The Hague flips most tiles and wins Dutch championship
The Hague has replaced more than half a million paving slabs with greenery, winning the Golden Tile award at the 2026 Dutch National Tile Flipping Championship. Residents, schools, businesses and the municipality together removed 507,436 tiles, the highest total of any municipality in the Netherlands.
Known as NK Tegelwippen, the Dutch competition challenges municipalities and their communities to swap paving slabs for plants. Behind the playful name is a practical response to a changing climate: making space for greenery helps neighbourhoods cope with heat and heavy rainfall, while creating habitats for wildlife and places for people to meet.
The Hague received the Golden Tile for the third time, following wins in 2021 and 2022. The award recognises the highest total number of tiles removed; separate prizes reward municipalities for the number removed per 1,000 residents.
“This award recognises the enthusiasm and hard work of so many residents, businesses, schools and other community organisations that have made their surroundings greener. With more greenery, we make neighbourhoods not only more attractive, but also more liveable and better able to withstand extreme weather.”
Isabelle Broeders, Alderman responsible for public space
From paving slabs to a community garden
The award was presented at Hobbemahof, a community garden in the Schilderswijk neighbourhood. Residents removed around 1,600 paving slabs from a courtyard, replacing them with plants, vegetable beds and a greenhouse. The garden now brings women from the neighbourhood together to grow food and spend time outdoors.
“We turned a neglected space into a welcoming garden where women from the neighbourhood come together to garden."
Marianne Edixhoven, Initiator
“My little garden means everything to me. When I am here with my hands in the soil, I find peace, and of course, we enjoy tea together made with our own mint.”
Huriye, one of the women who uses the garden
Greener streets and squares
Residents, schools, sports clubs and businesses accounted for around 150,000 of the tiles removed. The municipality supports local projects with sustainability organisation Duurzaam Den Haag, including through Operatie Steenbreek, which encourages people to replace paving with plants.
Local investments
Municipal projects accounted for more than 350,000 tiles removed from public spaces. These included almost 28,000 at Plein 1813 and 6,400 along the Pletterijkade, where shrubs and trees were added during redevelopment. In Belgisch Park, sewer replacement works provided an opportunity to plant 100 new trees. The municipality will invest a further €6 million in greening the city in 2027 and 2028, focusing on neighbourhoods with extensive paving.
Photo credits main picture / header: Akash Kumar, At the Abraham van Beyerenstraat in The Hague 1,100 tiles were replaced with greenery
“It is precisely in the most heavily paved neighbourhoods that more greenery is urgently needed. That is where residents feel the effects of heat and excess rainwater most strongly.”
Isabelle Broeders, Alderman responsible for public space
