Designing the 21St Century City 02

Home , Buitenveldert, De Baarsjes, Eastern Docklands, Goudsbloemgracht, Rembrandtpark, Westelijke Tuinsteden

Designing the 21st Century City 02 | 2015

met Nederlandse samenvatting Plan Ontwerpen voor de 21ste eeuw Amsterdam

Towards a 21st Century way of City Planning The Compact City: Growth and Densification Ring Zone Studio – designing the city infographics Planned housing 2014-2040 in map Amsterdam’s Ring Zone cover Children playing at the fountain at the Amsterdam, including existing plans as well as possible Source: Esther Reith Haarlemmerplein, one of the oldest of Amsterdam’s housing projects. The Ring Zone proves to have city gates, at the end of the Haarlemmerweg in the by far the most potential as a future development western part of the city. location for Amsterdam. Photo: Wim Salis Source: Ruimte voor de Stad (Space for the City), Development Strategy for Amsterdam 2025, phase 0: inventory and exploration 1 Amsterdam’s A10 Ring Road and the IJ. = 5,000 houses in existing housing projects 2014-2025 Photo: Siebe Swart, Hollandse Hoogte = 5,000 possible housing projects 2018-2040

Within the A10 ring road Ring Zone Beyond the A10 ring road Exploring the

Authors Ring Zone 1 Hester Aardse Errik Buursink Esther Reith Jouke van der Werf

Credits

Plan Amsterdam is a publication by the City of Amsterdam, giving information about physical planning projects and developments in the city and the metropolitan region of Amsterdam. The magazine appears seven times per year, of which two issues are in English.

Editorial, management and production Errik Buursink, Sandra Langendijk Design Beukers Scholma, Haarlem Main cover image Wim Salis Maps and photography see the captions Translation Frank van Lieshout Lithography and printing OBT Opmeer, The Hague

This publication has been prepared with the greatest possible care. The City of In June 2012 a group of Amsterdam council planners met planning are entering a new phase. With newspapers Amsterdam cannot, however, accept any to discuss the sorry state of the city’s housing market. reporting on rising house prices and the increasing liability for the correctness and complete- ness of the information it contains. In the How much could still be built, and where exactly? As a pressure on public space almost daily, it’s clear that event of credits for visual materials result of the economic crisis new developments had Amsterdam faces a huge planning task. At the same being incorrect or if you have any other questions, please contact the editors: grinded to a halt. The banks were no longer lending time, the city’s ambitions are high, with plans to build [email protected] or tel. +31(0)20 2551550. A free subscription big sums to large Dutch builders and the city’s housing for future growth and add at least 5 thousand new can be requested by sending an e-mail corporations were also faced with financial difficulties. homes to the existing stock every year. to: [email protected]. Volume 21, no. 2, May 2015 In striking contrast to the general downturn in construction, the Amsterdam population continued to increase The same questions that planners and urban designers This magazine can also be downloaded: www.amsterdam.nl/planamsterdam during the crisis, with almost 12 thousand new residents posed and tried to answer during the crisis are still added every year. Did it really make sense to scale relevant today. Amsterdam has a strong tradition in city down new housing developments so drastically while planning and design. Since the seventeenth century, the city’s population was growing? new areas, each with their distinct characters, have been added to the city during periods of growth. The absence of major investors in larger projects led to What lessons can we learn from Amsterdam’s rich urban a reappraisal of self-builds and smaller scale building planning history and what can we pick up from urban projects. This raised a number of questions; such as planning in other major cities abroad? what kind of urban planning is needed to facilitate small scale development and how to achieve coherence with This issue of Plan Amsterdam will take you along on many different developers building in the same area? an exploration of a possible 21st century area for The building slump also gave breathing space to expansion called the Ring Zone. In the coming years, address broader issues; such as what kind of a city new developments will be realized in the existing urban does Amsterdam aspire to be and what kind of urban areas along the city’s A10 ring road and on the banks of environment does the 21st century city dweller and the the IJ. Amsterdam has a once in a lifetime opportunity city economy demand? to turn the Ring Zone into a pleasant, lively and beautiful area. A 21st century city. In 2015, with the Amsterdam housing crisis having abated, development is picking up and discussions on urban The editorial team

02 | 2015 03 Integral urban design connects area developments like Ring Zone South with the surrounding city. This type of hand drawn maps are an imaginative and creative tool to tell the story of a particular area. Drawing: Melanie August de Meijer ‘Amsterdam is in need of more offices and houses. Space that can be found in the Ring Zone.’ 1 Rembrandt Park in Amsterdam West, against the 2 Rembrandt Park is situated just within backdrop of the high-rises at the South Axis. Amsterdam’s A10 ring road. As the current Photo: Edwin van Eis demand for housing is high, the city has opted to make its built up areas more compact and leave green areas untouched. Photo: Edwin van Eis Towards a 21st Century 1 way of City Planning

Hester Aardse and Jouke van der Werf [email protected] / [email protected]

Amsterdam’s growing – rapidly. It’s estimated that by 2040 the city will have one million inhabitants. This has resulted in extra demand for new housing, infrastructure, data and energy networks, climate change management, etc. Pressure on Amsterdam’s public spaces demands a different distribution of the limited space available. How should the city council deal with these issues? What did the city do when confronted with similar growing spurts in the past? This piece will take you through the various periods of urban expansion and their legacies.

