The solution to the housing shortage: 'Train more engineers'

The Netherlands is facing a severe housing shortage. Almost 400,000 homes need to be built, and much of the existing infrastructure will need to be replaced over the next 25 years. A large share of the country's current infrastructure was built shortly after the Second World War, meaning its lifespan is approaching an end. The housing shortage and the state of the infrastructure are currently the biggest challenges the Dutch construction sector faces. The topic is also central in the government formation talks of these weeks. The chair of 4TU.Built Environment, Stefan Aarninkhof, and the scientific director, Frank van der Hoeven, join us for an interview. After all, the political course also influences the universities' work. The main goal of 4TU.Built Environment is finding solutions to social problems in the built environment and making an impact on the world around us.

Housing shortage and infrastructure problems are not isolated issues. "There are many additional questions to consider," Van der Hoeven explains. "Where are we going to build those homes? Do we add a street everywhere, or do we need to build ten new cities? The same kinds of questions also apply to replacing infrastructure. Is it logistically possible to close certain highways or bridges for long periods of time? And how are we going to pay for it?"

“When working on large environmental projects, such as climate adaptation or improving infrastructure, drawing up integrated plans is important so that we don't have to carry out a series of separate interventions,” says Van der Hoeven. This method is known as integrated area development. “Nowadays, we still see too often that, for example, a street is dug up several times in a short period of time. By mapping out all these groundworks in advance and organizing them properly, the street only needs to be dug up once. In this way, works can often be faster, cheaper, and cause fewer disruptions."

Shaping the future

4TU.Built Environment sees a major role for technical universities in solving such problems and shaping the future. Van der Hoeven: “I think it's important that the knowledge we have here is not only used for scientific articles or collaborations with other universities, but that a significant part of our effort goes into tackling the spatial challenges in our country.” This aligns with the fourth generation of universities, which is now emerging. The main principle of the next generation of universities is that, in addition to research, education, and valorization, they are clearly committed to making an impact on society.

What is needed to make this change happen? Aarninkhof believes that the government could do more to facilitate innovation. “For example, by making room within construction projects for experiments that all educational levels can participate in.”

Compartmentalization is a thing of the past

Van der Hoeven also believes that the government should improve internally, too. “It is crucial that the national government seeks to identify links between programs and dismantle the divisions within the ministries. Currently, each ministry has its own domain and therefore its own goals and budgets. The ministries are judged by how many of their own goals they achieve, and they are therefore not allowed to contribute to other ministries' goals. However, current social problems often go far beyond the remit of a single ministry.” Aarninkhof adds: “Universities are neutral places. Here, we can use all our knowledge and expertise to devise integrated solutions that have a broad impact.”

A vision for construction

The government outlines its long-term vision for the spatial planning of the Netherlands in the Ontwerp Nota Ruimte (the Spatial Planning Policy Document). Over the past decades, more than 10 reports have been published, leading, among other things, to the construction of Vinex neighborhoods and the development of growth centers such as Zoetermeer, Hellevoetsluis, Almere, and Lelystad. Van der Hoeven: "In the 1990s and 2000s, we built 100,000 homes per year, but we are not even close to that now. For a while, we thought that what was built was enough. That turns out not to be the case, and we need to take action quickly."

A new edition of the Nota Ruimte was published in September 2025 by the outgoing cabinet. Aarninkhof: “It's good that we have a government with a vision. Guidance is needed, not only for housing construction, but also for other problems. Think, for instance, of protecting low-lying areas from flooding. Such matters cannot be dealt with locally; they are too important to be tackled at that level.” Van der Hoeven adds: “Looking for solutions to current problems is key, yet we should have a long-term vision.”

Training new engineers

In addition, it remains important for universities to focus on education. Van der Hoeven: “We currently have too few engineers, while we actually need more to realize all our plans for the future.” Training engineers consists of two parts, he explains.

Firstly, it is important to invest in the retraining and further training of professionals. Aarninkhof: “We cannot solve today's major social problems with the knowledge we had thirty years ago.” Therefore, it should become easier for professionals to continue developing, regardless of their level of education. Van der Hoeven: “The system is currently set up in such a way that universities only receive funding for training students and not for retraining professionals. It must become easier for universities to offer education to professionals.”

Secondly, it remains essential for universities to educate students. “However, the number of young people and therefore the number of students in the Netherlands will decline in the coming years, which will make it even more difficult to motivate enough people to choose this field,” predicts Van der Hoeven. He adds, “Even though it is, of course, incredibly enjoyable and challenging to work as an engineer on improving the built environment.”

The challenges are great, but the opportunities are even greater. Aarninkhof: “As universities, we can really make a difference. Let's start doing that now.”