The Green Metropolitan Region Arnhem-Nijmegen (GMR) is a partnership of 17 municipalities based on a joint vision. The organisation mainly focuses on challenges in the spatial domain. The GMR includes the municipalities of Arnhem, Berg en Dal, Beuningen, Doesburg, Druten, Duiven, Heumen, Lingewaard, Mook and Middelaar, Nijmegen, Overbetuwe, Renkum, Rheden, Rozendaal, Westervoort, Wijchen and Zevenaar.
Our tasks
The GMR’s tasks are:
- Green growth region (spatial tasks and housing)
- Productive region (economy and labour market)
- Recreational region (liveability, nature and landscape, culture and heritage)
- Connected region (mobility and accessibility)
- Circular region (circularity, sustainability, climate and energy)
Characteristics of our region
Innovative organisations
The region particularly excels in innovative organisations in the fields of energy, health and hightech. The strength of these organisations, combined with campuses, a university, universities of applied science and several Regional Education and Training Centres, makes this region interesting. Examples of these organisations are ConnectR, Noviotech Campus, Radboudumc, Radboud University, HAN University of Applied Sciences and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.
Diversity
The diversity of urban, rural and green areas. If you want to get into the hustle and bustle, it’s easy to head into town. Looking for peace and quiet: within five minutes you are in a forest where you can go for a lovely walk.
Our green profile comes from both the green character of the cities and the surrounding areas as well as our beautiful nature with rivers, forests and floodplains.
River area and moraines
Our river area provides the region with spectacular nature. Our country’s major dynamic rivers, the Waal, IJssel, Rhine and Meuse all flow through our region. These rivers are powerful ecosystems because they always face different water levels and highly changing seasonal influences. There are moraines dating back to the ice age along these rivers, in the Veluwezoom and in the Rijk van Nijmegen region. The nature on these moraines is special, with hills, forests, streams, moors and important drinking water reserves.
Location
Our location in Europe is particularly favourable and we form a border region with Germany. We are an important hub on the European transport network, connecting the Netherlands and the Randstad region with Germany, amongst others cities and regions throughout Europe.
Our challenges
The Arnhem-Nijmegen region faces an increasing appeal in terms of living, working, visiting, studying and relaxing. And at the same time, there is concern for our natural environment, which for example provides ecosystem services such as drinking water. Therefore, we need to simultaneously invest in housing, accessibility, economy, sustainability, nature, landscape, recreation and tourism.