The current demand for housing is high. As the city’s In Van Eesteren’s Algemene Uitbreidingsplan (AUP, priority is to make its built up areas more compact and General Plan for Expansion) from 1934, long thorough- to leave the green areas outside the city untouched, fares, such as the Jan Evertsenstraat and the Parnassus- the areas of the Ring Zone, the Western Harbour weg, connect the centre to the most western and and around Sloterdijk Station have become obvious southern parts of the city. These days, the western A10 locations for new housing developments. The Ring ring road is almost like a regular city street, allowing Zone, which lies either side of the elevated A10 ring you to easily drive from one part of the city to another, road between the pre-war and post-war areas of the e.g. from De Baarsjes in the western part to Water- city, offers ample scope for redevelopment. The eastern graafsmeer in the east of the city. The city’s large parks, parts of the zone are characterised by densely built up the Amstelscheg (the green areas along the river areas with tree-lined roads and a few parks within the Amstel on the outskirts of the city) and the woodlands ring road, and an open structure interlaced with lots of of the Amsterdamse Bos are all within easy reach of the green spaces on the other side. For the southern part city, as are the waters of the Sloterplas and the Nieuwe of the Ring Zone, between the Plan Zuid (development Meer. With the increasingly lower emissions produced on the south side of the city, under the architect and by car traffic, the A10 will become less and less of urban planner Hendrik Petrus Berlage) and the A10 an obstacle between the two areas either side of this ring road, a plan was in existence even before the war, motorway. The question is not if the Ring Zone will be masterminded by the urban planner Cornelis van suitable for further urban development, but how it will Eesteren. be developed and further integrated into the city. The >

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> 3 Balthasar Florisz van Berckenrode’s map of the medieval town and the Third Expansion from 1625. The various parts of the city are easy to recognise. They include the posh neighbourhoods of the canal belt; the Eastern and Western islands, which were areas for trades which could give rise to nuisance, such as tanners, herring curers and tar storage; and on the west side the lower class neighbourhoods of the Jordaan. Source: City Archives

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‘Throughout the centuries, increases in population and economic growth have been the reasons for planning new urban expansions.’

same goes for outdated industrial areas and business has a tradition to live up to, as the city’s held in high parks, which are no longer fit for purpose. In order to esteem worldwide as a successful live laboratory for answer these questions, it can be interesting to look at experimenting with new urban planning ideas. what the city can learn from its historical planning and development. 17th century expansion: for the elite, by the elite Past evidence The world famous seventeenth century canal ring area The reasons for urban expansion planning have by was the first, large-scale expansion managed by the city and large remained the same throughout the centuries: government. Unlike the organic composition of the economic growth combined with an increase in medieval town – a mix of all social backgrounds and population, visitors, businesses and traffic have led to residential as well as commercial activities – the new the need for more housing and commercial properties, expansion of the canal ring was set up as a residential an enhanced infrastructure and an increase in facilities. area for the upper-middle classes, by the upper-middle In recent centuries private and local government classes. The Herengracht and Keizersgracht were initiatives have alternated and complemented each developed exclusively as a prestigious and pleasant other to provide for these needs. On the map of residential area to live. The intersecting streets were Amsterdam, these successive expansions are easily planned for shopping, the other canals and parallel recognisable due to the concentric build-up of the streets for transport and trade. city around the medieval city centre: the 17th century canal ring area, the 19th century ring, the 20-40 belt – The city administration managed the successive expan- built between the 1920’s and the 1940’s and the sions of the canal ring area, implementing the lessons AUP expansions. Because of this clear succession of they took from the previous phases into the next. The expansions, it’s also easy to identify where the original high establishment costs were covered by the sales of urban plans have been changed, e.g. the renovation plots: the better the prospects, the more money was projects in the city centre in the first half of the 20th paid for them. To maximise profits and at the same time century, the urban renewal of the Kinkerbuurt and create a beautiful living environment, much attention Indische Buurt areas or more recently the renewal of was paid to the design of the bridges and quays. the Westelijke Tuinsteden (Western Garden Cities). Business and retail activities were not allowed at How to incorporate new parts of the city into the the residential canals and regulations were drawn up existing structures was also a major challenge for the for building heights and building lines as well as rules development of the Zuidas (South Axis). According to prohibit gardens being built on. to Pi de Bruijn, who managed this project, the area combines the enclosed structures of the Plan Zuid with The seventeenth century expansion also reflects social the grid-like structure of Van Eesteren’s Buitenveldert. relations at the time. For the canal ring area, a com- The aim was and has always been to realise a well pletely new urban planning structure was developed, functioning city, which is coherent and has an appealing independent from the existing lay-out of drainage townscape with pleasant areas for living and working. channels, for which no cost was spared. In contrast, the The different political and social climates of the working class neighbourhoods just outside the canal moment, and the concomitant ideas on urban develop- ring, in the Jordaan, were developed without any real ment, have been a key factor in the actual design and plan. The people were free to build their houses with the execution of the expansion as well as the renewal very limited regulations. Following the existing lay-out plans in different periods. The current issue of higher of the drainage channels, the street patterns of these density building in the Ring Zone, amongst others, neighbourhoods are markedly different than those of the challenges us to decide how we should approach canal ring. The authorities did not spend any money on urban development and what the role of the city’s these expansions or interfere with them. In other words: administration should be. In that respect, Amsterdam the local government did not represent these residents. >

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4 The Museum Quarter, a fashionable neighbourhood 5 Bad living conditions in the slums gave rise to 6 The Plan Kalff from 1857 shows how the lay-out which was planned and built by private investors in the establishment of various philantropic institutes of the working class neighbourhoods in the eastern collaboration with the city council. Aerial photograph and charitable organisations, and eventually resulted and western parts of the city follow the original lay- from 1928. in the Housing Act of 1901. Displayed are the slums out of the land, how the middle part was given its Source: Aviodrome of the Goudsbloemgracht, drawn by W. Hekking very own character and how the different neighbour- around 1850. hoods are interconnected. Source: City Archives Source: City Archives

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7 The expansion plan Plan Zuid by H.P. Berlage from 1915, including the green spaces between the houses and in the squares. Source: Amsterdam Museum

