Connect the city
Maastricht is at the crossroads. Do people in poverty hook up or drop out? Will ‘Sjengen’ and students live together or will they live side by side? Will we become a climate neutral city together or will we fail because of division? Will residents regain confidence in the government or will feelings of anger and powerlessness grow? Do the suburbs feel empowered or left behind? Do we live in harmony with nature or do we activate the earth's immune system against ourselves? Do vaccinated and unvaccinated people keep an eye out for each other or are they in conflict with each other's rights? The intersection of rights sometimes looks like a ravine, a watershed between all those people and between all those interests. It will not always be easy to go in the right direction, because in our age of uncertainty and contradiction the road will be full of twists and turns, hurdles, setbacks and opposition. But GroenLinks has the optimistic confidence that we can move forward, that we can connect the city.
Maastricht student city
GroenLinks believes that students make a very positive contribution to the atmosphere, culture and developments in the city. Thanks to the students, the university is the lifeblood of our city. We want to nurture and preserve that reality. There are also relatively many arts students in the city. Thanks to the Conservatorium Maastricht, the Maastricht Institute of Arts and the Institute of Performative Arts, Maastricht is a city par excellence that can further shape a lively culture, with and through its students. It is important that what is learned within the courses can also be experienced in the city. You want to experience that “it” lives and thrives in Maastricht. Many international students from within and outside the EU also study in Maastricht. We think it is important that they also feel connected to the city. International students undeniably have added value on a cultural and social level.
Every half year, in September and January, a new batch of students comes to our city to live, study and celebrate life here. That means every six months a new group that deserves a warm welcome. But whoever takes the first steps in a new phase of life, does that while limits are understandably sought and sometimes crossed. Fortunately, many of those students also live in the city and we notice that! In many neighborhoods, especially “within the canals”, many rooms are rented out. In some neighborhoods, the number of rented rooms has expanded greatly, causing serious tension in some streets. GroenLinks is in favor of an adequate housing policy that reduces the pressure on overburdened neighborhoods, but at the same time so that the city still extends a warm welcome to the students who keep our city alive and vibrant.
The green city
GroenLinks stands for the right to a green, living environment for all of us. Sufficient greenery and nature are indispensable for our well-being, for the development of our children and for the survival of animals and insects. We cherish the beauty and tranquility of a walk through the Frontenpark or on the St. Pietersberg. But that is not only the case in those parts of the city; every Maastricht resident has the right to sufficient greenery in the immediate living environment in order to be able to exercise and relax. If you walk through the city in a few years, you will see more trees and fewer parking spaces with cars. In the summer you will be able to enjoy the cooling of the plane trees on the Vrijthof and the number of front gardens near houses is many times larger than at present.
We must also move sustainably in a green city. In Maastricht we will be able to walk and cycle even more, unimpeded by cars. After all, the space we have is limited and is now taken up too much by the car. Smart thinking about facilities and wholehearted commitment to walking, cycling and public transport means that we free up space: instead of space for our gaze on stationary and moving four- wheeled vehicles, there will be more room for comfortable cycling routes, safe walking paths, and playing children. It should be space that we can use to meet each other, to relax and to move; space, in short, for people instead of for the machine.
Living in Maastricht
We want everyone in Maastricht to be able to live affordably and appropriately. After all, a roof over your head is a fundamental right. But we are in the throes of a housing crisis in which this right is by no means self-evident for everyone. The waiting lists for social housing are enormous, which means that first-time buyers and people with low incomes can hardly find a home. Rental housing in the free sector is unaffordable for many people. The enormous rise in house prices means that many families have no chance on the housing market. The number of homeless people has doubled in ten years. More houses will therefore have to be built. But building more alone is not enough. It is also about affordable construction, for those people for whom the shortages are greatest. GroenLinks therefore actively focuses on the construction of social rental and social owner-occupied homes for starters and single-person households.
In the coming years, considerable construction will be carried out along the Groene Loper and in the Sphinxkwartier. Nevertheless the signals that green areas can be realised is shown in the area around the station: the station has recently been restored to its former glory, a lot of work has been done to harmonize railway connections with the international bus station, a beautiful underground bicycle park has been built, and in the coming years more will be invested in a substantial way in greening the square in front of the station to make it a pleasant place to meet. Now it is time to really break down the last barrier in Maastricht, whereby not only more houses are built near the station, but also houses above the railway line itself are a serious option. In that way, for those who live above the railway, the world the world will literally be at their feet, or at least readily accessible!
Down with poverty and debt!
