Learn Dutch: Meer parken bevorderen de gezondheid en de leefbaarheid. - More parks promote health and livability.

Why does the Dutch sentence use de gezondheid and de leefbaarheid when the English translation just says health and livability without the word the?

In Dutch, abstract nouns and general concepts often take a definite article (de or het) when you speak about them in a general sense. While English usually drops the article for broad concepts like health or nature, Dutch prefers to keep it.

The word bevorderen translates to promote here. Could I also use promoveren?

No, they are not interchangeable. Bevorderen is used when you mean to encourage, stimulate, or foster the progress of something (like health, safety, or economic growth). Promoveren is used specifically when a person is promoted to a higher job position, a sports team moves up to a higher league, or someone obtains a university doctorate.

Is leefbaarheid a common concept in Dutch?

Yes, it is a very common and culturally important term in the Netherlands and Flanders. It translates to livability and is constantly used in politics and city planning to describe how pleasant, safe, and well-maintained a neighborhood or environment is.

This lesson focuses on enerzijds ... anderzijds. If I wanted to use this sentence as the first half of a contrast, how would I add enerzijds?