Invitation to aim high
The present vision is a starting point and carries the promise that it can fuel debates, conversations and meetings in a way that encourages managing directors, elected officials, civil servants and other stakeholders to take the decades ahead into consideration. In this way, responsibility can be taken even more effectively for capitalising on Limburg’s challenges and opportunities. Following the event on 26 February, the Province of Limburg’s vision of the future will be discussed in the Provincial Council in early March.
Gouverneur Roemer: ‘Creating this vision took a year and a half. It now coincides perfectly with the arrival of the minority government, which wants to introduce major breakthroughs, aims to think far ahead and will have to cooperate intensively. The timing is ideal. As a Member of Parliament or a minister-to-be, you only have to put the coalition agreement next to our vision of the future and our previous propositions, and you will immediately see opportunities for us to work together. A long-term vision can be very useful in finding broad support for the major changes that we face as a society.’
Not a decision-making document
The breadth and depth of the Limburg analysis stand out. The vision reflects how strongly housing, the economy, energy, mobility and the landscape are linked. It is emphatically not a decision-making document, but a rich resource to draw from, for the administrators of today and tomorrow.
Roemer: ‘What I am proud of is that it was said: now draw out which way it could go with Limburg and then put on the political cap later. In the Limburg Provincial Executive, each Regional Minister will from time to time blatantly have their own priorities – which makes perfect sense. But at the same time, it is very clearly felt that progress only becomes noticeable when you work towards it together, when you try to understand the other person and when we are not busy working on quick fixes for the short term. With the vision of the future, we now have a joint document in our hands that will benefit our province for years to come. After the presentation on 26 February, we will also discuss this in the Provincial Council in early March, a meeting I am already looking forward to.’
Handover to SER President Kim Putters
During the presentation, Gouverneur Emile Roemer will hand over the vision of the future to Kim Putters, president of the Social and Economic Council (SER), followed by a panel discussion with representatives from government, the business community and civil society organisations. A conscious decision was made to share the vision via the provincial website several weeks prior to this afternoon, so that visitors to the presentation could have more in-depth conversations about the future of Limburg based on solid analysis.
Think and participate
‘TV2050’ is a starting point. The provincial government warmly invites administrators, entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, civil society organisations and others to read and use the vision in their own plans and in cooperation. In this way, everyone can contribute from a similar frame of reference to a Limburg that is attractive, healthy and powerful – both now and for future generations.
Want to know more? See: additional information and summary of ‘TV2050’.
Limburg Vision of the Future 2050: What kind of Limburg do we want to be in 2050?
You can find the Vision of the Future 2050 for Limburg here. What kind of Limburg do we want to be in 2050? We answer that question in this vision. We do this by drawing up an overarching vision (the Compass 2050) for the five major spatial themes of the Province of Limburg and making five coherent partial visions. After all, how we work, live, travel, consume energy and interact with our rural areas in 2050 will be closely intertwined.
https://www.limburg.nl/onderwerpen/omgeving/toekomstvisie-limburg-2050/
Taking up the gauntlet
We invite and urge all Limburgers to translate this Limburg Vision of the Future 2050 into political and societal ambitions, goals and implementation agendas: this includes our current and succeeding Provincial Executives, the Provincial Council and all our public, private and cross-border partners. We hope and expect that the direction given by this vision will be an inspiring start to that and are happy to enter into conversation about this.
Limburg as a crossroads
The province of Limburg cannot do it alone. We cooperate with the central government, communities, municipalities and the water board; with Belgium and Germany and our neighbouring regions; and with entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, civil society organisations and our residents. With our location in between the three major metropolises in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, the Randstad urban conurbation in the west of the Netherlands and the Flemish Diamond, much of what happens in Limburg depends on choices made by others. With this Vision of the Future 2050, the Province of Limburg is taking the initiative to take charge of our future itself. With all the transitions and major challenges coming our way, this will certainly be necessary. We face our future as a crossroads in Europe with confidence.
The ‘Proposal to the Provincial Council’ explains in detail the purpose of this Limburg Vision of the Future 2050. On 6 March 2026, the first discussion of this Limburg Vision of the Future 2050 with the Provincial Council will be held in a Committee meeting. The Provincial Council itself is scheduled to discuss the vision on 20 March 2026.
Documents
- Press release
- Accompanying letter (PDF, 38 kB)
- Proposal to the Provincial Council (PDF, 190 kB)
- Limburg Vision of the Future 2050 (PDF, 42 MB)
- The viewer
Background
It is important for the Province of Limburg to look further into the future and, from that distant future, to look back to the present. This is essential to test whether we are making the right choices now. We use a scenario study for this purpose. Such studies encourage us to look to the future with an open mind and to also explore options that we would not think of when only considering things from the present day. After all, designing public spaces and developing the region requires planning and considered decision-making.
Scenario study
This vision of the future explores several future scenarios. What could Limburg look like in 2050? Why and how do we do this? As looking ahead 25 years involves many uncertainties, we explore 4 possible futures and do not limit ourselves to 1 reality and 1 desired image of Limburg in 2050.
We provide one comprehensive basis: both the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis recently published four scenarios for the Netherlands. These scenarios make it clear that choices for prosperity, well-being and sustainability intersect. The choice was therefore made to tackle the visions of the future for the Economy, Housing, Rural Areas, Mobility and Energy in a single integrated study. A single set of scenarios will be prepared for all these themes, with real Limburg scenarios receiving extra attention. After all: the border location, our landscape and our place in it, and our culture and identity make Limburg what it is.
Please note that a specially designed version of this document that is also more digitally accessible with a larger font will follow. The content will remain the same.
Questions?
Any questions? Send us an email at: [email protected].