19th century: the century of private 20th century: Amsterdam City Council initiatives takes control Industrialisation and the accompanying urbanisation The 1901 Housing Act regulated the minimum require- in the course of the 19th century meant the working ments for good quality housing and living environment class neighbourhoods were bursting at the seams. – light, air and hygiene – as well as requiring towns and At a fast pace, private investors started to build cities with more than ten thousand residents to produce residential housing outside of the Singelgracht, often a general expansion plan. For the first time in history, of poor quality. Although the local administration the local authorities were obliged to ensure the quality adopted a liberal laissez-faire approach, they did of the working class properties and neighbourhoods. consider it necessary to have some control of these This had a great impact on the development of social developments and so set up a general plan of urban housing and urban planning as independent disciplines. expansion which could, in partnership with the private The Dutch administrators and planners were inspired builders, serve as a guideline for an effective infra- by insights from other countries, such as the garden structure. cities movements in England and Germany, the plans As was the case in the seventeenth century, for Cologne and Hamburg by urban planner Fritz this plan was also clearly based on social segregation, Schumacher and the rapidly growing list of publications which resulted in working class neighbourhoods on by renowned authors such as Ebenezer Howard, Joseph the east and west ends of the city and neighbour- Stübben and Camillo Sitte. hoods for the well-off in between, on the south side. In Amsterdam, the politicians granted the department From its first inception, the Museum Quarter was of Public Works under its directors A.W. Bos and later intended as an exclusive residential district. It was W.A. De Graaf increasing control over determining the developed through a negotiation process between direction of future expansions. Backed by the social the local authority, who set the urban planning frame- democrat controlled local government, top talents in work, and private contractors, who built the proper- urban planning, such as Berlage, Jan Ernst van der Pek ties. The reason that Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter and Berend Tobias Boeyinga were given the opportunity is probably the city’s most beautiful 19th century to implement their new ideas. The Plan Zuid as well as neighbourhood from an architectural point of view, the garden cities in the North of Amsterdam, which is because the land owners included regulations combine wide thoroughfares with picturesque local on use of the property and aesthetics in their sale streets, house fronts of high aesthetic quality, ample contracts, keeping the sales prices high and the public green spaces and water, could not have been property values stable. As was the case in the such a success without the well-oiled machine of the 17th century, the spacious planning of the exclusive department of Public Works. The quality of these neigh- 19th century neighbourhoods is (partly) independent bourhoods is on a par with that of the canal ring, but of the existing drainage channel lay-out, whereas what was completely new was that these planned the working class neighbourhoods do roughly follow districts were also built for the working classes. this lay-out. For building contractors it represented a cheaper option; for the working classes it meant Survey before Plan: light, air and space long, monotonous streets and deplorable sanitary Working as the first chief civil servant urban planning at conditions. In the opinion of a growing group of the Amsterdam Town Planning department from 1929, architects, social reformers, doctors and politicians when it was founded, until 1959, Van Eesteren drafted this approach had often led to lamentable conditions, the Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan (AUP, General Extension in Amsterdam as well as other Dutch cities. Their Plan) which was to become the next internationally efforts eventually led to the introduction of the acclaimed milestone in Amsterdam’s urban planning Housing Act of 1901, which explicitly handed control history. The plan was based on the latest insights of to the local authorities. ‘survey before plan’, an approach which the urban planner Theo Van Lohuizen had been actively involved in >

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8 Light, air and space in a new city lay-out with open 9 ‘Map’ of the Structural Plan 1985: the vision of blocks (in the red areas) surrounded by a green a compact city in an era of fast suburbanization. environment; the Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan Source: Planning and Sustainability City of Amsterdam (General Extension Plan) of 1934 by C. van Eesteren. area for development Source: Planning and Sustainability City of Amsterdam area reserved for future development

developing and which made use of extensive demo- Clashing opinions graphic, traffic and economic research. The AUP still In his book 1000 years of Amsterdam, Fred Feddes based itself on the three fundamental requirements describes how in this period two opposing views of of light, air and space, but implemented them into what the modern city should look like, clashed. In the a completely new urban planning design: a city which one corner, there was the department of Public Works has been opened up and has low, middle and high rise and their functionalist, technocratic view, championing buildings surrounded by green spaces. Just as with low, middle and high rise urban environments sur- the canal ring area and the expansions of 1920-1940, rounded by green spaces, separation of traffic flows facilities were integrated into the neighbourhoods as and different social functions as well as a systematic much as possible. Industries which could give rise to planning programme controlled by local government; nuisance were moved to the city’s outskirts as often as in the other, the socially active residents and architects. possible. The blurring of the distinction between private The very neighbourhoods which were derided by the and public green spaces, which had already started in social reformers of the late 19th century, were now the garden cities, became more pronounced. The city appreciated because of their relatively small, human built up from enclosed blocks of housing with green- scale as well as their flexible programming based on lined streets was supplanted by the so-called ‘finger local initiatives. Within the ranks of local government city’, where green wedge shaped areas reach deep and politics this re-evaluation of the old, existing neigh- into the city, ‘floating’ between the urban spaces. bourhoods was also gaining support, eventually leading to the dissolution of the once mighty department of The AUP neighbourhoods were built after World War II, Public Works into three separate departments. when there was a huge shortage of housing and the need for reconstruction was acute. With the severely As a consequence, the way Amsterdam ran its town limited means available in the immediate post-war planning changed radically: rather than big plans which period, the city continued building on a large scale to were subsequently executed down to the very last realise the ideal of good living conditions for everyone. detail, the new approach was to look at what is already Later, when a new period of growth arrived, new neigh- there, listen to the people and through various design bourhoods were built, including Noord (North) and studios find out what is important to the various later also the Bijlmer in South East Amsterdam. During stakeholders. It’s a change which is not only noticeable these decades of continuous development, the depart- in the approach to existing neighbourhoods, but also in ment of Public Works became an almost unstoppable redevelopment projects and the restructuring process planning machine. Building extensively and efficiently, along the banks of the IJ. The commission given to the the department’s key propositions were housing in architect Rem Koolhaas to develop a plan for a business the suburbs, offices in the city centre and making way district on the IJas (IJ Axis) to compete with the existing for the car, the icon of progress. When the powerful Zuidas could still be considered old school planning – department started targeting the existing parts of there was no clear idea who they were planning for. the city with their radical plans, an alliance of preser The project failed, because potential investors had vationists, local residents, socially active architects and no faith in it. In the end, rather than a single, big plan, squatters made their objections felt. More than half a a number of distinct projects were realised, which were century after the introduction of the Housing Act, the held together by the vision of a compact city and the adoption of universal suffrage and equal educational spatial structure of the IJas. The subplans for the various opportunities, many people were well educated and sections of the area were only developed once devel- were no longer dependent on the government to think opers were ready. and decide on their behalf. The increasingly empowered residents rose up against the large scale demolition Pro-active society schemes to make way for the underground and the One of the outcomes of the recent financial crisis renewal of the old 19th century neighbourhoods. and the accompanying slump in the local housing >

