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Life & fun · June 6, 2024

I created this land use visualisation for the Netherlands

Last weekend, I tried creating an original visualization of something on many minds in my home country the Netherlands: land use. Much of our discussion revolves around land use—housing crisis, sustainable farming, solar energy—it's all about the land. To illustrate this, I created a map where each hexagon represents 0.06% (26,647 hectares) of land in the Netherlands. The color indicates the type of land use.

I created this land use visualisation for the Netherlands launched on June 6, 2024 with 78 votes, #657 of 4,672 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.

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In plain words

This interactive visualization displays land use across the Netherlands using a hexagonal map, where each hexagon represents 26,647 hectares and is color-coded by land type. Created to illustrate ongoing Dutch debates around housing, sustainable farming, and renewable energy, the tool provides an accessible way to understand how the country's territory is allocated across different uses. It offers a data-driven perspective on resource distribution in the Netherlands.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

A data visualization project that shows the distribution land use in the Netherlands.

This webpage uses hexagons to visualize land use across the Netherlands. Each hexagon represents a small fraction of the country's land, roughly 0.06% or 26.647 hectares. The color of each hexagon corresponds to a specific type of land use. The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, facing a constant challenge: balancing competing demands for its limited land. Despite concerns about space, the Netherlands has more solar panels than the entire continent of Africa. Yet, solar parks occupy only one hexagon on the entire map. With growing pressure on space, how can we ensure there's room for affordable housing, nature, and productive agriculture? This…from koenvangilst.nl

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