There are people who are ashamed of their debts or money worries, including the student population, but not talking about this poverty problem does not help them. There is no shame in living in poverty. We can only solve this taboo if we teach our children to deal with poverty-stricken classmates with respect and compassion. By making debt problems negotiable, we want to identify people whose lives are in danger of going wrong as early as possible, stand with them and prevent small debts from developing into an unsolvable situation. Early on at school, we pay attention to dealing with money and avoiding debt.
Menstrual poverty too is becoming a spearhead of poverty policy. We do not accept that people do not have enough financial options to buy (menstruation-related) hygiene products, resulting in dropping out of school or work. That is why we want the municipality to join forces with schools, sports clubs, neighborhood centers and food banks and guarantee that free menstrual products are available in certain places in the city.
Maastricht is LGBTQ+ friendly!
Since 2015, on the initiative of GroenLinks, there has been a rainbow zebra crossing in the heart of our city, on the Vrijthof. With this symbol in that symbolic place, Maastricht wants to emphasize that everyone can be there, regardless of who you are or what your life circumstances are. GroenLinks wants the municipality to continue to pursue an inclusive policy in the coming years, with attention to the LGBTIQ+ target group and more specifically focusing on the safety of this group. It is not acceptable that in 2022 LGBTIQ+ people do not dare to walk hand in hand on the street or openly state their sexual orientation, for fear of being harassed or called out in public in a negative way for who they are. In particular, we will enter into discussions with schools and employers to draw attention to this and to work on raising awareness. In that context, we want to work on a rainbow coalition that draws broader and more frequent attention to the importance of diversity by portraying the rainbow more often and more openly. To this end, the municipality is entering into more active discussions with parties in the city. Special attention is being paid to transgender and intersex people and to people who have to deal with a combination of grounds for non-discrimination, for example because they are both lesbian and Muslim. The municipality is also extra alert to ensure that safety in the asylum seekers' center is in place and effective.
With regard to GroenLinks, activities for LGBTIQ+ young people are supported by the municipality and the municipality promotes that youth care workers, community workers and other care providers have sufficient expertise with respect to this group. COC Limburg can also provide support through QueerCare where necessary. This online care desk is staffed by volunteers who have followed a training course. GroenLinks believes that this service must be able to continue to develop in the coming years and therefore deserves the support of the municipality.
Maastricht offers a safe place to stay
People who flee from war and violence, from environmental degradation, from persecution, from hunger or poverty are always welcome in Maastricht. From day one, these people count in Maastricht. They have a right and are given every opportunity to participate in our society. GroenLinks recognizes the importance of integration, but understands that this does not happen automatically. It is not only social, but also sensible to focus on integration as soon as possible. Refugees should be given better opportunities from the start of the asylum procedure to participate in our city by learning the language, undergoing training and finding work or meaningful daytime activities. Voluntary organizations are encouraged to work with newcomers.
Climate change in Maastricht
The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time. Combating global warming requires decisiveness, creativity and willingness of all of us to cooperate. We can no longer wait: we now have to roll up our sleeves and get active. Strong commitment from the municipality is indispensable in this regard. Together with all residents, we can really put sustainability into practice. It is also the municipalities where the target must be achieved to have all houses free of natural gas by 2050 and connected to an alternative heat source.
GroenLinks wants the energy transition to be sustainable and fair, designed and implemented together with the residents of the municipality. We also want windmill projects and the construction of solar meadows (that is; spaces with solar panels) to be accompanied by an investment in the biodiversity of the landscape. What is not used does not have to be generated in another way, so saving and combating waste are given top priority.
Business is important in the energy transition. Business parks offer many opportunities for generating and storing sustainable energy. New companies must meet sustainability requirements. The municipality of Maastricht is the driving force behind sustainable startups and social entrepreneurs who work on innovative, creative solutions for sustainability issues. We use innovative ways to generate solar energy: solar panels on carports, facades, bus shelters, fencing, noise barriers and lampposts.
We build circularly, that is in accord with a circular, sustainable economy. Circularity is becoming a fixed criterion for land allocation, tenders and permits. Within the future Environment and Planning Act, we will set stricter requirements for the environmental performance (MPG) of new buildings. When roofs are conveniently located in the sun, we choose to fill them with solar panels as much as possible; if this is not the case, green roofs are chosen to counteract heat stress and retain water as much as possible. The 'yes, unless' principle applies to developers who want to start building projects in our municipality: they must indicate why no green roofs or other climate-adaptive measures are possible, instead of the other way around.