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10 A futuristic contribution to the discussion on the 11 The large-scale demolition of houses in the future of the city in the 1960’s by the Das brothers. historic Nieuwmarktbuurt (New Market Area) to make Various ideas were put forward to retain the historic way for the construction of the new underground city centre as well as to improve accessibility for marked the beginning of increasing opposition cars and mass transit, for which the 19th century against the plans of the Amsterdam City Council. neighborhoods would have had to make way. Source: City Archives Source: Robbert and Rudolf Das

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12 Urban development in the eastern docklands 13 Map showing all the current area development in the 1990’s signaled a return to a more traditional projects in the Ring Zone. The many sub-projects urban form and the city as an attractive living which are shown still lack overall coherence. environment, also for families. Source: Planning and Sustainability City of Amsterdam Photo: Edwin van Eis existing projects 2014-2017 existing projects 2018-2025 possible projects 2018-2025 possible projects 2025-2040 high potential areas for housing projects sub areas of the Ring Zone

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companies’ and developers’ extensive construction shape to the development of the city. Currently, this activities, has been that alternative methods of housing role will focus on two key aspects: involving all the production have been adopted. More small-scale different parties as equal stakeholders in the process; projects are being carried out and plans are more and translating the outcomes of this process into commonly based on existing structures and possibilities. a vision for the city. Private individuals as well as collectives are now given the opportunity to self-build, thereby playing New perspectives an active part in the development process. Today’s In line with the current strategy of area specific devel- society has a large group of highly educated people opment, the local government can take a lead role in who want to have a voice in the debates around designing, researching, collecting information and important themes such as segregation and affordability, bringing together the various stakeholders. In recent programming and facilities, the development of public decades, the Amsterdam administration has developed spaces, road safety and accessibility, air quality, local a range of resources which give insight into the history care services, energy and food supply. At the same and structure of the city, including the Erfgoedvisie time, local government is increasingly leaving decisions (Heritage White Paper), the Hoofdgroenstructuur to market forces and citizen participation, sometimes (white paper on Amsterdam’s green spaces), the leading to a clash of contradictory interests: short term Hoogbouwvisie (white paper on high rise building) profits versus long term quality of home environments, and the Waarderingskaarten (Value Maps) of the the value of property and a pleasant living environment. successive expansion areas of the city, such as the Again, as in previous centuries, the local government Atlas for the AUP areas. will have to assess what role it wants to play in all this, In keeping with Amsterdam’s traditions in this, the and which instruments it wants to employ to give department of Ruimte en Duurzaamheid (Planning and

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14 The waterfront on the south bank of the IJ is in fact a sequence of developments on different islands, tied together by the open waters of the IJ and IJmeer and sharing a strong urban design concept focused on high quality public spaces. Source: Planning and Sustainability City of Amsterdam area for development area reserved for future development developed areas

Sustainability) is developing a new vision on the Ring of expanding the city centre in mind, it should be Zone, taking the existing city as its starting point established which type of urban environment is desired and sketching out designs for possible development in which area. Should a successful urban environment be of existing urban areas. The Heritage White Paper, based exclusively on the lay-outs of the city centre or the mentioned above, has already outlined the crucial nineteenth and early twentieth century neighbourhoods, importance of preservation and re-allocation of the or does the postwar city also offer opportunities? existing city to create an attractive climate, progress and prosperity. This existing city includes not only Densification important or special buildings, but also urban structures, Filling in existing urban sites in the Ring Zone Amster- green amenities and the public space. The Italian urban dam would build on its long tradition of experimental planner Bernardo Secchi has famously compared the urban planning. Since the end of the nineteenth cen- ever changing city to a running engine. Insight into tury, the city’s urban development has been run along the historic layers and an accurate analysis of the urban two lines, one bottom-up, the other top-down. These environment help planners, local governments and two approaches can sometimes counteract, but they can developing parties to sharpen their thinking about also complement each other. Top-down urban planning how to further improve and fine-tune it. looks for the connections between the whole and its parts, between the city and the region, always with In the current climate, the next step is to leave the the big picture in mind. The local council can play a vital further development of visions and plans for infill sites role in finding the right types of urban environment not only to expert civil servants and major developers, for the different infill sites – each with its own context but also to actively include the users – the existing and and cultural heritage. On the one hand, the council can future residents and businesses. Design studios can take the lead, bringtogether different parties, start up serve as hubs for the various parties to come together discussions and give information; on the other hand, it and discuss the kind of urban environment they desire. can lay down the frameworks, ensure coherence and The key question is always who these new neighbour- continuity, andmake things happen. This will enable the hoods are built for and what kind of city they want to various parties involved in the future development of live in. High rise living or a buzzing nightlife is not every- Amsterdam to team up and further tune this running one’s cup of tea. Neither is peace and quiet in a green engine. environment. With the structural concept and its aim

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1 The London skyline is dominated by high rises. 2a-c Local residents oppose the plans for re The Walkie Talkie (on the left) was alleged to reflect development of the Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant bundled rays of sunlight, melting the interior of a complex in Clerkenwell, central London. An alternative car parked below. plan for the Mount Pleasant site was proposed by Photo: Mariano Mantel@flickr Paul Murrain and Francis Terry of Create Streets. Although this plan offered more affordable homes built in a traditional style, it was rejected. Source: Cityscape (a), Create Streets (b,c) The Compact City: Growth and Densification

Errik Buursink [email protected]

In all growing cities, increasing demand for space triggers social debate. Discussions about who the city is for really, and whether new housing can remain affordable for all income groups. The appearance of the city has also returned as a hotly debated issue. For the first time since the 1960’s, tall high rises have sprung up in many cities. The question is whether this is desirable, and if so, how we can fit these tower blocks into the traditional European city with its streets, squares and mid-rise buildings. Meeting the sharply rising demand for residential and commercial space in urban environments has become a matter of very precise planning and building. What lessons can Amsterdam learn from the successes and the failures in London, Paris, Copenhagen, Toronto and San Francisco?

