The Province of Noord-Brabant
Noord-Brabant is one of twelve provinces the Netherlands (NL) has, its second largest and the most industrialized. Furthermore, it can be characterized as strongly urbanised and densely populated.
Some figures
- Over 2,4 million inhabitants and an average residential density of 491 inhabitants per square kilometre.
5 larger cities in the heart of the province form the second NL urban network (after the Randstad, the urban agglomeration around Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam). - 3 cities with more than 150.000 inhabitants are in the Dutch top 10 largest cities.
- 60% of its area is for agricultural purposes (in particular intensive cattle breeding and farming).
Economy
This province is centrally positioned in Europe between the port cities of Rotterdam and Antwerp and the German Rhine area and has an important cross-border logistic function both to the South and to the East. Brabant is one of the most productive regions of the Netherlands. A statement proven by figures like the share of the gross national product, employment levels, the number of companies and the number of patents in relation to inventions. The province is the third top technological region of Europe with Eindhoven as the centre.
Countryside
The soil in Brabant consists for a small part of fertile river and sea clay and for a large part of difficult to work sandy soil. Therefore scores of areas - forests and moors, pools and sand drifts (dunes) - were not worth reclaiming and are nowadays valuable areas of natural beauty, including many heath lands. Elsewhere farmers have reclaimed the sand after all through hard work and have turned it into a typical man-made landscape that includes row of trees, fields and pasture land and small village centres. That older landscape with its human size is still there but now in combination with modern large-scale cattle breeding enterprises, new infrastructure and industrial areas.
Brabant contains three National Parks: Loonse en Drunense Duinen, De Biesbosch, De Groote Peel.
The Provincial Council and Executive
The Provincial Council is the general administration of the province. This body represents the population in the province. Its members are directly elected every four years. The Provincial Executive, a board of six deputies and the Royal Commissioner, runs the day-to-day administration. Chairperson is the Royal Commissioner. (S)he is appointed by the Crown. The deputies discuss with civil servants the implementation of plans and projects and the preparation of new policy regarding their individual portfolios.
Mission
The richness of Brabant contains three kinds of capitals: ecology, economy and social cultural capital. All have their own interests. To prevent that one capital will grow while others suffer the consequences, the Province has to take care of a careful weigh of interests. Every four years an independent research centre monitors the degree of sustainable development of Brabant.
Vision
The Province stands for a colourful, enterprising and social Brabant with growing capitals, individually and in coherence with each other, so together this will lead towards an increasing richness of Brabant.
Contact
Province of Noord-Brabant (Lead Partner)
Postbus 90151
5200 MC ’s-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands
Phone: +31-73 681 2912
Contact person: Rob Maessen
E-mail address: RMaessen@brabant.nl
Website: www.brabant.nl
