drieduizend

Drieduizend is a fictional district used in Dutch-language speculative urbanism and narrative works. Conceived as a micro-scale community, it serves as a thought experiment for testing governance, housing, and public space within larger metropolitan systems. The name, which literally means three thousand, functions as a generic population scale rather than a specific place.

Etymology and usage: The term combines three and thousand; in fiction it's used as both a numeric target and a symbolic threshold for density and civic participation.

Geography and demographics: Usually depicted as a compact, walkable district of roughly 1.5 to 3.5 square kilometers, designed for 2,500–3,500 residents and a sizable daytime workforce. The density emphasizes mid-rise mixed-use blocks, with generous public spaces.

Governance and economy: Governance is described as participatory budgeting and neighborhood councils; there is a notional municipal budget; the economy includes local services, crafts, and digital startups; transport typically features a tram or bus network; energy often relies on district heating.

Cultural significance: Drieduizend appears in novels, academic papers, and design studios as a tool to explore debates around density, public realm, and urban form. Some authors anchor it to real-world neighborhoods as analogies, while scholars discuss it as a useful analytic device rather than a real place.