The construction challenges facing popular cities are tion that the ‘real’ Paris is situated within the Route huge. London aims to add 50 thousand homes to the Péripherique, the Paris ring road – anyone working or existing housing stock every year; the ambition in Paris living in the banlieues is not really part of the game. is even higher: 70 thousand homes. The city of the future Copenhagen has been successful in creating pleasant is, more than anything else, a place of concentration. and blossoming residential areas, but it has also had However, in recent years research on cities has shown its share of failures. How much should cities aim to that this concentration is very uneven. There are many densify? This is a question which urban planners every- cities which do not benefit from re-urbanization and where have to grapple with. within cities themselves there are huge differences in measured popularity between different areas. A clear London trend is the convergence of people in and around the London had a rude awaking last year, when The Guardian centres of big cities. To meet the sharply rising demand broke with the news that in the British capital no less for residential and commercial space in the city, precise than two hundred skyscrapers higher than twenty planning and building have become a necessity. London storeys were either under construction or in the has chosen to reach for the skies, but protests against process of being granted their planning permission. the hundreds of high-rise projects are growing. In Paris, The artists’ impressions of what London will soon look planners are faced with the persistent popular concep- like, its skyline radically changed, caused major shock-

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waves. Although high-rise building is not at all new to The architecture of towers such as The Shard, London, the clusters of high-rise behemoths now being The Cheesegrater and The Walkie-Talkie has not been erected are of a completely different scale than before. very popular with most London people. Many believe So, is the city heading in the right direction? It’s a that they spoil the skyline and threaten the quality of question which promises to be one of the key issues life in the city. This certainly holds true for The Walkie- in the upcoming mayoral election of 2016. Talkie, a design by Rafael Viñoly. When still under construction, the bent glass curtain facade of the Extravagant investment properties building reflected bundled rays of sunlight, melting The London debate on the housing crisis and the the interior of a car parked below. changing skyline of the city is a ferocious one. According Whilst the apartments inside the new skyscrapers to many, the future character of the city is at stake. quickly pass into Saoudi or Russian hands after The towers that are being built are more often than not completion, housing prices in other parts of the city nothing more than extravagant investment properties also go sky high. Last winter, the dissatisfaction with for rich foreigners. Most Londoners prefer to live in soaring rents and the rapidly changing skyline of the houses or low rise or middle rise apartments on normal city was targeted at the redevelopment of the Royal streets anyway. This traditional type of urban fabric is Mail Mount Pleasant complex in Clerkenwell, central just as suitable to realise high-density housing. London. Local communities were so disgruntled with >

02 | 2015 17 3 A view from Tour Montparnasse: although 4 In Toronto, when adding high rise buildings, there is very little space to densify within Paris’ much attention is given to the relationship with the Péripherique, a number of urban re-development adjacent street. areas have been selected. In the coming years, Source: wyliepoon@flickr thousands of new homes will be built there. Photo: Vincent Brassinne@flickr

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the plans, they drew up their own counterproposal: ever since the construction of the much hated Tour more, and also more affordable, housing, set in a Montparnasse. Still, you’re not really considered a traditional London crescent. Boris Johnson himself, Parisian if you live outside of the old city limits. This is however, decided despite fierce opposition that the even evident in Paris’ public transport, with the métro original plans should be given a green light. The whole (underground) ending just outside the Péripherique and episode has done anything but restore Londoners’ the regional transport by RER servicing just a small part faith in their city’s administration. Many believe the of the suburbs. rights of the rich are paramount in their city and that it’s high time for some sensible and responsible town Connectivity planning. It’s no suprise that the presidential ambition to develop a ‘Grand Paris’ has one major focus: to Paris enlarge connectivity within the Paris metropolitan Since the Belle Epoque era, little seems to have changed area. Part of the project is the construction of 200 in the French capital. People still pay over the top kilometres of new metro lines, mainly in the suburbs. prices for their tiny rooms on the top floors of Paris’ The government also plans to build some 70 thousand elegant apartment buildings. In the city centre, within new homes annually, 10 thousand of which are planned the Route Péripherique, the population density is four for the infill of urban areas within the Péripherique. times as high as that of Amsterdam within the A10 ring Combined with the new public transport connections, road, and there’s very little space for further densifica- the new housing developments are seen as the single tion. However, seriously high-rise developments are not most important means to close the wide gap between an option, as they have been emphatically off-limits central Paris and its suburbs.

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‘Growth hurts’

