By expressing these ecosystem services in monetary terms, they can be compared, providing insight into the overall value of the landscape.

Two of these ecosystem services have seen a significant increase in value in recent years: the production of renewable resources and carbon sequestration in the landscape. The demand for renewable resources, such as those needed for housing construction, is growing rapidly, offering new revenue models for farmers. At the same time, storing CO2 in the landscape is becoming increasingly profitable due to rising emission credit prices. Successful experiments with land use changes as a method for CO2 storage have already been conducted.

These developments are driving the transformation of the current production landscape into a value-driven landscape. In this new landscape, the cultivation of raw materials, CO2 storage, and other ecosystem services such as water retention and biodiversity take center stage. As a result, the landscape evolves from a uniform agricultural area into a diverse and attractive region that provides not only economic but also ecological and social value.

In 2020, Wageningen University and the Netherlands Statistics Office (CBS) published the first monetary supply and use tables of ecosystems and their capital stock for the Dutch context. Based on this study, landscape types were analyzed using 20 ecosystem services. This is a broad comparison, utilizing key figures, estimates, and assumptions. Landscape building blocks can thus be compared in terms of their total value and, depending on their context and position within the water system, can be integrated into the landscape of the future.

The rural area of the three municipalities under study is highly diverse, featuring the Mark River valley south of Breda, high sand ridges with coniferous trees and heathlands, marshy landscapes in the center, and clay polders in the north. At the boundary between sand and clay lies the 'Naad van Brabant,' where underground water flows meet clay and spring waters create unique wetland nature such as Weimeren and Strijpen. Historically, the landscape was small-scale and varied, shaped by the logic of soil and water systems, which serves as an inspiration for the future. This future landscape will also be based on these natural gradations and systems.

A valuable residential landscape evolves in three phases. First, the landscape and infrastructural framework is established, emphasizing cultural-historical elements such as the Kibbelvaart and the Halsche Vliet with additional planting. A network of (fast) bicycle paths and public transport will connect existing communities with new residential areas, aligning with the region’s ambition to become a ‘30-minute region.’ Efforts will also focus on improving connections to the main road network to reduce traffic congestion, with plans for connections to the A59/A16 and improvements to Breda's Northern Ring Road.

Once the infrastructural and landscape framework is in place, various residential landscapes can be developed. The goal is to construct these homes using local materials, giving each neighborhood a distinct character that complements the landscape. Homes, residential buildings, and neighborhoods will not be built into the landscape but with the landscape, making them an intrinsic part of the landscape they help to shape. The mood boards in the upcoming slides will showcase the key features of the different residential landscapes.

Housing development can transform the landscape through the demand for renewable materials and CO2 storage. Farmers will convert their fields into cultivation landscapes for trees and reeds, and large-scale nature development, such as the rewetting of polders, will contribute to CO2 storage. The landscape will evolve into a gradual system with spring-fed nature as an ecological core and wet crops along the edges to enhance drought resilience. In the sand areas north of Prinsenbeek, the small-scale landscape will be restored by combining sustainable forestry with livestock farming and agroforestry. A food forest between Kelsdonk and Liesbos will create an ecological corridor and recreational landscape connecting Prinsenbeek and Etten-Leur.