This concept is prompted by changed thinking about housing/construction in rural areas: much criticized in the past as spoiling the countryside, but now gaining acceptance as a possible means to enhance rural areas in a broad sense, i.e. economically, socially and physically.

The idea that building homes in the countryside might be a good thing is not entirely new. Country estates epitomized the harmony that might be achieved by rural residences. However, the ‘red for green’ philosophy (where money generated by rural construction is used to create greenery elsewhere) exclusively concentrates on two of the three Ps: profit and planet. People are forgotten. The New Villages concept gives explicit consideration to the needs and wishes of ordinary people. The concept is about developing social communities that are open to all people in society: rich and poor, Dutch nationals and immigrants, young and old.