According to Paris’ mayor Anne Hidalgo, everyone, It’s proved to be a successful spatial strategy. Between rich or poor, has the right to live in beautiful and lively 2009 and 2014, Toronto built more than 70 thousand surroundings. In order to enhance the quality of life homes. 132,100 homes are now planned to be built in in the districts within the Péripherique, car traffic will the next few years. As well as homes, the city has also be restricted. The maximum speed will go down to created a lot of office and leisure space, especially 30 kilometres per hour in almost every part of the city. downtown.As a result, the demand for public spaces At the same time, access to the city must be improved and parks in the city centre is growing. This has sparked by putting in new metro connections and promoting a debate between supporters of good car access and – cycling and car pooling. With a 32 billion euro budget, mostly – city centre residents, who want to have better the Grand Paris project means serious business. The quality public spaces and more room and facilities construction of the metro lines is currently underway; for cycling. Toronto’s controversial mayor Rob Ford, how the new housing will take shape is as yet unclear. who is especially popular in the suburbs, has emerged as a fierce champion of the car. The debate has given Toronto the growing social divide between the dynamic city Toronto is the principal urban centre in Canada. It’s a centre and the suburbs a spatial-political dimension. metropolis which has for many years seen an increase of 30 thousand new residents each year. Having overtaken Copenhagen Chicago in population size, Toronto is now the fourth As in the Netherlands, the crisis in Denmark has not yet largest city in North-America. The pressure for new abated. Nevertheless, Copenhagen has been growing developments is especially high in and around the city for years by an average of ten thousand inhabitants centre. The head of Toronto’s planning department, each year. Similar to Amsterdam, housing prices in the Jennifer Keesmaat, has called the number of planning popular areas in and around the city centre have risen applications and development plans “mind blowing” beyond the levels of 2008, whereas further away from and “astronomical”. the centre prices are lagging. Which goes to prove that To streamline and properly govern growth, the city we’re living in an increasingly spiky world; even within has developed a simple spatial strategy, which has been cities differences can be enormous. laid down in the Official Plan. The development plans The Danish tradition in urban planning has been focus on three different locations: downtown, along strongly influenced by state controlled social housing, avenues and in and around local centres. The avenues, which does not always mix well with ambitions towards main roads which carry public transport, form a network more concentration and diversity. The aim to provide of lively public spaces which connect the different parts air, light and communal space is deeply rooted in the of the city. Around the centres – busy public transport DNA of Danish city planning. In Copenhagen, planners hubs – environments for living, working and leisure are still proud of their ‘thinning out’ of the nineteenth activities are developed, which are connected to the century districts, which in effect meant demolishing the city by the avenues. built up inner courtyards of Berlin-type city blocks and re-designing them as collective gardens. Receding high-rise buildings Focusing on these locations, Toronto has chosen to Aesthetic exercise increase density within the existing city. High-rise build- Copenhagen aims to have built 45 thousand new ings are very much part of these plans, but at the same homes by 2025, mostly in the development areas time a lot of thought goes into the way they are fitted around the harbour basins. This is where the new neigh- into the present city context, especially their relation bourhood of Sluseholmen is being erected, designed with the adjacent streets. Toronto often makes use of by the Dutch architect Sjoerd Soeters. In Sluseholmen, receding high-rise building, with a relatively low facade as well as in the newly developed city area of Ørestad, facing directly into the street and the building rising up the architects have tried to emulate the spatial qualities to the sky behind. of the historic city centre, creating a modern equivalent. >

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6a 6b

However, it has been a predominantly aesthetic ‘superblocks’ built on semi-sunken parking garages. exercise. The new developments are no match for Being architectonically disguised as vertically segmented the bustle and economic dynamism of the recently city blocks does little to put a positive take on this. What revived nineteenth century districts of Vesterbro and Copenhagen has been successful at is its public space Nørrebro. strategy. Based on the ideas of the Danish architect Jan The reason is twofold. Firstly, these urban areas are Gehl, the city has targeted its efforts at creating a lively not really part of the city. The existing networks of lively and spacious city by giving more room to cyclists and city streets do not organically continue into these areas. pedestrians and making the city less dependent on car Secondly, the urban structure is large scale and not traffic. In order to facilitate this change, two new under- very flexible. The new developments are basically static ground lines are under construction.

20 Plan Amsterdam

5 The city expansion of Orestad in Copenhagen 6a-b Designed by the Dutch architect Sjoerd offers plenty of space and green, but in terms of Soeters, the new district of Sluseholmen emerges liveliness and a dynamic economy it’s no match for around Copenhagen’s old harbour basins. The the Kopenhagen’s city centre. vertically segmented city blocks are designed to Photo: Lindsay Bayley@flickr give the impression of individual parcelling, similar to the street fronts in the old city centre. Photo: Payton Chung@flickr (a) Map: Sjoerd Soeters (b)

San Francisco Growing pains In recent years, San Francisco has benefited from its If there’s one lesson to be learned from the experiences favourable location in the vicinity of Silicon Valley. of other cities, it’s that growth hurts. However, the fact The technology sector is displaying a strong trend to remains that growth is necessary. Inadequate use of move into urban environments. Many start-ups, but also land in cities is costing society a huge amount of money. some established companies such as Twitter and Uber, Research into the development of the San Francisco operate from the city centre. In addition, many employees area found that the labour market could be five times from Silicon Valley-based companies like Google and as big if building restrictions were more relaxed. At the Facebook choose to live in the city and commute every same time, it’s possible to grow in a smart way, densifying day, using company shuttles. Many people blame the without tarnishing the city’s cultural and historical tech sector and their employees for the exorbitant rise heritage or the quality of life. Again, a clear vision on in rents in San Francisco. A two bedroom flat in the city how this densification should take shape is essential. centre averaged around 1800 dollars in 2009, but prices In Amsterdam, a lively debate on the increasing have rocketed to 5 thousand dollars a month and are crowding in the city has been going on for quite a still rising. while. How do we retain a good balance in the city, The main difference between San Francisco and between lively and quiet, rich and poor, expensive and other tech cities, such as Seattle and Austin, is the lack cheap, gentrified and gritty? Another debate, on the of new housing. One of the reasons for this has been the visual aspect of Amsterdam’s growth, has yet to start. policy to retain the historical character of the city, making Densification and dense building development have it difficult to densify the city with high-rise building. a lot to offer to Amsterdam. The Toronto example Another reason is the reluctance of the surrounding shows that high-rise building and quality of life can municipalities to play their part in addressing the housing be perfectly compatible. What would a densification demand in the Bay Area. In the meantime the city is strategy in Amsterdam look like? Examples from other growing by ten thousand people a year. There is a cities show that lively public spaces and a dynamic commitment in San Francisco to building 30 thousand economy are not a given. So, how can we create new homes by 2020 to facilitate the influx of newcomers. the spatial conditions for modern urbanity? Just as in the late nineteenth century, in the 1920’s and the Public Golf Courses 1950’s, this is the serious planning challenge we’re As the city is bordered by water to the west, east and faced with. north, the question is where all this new housing is going to be built. A large part of the city is taken up by low-rise terraces, so one would think densification is a real option. However, many of these terraces are listed and protected because of their historical value. In a letter to one of the city’s newspapers, a San Francisco resident proposed to develop the public golf courses in the city. These cover an area of more than 12 square kilometres, enough space to build 160 thousand new homes. This is an option comparable to developing Amsterdam’s allotment gardens for homes. But how far should a city go to in its desire to densify? How can one judge what is the right function for each area? San Francisco is heading towards a population of one million by 2040. It’s essential that the city has a clear vision to properly manage that growth if it is to retain its appeal.