Towards a green circular economy
GroenLinks wants Maastricht to have a truly sustainable economy: a circular economy. Due to climate change, the deterioration of biodiversity and an increasing shortage of raw materials, a lot will change in the near future: how we produce/(re)use our electricity, raw materials and food and bring it to our socket, into our homes or on our plate. These changes not only have major consequences for our living environment, but also for our economy: it affects the way we work, produce, consume, feed ourselves, move, and so on.
Educational institutions are desperately needed to take the step towards a circular economy. Top scientific research and education in Maastricht will be further expanded in combination with the Brightlands campuses. Not only is this good for employment, but it also keeps Maastricht interesting for students. The campuses provide new influences, new creativity and enrich the culture of the city. But all educational institutions in Maastricht are of great value to our city. After all, that is where the generations that we desperately need are trained to get started in the sustainable economy and to further shape it. We want a Green deal for Maastricht with educational institutions and the business community. We are going to make agreements about how we are going to make Maastricht's (knowledge) economy more sustainable and what training is required for this. How we can better organize internships and graduation research in the region, and how we can continue to bind recent graduates to Maastricht are aspects of this. The prevention of school dropout is also included in this.
Maastricht's Brightlands campus is the Maastricht Health Campus (MHC), in which the MUMC+ hospital, Maastricht University and MECC in particular play a major role. There are now more jobs at the MHC than in the city center of Maastricht! At the same time, it is barely visible. As far as GroenLinks is concerned, the area deserves a particular development that more clearly marks how important the area is for the city. With more greenery, places to meet, parking more on the edges of the area, but also with distinctive architecture. A place that breathes and radiates innovation, inside and out.
Ultimately, the economy is not just a local issue. Maastricht in particular benefits from making its economy more sustainable through being based on a strong Euregional vision. Choices elsewhere that involve pollution, such as the biomass power station in Lixhe, do not fit in with this and therefore require (administrative) resistance from Maastricht. But it requires even more honest cooperation with our Euregional neighbors in order to make plans for sustainability. This approach also means that the public transport infrastructure must be suitable: frequent connections with Heerlen and Sittard (nationally) on the one hand, but with Liège and Aachen (internationally) on the other are necessary. Connection to the network of European high-speed trains also fits in with this.
Cultural strength of Maastricht
Culture is a very important way to meet each other in Maastricht. Maastricht would like also in the future to be a cultural city and there are already within the municipality many cultural institutions and culture makers, but these are not available or accessible to every resident of Maastricht. That has to change. GroenLinks wants culture simply to be for everyone. More and affordable culture can stimulate people to (re)discover their own creativity. Culture can also have positive effects in the social domain. Moreover, we can collaborate much more in a (Eu)regional context. Culture connects people and is also an important source of employment.
More cultural education is essential to promote creativity and connection among young people and to make a cultural heartbeat. Cultural education is becoming a structural part of the regular educational curriculum. In this way children come into contact with various artistic and cultural disciplines and become more involved in cultural activities. Culturally and socially, especially for young people, more physical spaces and cultural breeding grounds are needed in the districts and neighborhoods. Cultural (and social) breeding grounds and refuges have traditionally been the drivers of radical change. We therefore want to ensure that the city has and maintains such spaces. The visibility of cultural initiatives and events in the city also needs to be improved. We do this by placing advertising facilities for cultural performances and activities in all neighborhoods. After years of silence, the Muziekgieterij was again the first place in our city with a real new mural. We are going to fill more Maastricht walls with professional murals and poems. In addition, we designate places where novice street artists and wall artists are allowed to practise and experiment freely.
The Theater aan het Vrijthof and the Muziekgieterij are currently still too limited in their options, even though they are two key players in the city's cultural field. The Theater must be made independent in order to be able to develop further. The Muziekgieterij is important for all of Maastricht and has a broad regional function, extending even beyond the national borders. This includes good quality programming and that also deserves an appropriate financial contribution from the municipality.
Culture makers are among the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19 in our economy. Many culture makers have given up their profession because they had no financial buffer with which to absorb the consequences of this crisis. Fortunately, partly at the insistence of GroenLinks, the municipality has promised to apply the Fair Practice Code to projects subsidized by the municipality. This means that artists receive a fair payment. But that is not enough. If we really want to become a cultural city again, large-scale stimulation programs must be set up. From an economic, cultural and social point of view, we need to put culture even more effectively on the map. Too much of all the beauty being produced remains unknown to the public. We help cultural entrepreneurs better to come into the spotlight, without falling into the trap that only what belongs to popular culture has added value. Because (un)known makes (un)loved!