The Netherlands were one of the first countries in the world to become acquainted with the phenomenon of Home Zones, called 'woonerf. Especially for the large municipalities, Home Zones were a remedy for the problems caused by the increasing traffic burden in residential areas.

Since not all the requirements of the Home Zones could be enforced in daily practice, in 1976, the 'woonerf' received its legal status.

Over the next ten years other types of "erven", safe areas, had been developed such as shopping erven and village erven. These extensions to the urban Home Zones had no legal basis until 1988.

On the 16th of July 1988 both woonerf and erven were united legally and a new concept was born "erf".