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1 Ring Zone Studio at work. 2 The Jan Evertsenstraat in Amsterdam West, Photo: Koos van Zanen one of the streets under discussion at the Ring Zone Studio. Photo: Edwin Raap

Ring Zone Studio – 1 designing the city

Esther Reith [email protected]

Amsterdam is in need of more space for offices and housing. Space that can be found in the Ring Zone, the area either side of the A10 ring road and the ring railway line and along the northern banks of the IJ. Adding new urban features to this zone will be quite a challenge – it will mean tinkering with an area which has been functioning relatively well for decades. Nevertheless, it’s something which needs to be done if we want to unlock the huge potential of this area. In order to kickstart the debate on the urban features Amsterdam should aspire to introduce in the Ring Zone and what the area should look like in 2040, the city has set up the Ring Zone Studio.

In its Structural Vision Amsterdam 2040: Economically we consider its potential. Large parts of the Ring Zone strong and sustainable, the Ring Zone has been identified are sparsely built-up urban areas, which is quite as the most suitable area to develop into an attractive strange, considering they are situated so close to the new part of Amsterdam. The development of this area heart of the city. Along the motorway and railway line will also offer an opportunity to improve the connections running through the middle of the Ring Zone, many between the city areas either side of the A10 ring road large, monolithic buildings have been erected as well and the IJ, and to create one continuous urban area. as neighbourhoods which are in need of updating. Currently, the dominant practice of urban development In addition to the existing buildings, there are many is to work on single projects covering small areas. building projects which are in development. In itself, The danger of this approach is that the medium scale, this is a good thing, but quite often these projects have between plot and development strategy, is overlooked. been put on hold for years because of the economic The Ring Zone Studio has been set up to find out how crisis. It’s legitimate to reconsider whether the quality best to incorporate the Ring Zone, on both sides of the and scale of these projects are still compatible with the A10 ring road, into the city. great potential of the Ring Zone. Another problem is that from an urban planning perspective these new Cohesion building projects are often well-designed at project The Ring Zone is not a vacant area for which we can draw level, but show too little coherence with other projects up a completely new plan from scratch. It’s an area which in the Ring Zone. Both these issues offer scope for has been functioning for decades, but inadequately if considerable improvement. If Amsterdam rises to the >

22 Plan Amsterdam 2

3 Hand drawn impression of the Ring Zone West. Example of the results of four design studios and their internal coherence. The sketch offers a possible perspective on the Ring Zone West. The four studios covered the east to west connections of Haarlemmerweg / Sloterdijk, Jan Evertsenstraat / Sloterplas, Suriname- plein / Lelylaan and Schinkelhoek. These sketches are not plans or blueprints. Rather, they’re the results of research through design by the Ring Zone Studio.

Drawing: Esther Reith

‘The Ring Zone has been functioning for decades, but inadequately if we consider its potential.’

challenge and shows ambition, new areas can emerge In addition to the studios on the areas of Ring Zone which will be of long-term benefit to a great many West, which includes Haarlemmerweg and Sloterdijk, people, companies and organisations. Jan Evertsenstraat to Sloterplas lake, Surinameplein With this idea in mind, a number of people working and Lelylaan, studios have also been set up to for the city council set up the Ring Zone Studio, cover the areas Schinkelhoek, Zuidas, Noordelijke initially working on this in their own time. Through their IJoever Oost and Sloterdijk and Harbour-City. designs, the group explored how the various individual An important added bonus is that the way of working projects in the zone could be merged into a continuous and the organisation of the Studio Ring Zone is urban network. The aim of the Ring Zone Studio is forging stronger connections between the town not to design a plan or to deliver a blueprint. Rather, planners and designers form the various city boroughs it’s to better understand the functioning of city streets, and the city’s Physical Planning Department. Since the cycle routes, parks and public transport hubs and to use restructuring of Amsterdam City Council in January this information to develop solutions. 2015, both these groups have been working together in the new Department of Urban Planning and Sustain- The start of the Ring Zone Studio ability. Having run for six months as an internal project, The Ring Zone Studio developed the idea of creating a the Ring Zone Studio has proved successful as a way ‘Algemeen Inbreidingsplan’ (General Infill Plan), a pun of working and has underlined within Amsterdam City on the Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan (AUP) devised by Council the importance of working on the medium Cornelis van Eesteren in 1934. The working title AIP scale. seemed fitting, because the plan for the Ring Zone is first and foremost one of densification – not expansion Studio in practice (‘uitbreiding’) but infill (‘inbreiding’). From the very In practice, each studio lasts roughly four hours, beginning the Studio team has looked to link up so there is enough time to go into some depth. with existing projects, such as Ruimte voor de Stad The person presenting the issue introduces the project (Space for the City) and the Mobility, Sustainability giving background information, including the problems and Green agendas, to learn how these projects can the team have encountered and the vision on the reinforce each other. Rather than just discussing the development of the area. The participants will then areas in question, they conveyed their ideas in drawings. respond by adding their considerations from their own The findings which have resulted from this process are expertise or specialist knowledge of the area in question. not only important for future projects, but also add When they have acquired enough information about value to existing projects. the area and the relevant issues, the participants split The Studio provides a wealth of new insights, up in groups to start sketching. Drawing the existing including how to manage the different types of infill network of streets, waters, cycle routes, public transport locations. In the years to come, spatial planning in hubs, parks, squares and buildings, they explore Amsterdam will focus on four areas: the area and make blind spots visible. This way, they 1 along main thoroughfares (such as the Jan Evertsen- discover the missing physical and programmatic links straat and the Haarlemmerweg), and see how Ring Zone areas can be linked up with the 2 around public transport hubs (such as Lelylaan, rest of the city in a logical way. For instance, how a Amstel and Sloterdijk), street can be redeveloped or how a building can be 3 redeveloping business areas (such as Buiksloterham, changed to match the public space on the ground level. Overamstel and Sloterdijk I) and Quite often there’s more possible programmatically 4 development areas (such as Zeeburgereiland, than we ever thought. The sketches provide a new Zuidas District and IJburg 2). perspective, challenging us to come up with solutions wich remove the boundaries between the various projects and offer new opportunities for Amsterdam.

