Dutch Designers Reinvent the Road

You may have heard about smart cars, but what about smart streets? A plan for modernizing European highways has been generating a lot of buzz from civil engineers worldwide, reports Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan.

1 minute read

November 3, 2012, 1:00 PM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


With their Smart Highway plan, Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde and civil engineers Heijmans Infrastructure are seeking to modernize a technology that has remained largely unchanged since asphalt was introduced in the late 19th century. 

"We live in a city of endless gray concrete roads, surrounded by steel lamps. They have a huge visual impact on our city," says Roosegaarde. "But why do they remain so rough and without imagination? Why not make them a vision about mobility, a symbol of the future?"

"The Smart Highway isn't a completely new road, but rather, a kit of parts that can be applied to existing roads as needed," says Campbell-Dollaghan. "The group's plan proposes embedding highways with technology that can visually communicate when the road is slippery, charge your car as you drive, and generate electricity for its own lights. While it remains conceptual, the plan gained considerable momentum this week after it received a Dutch Design Award." 

"Asked about how much smart highways will cost, Roosegarde jokes, 'it would be more expensive than a current road, but less expensive than building a new planet Earth.'"

Friday, October 26, 2012 in Fast Company Co.Design

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Waffle House restaurant in rural open area with large yellow and black sign and several cars parked in front.

Starting in 2026, You Can Charge Your EV at Waffle House

The 24-hour chain infamous for brawls and, to a lesser extent, waffles plans to install fast-chargers at many of its locations.

30 minutes ago - Jalopnik

Two Rivian trucks charging at Rivian branded charging ports.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate

The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

May 22 - CALmatters

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

May 22 - Wired