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4 Ring Zone Studio sketch with proposals for 5 The Jan Evertsenstraat is a major street offering 6 City boulevard Lelylaan. The conclusion of the the Jan Evertsentstraat. As well as room to build plenty of opportunities. studio was that the Lelylaan, from Surinameplein to new housing, there are also proposals to change Photo: Edwin van Eis Lelylaan Station, should be seen as a city boulevard the cycle routes and tram connections. Adding with wide pavements and buildings facing onto the an entrance at the Jan Eversenstraat, the Jan van street with shopping and other facilities on the Galenstraat Metro Station could be renamed Sloter- ground floor. plas Metro Station. Drawing: Esther Reith Drawing: Laura Hakvoort

26 Plan Amsterdam

‘One of the subjects which keeps coming up is the importance of major thoroughfares.’

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6 Cross section of the city boulevard Lelylaan, view from Surinameplein in western direction. Drawing: Melanie August de Meijer

Example 1 – major streets this section of street. Recently, preparations for a One of the subjects which keeps coming up in the Development Strategy document were started. The studio sessions, is the importance of the major Ring Zone Studio has contributed by giving planning thoroughfares. Constituting the backbone of the city, and design advice, indicating that there is room for these lively city streets bind together its various parts, two thousand five hundred extra homes in the area and including the development locations. Through the proposing to change a number of connecting routes. studios it has become apparent that especially in One of these is to link up a cycle route from the the Ring Zone this type of street with shops, pubs Rembrandtpark with the Jan Evertsenstraat. The tram and other public amenities is lacking. In the studios on rails can be put in the middle of the street and the Ring Zone West, the Jan Evertsenstraat and the extended to the north bank of the Sloterplas lake. Lelylaan were two of the streets under discussion. It was Adding more buildings on the northern bank can turn found that the urban planning conditions for a well this area into an attractive urban and green part of functioning major city street include continuous street Amsterdam. fronts, fine-grained parceling, doors of buildings fronting the street, wide pavements offering enough Example 2 – development of public transport hubs space to stop to chat, tram rails in the middle of the The Lelylaan in Amsterdam West is a major street as road, trees lining the street and the width of the public well as a transport hub. The development of public space matching the height of the buildings, so that the transport hubs has a much greater impact if the hub public space and the buildings form a visual whole. is connected to the city by a major street. The fact The Jan Evertsenstraat is a major street offering that this combination has real impact, is something plenty of opportunities. The street is part of the which was revealed by the studio. It’s a finding which important arterial route between Dam Square in the can also be applied to other locations. However, is the centre of Amsterdam and the Sloterplas lake. For the Lelylaan really a potential major city street? Or is the greater part, it is already a proper city street. Only the real potential for lively activity to be found in the streets most western part of the street, between Mercatorplein running parallel to the Lelylaan? This was a question and Sloterplas, is distinctly sparsely built. In 2014, which emerged from the Studio Lelylaan / Suriname- the document Dynamic Perspective was created for plein. The street is dominated by cars and trams.

28 Plan Amsterdam

7 Cross section of city boulevard Lelylaan, view 8 The Ring Zone will not represent a single urban from Lelylaan-Podium Station in western direction. development such as the canal ring area, but it Drawing: Melanie August de Meijer can be a continuous urban area which is easy and pleasant to negotiate. One of the first sketches made for the Ring Zone was an emerald necklace of parks and green cycle routes connecting the various parks and waters in the area. Drawing: Esther Reith

7 8

The conclusion of the studio was that the Lelylaan, reclassified, so they can also be used to accommodate from Surinameplein to Lelylaan Station, should be seen shops, restaurants and cultural facilities. Cars and buses as a city boulevard with wide pavements and buildings will also be made less dominant, in favour of space for facing onto the street with shopping and other facilities pedestrians and cyclists. In the past, quite a lot of on the ground floor. Leylaan should be a boulevard for research has already gone into the Surinameplein, cars and trams, but also for cyclists and pedestrians. including proposals to add new buildings. In the Ring This means a well-designed crossings at the A10 ring Zone Studio, it was emphasised that the Surinameplein road should be included. The Lelylaan has more potential is the link between the major city street Overtoom, than is reflected in the existing plans. The studio has linking up with the entertainment area of the Leidse- proposed to build new city blocks with public facilities plein, and the Lelylaan, which leads to Lelylaan Station. on the ground floor near Surinameplein and Lelylaan The Surinameplein and the other junctions at the Station, creating a radically different urban aspect. edge of the early 20th century city represent great opportunities. Example 3 – 20th century city squares They could be called 20th century city gates, the junctions Example 4 – green connections and roundabouts which lead you from the A10 ring The Ring Zone will not represent a single urban road into the centre of the city. These modern city gates development such as the canal ring area, but it can be include the junction at the end of the Rijnstraat, the a continuous urban area which is easy and pleasant to Europaplein, the Stadionplein in Amsterdam South and negotiate. One of the first sketches made for the new the Surinameplein in Amsterdam West. Originally Ring Zone was a belt of green cycle routes connecting designed for car traffic, these junctions have now the various parks and waters in the area. This would become much more a part of the city as a result of the make the area more attractive and be a reason for expansion of Amsterdam. That’s why it’s important to Amsterdam residents to discover the Ring Zone on their turn them into more attractive places to stop and spend bikes and sit down for a drink at the banks of the Sloter- time in as well. This change has already been started at plas, or a place for people to relocate and settle and for Europaplein and Stadionplein, with extra blocks being businesses to set up shop. added and the ground levels of existing buildings being

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Samenvatting Ontwerpen voor de 21ste eeuw

Na jarenlang bouwen en stedelijke In de daarop volgende jaren gaf het sociaal- Groei is nodig, maar moet slim gebeuren. vernieuwing in Amsterdam viel na het democratische stadsbestuur van Amsterdam Verdichting van de stad is mogelijk zonder begin van de economische crisis in 2008 stedenbouwkundigen de kans om ook plannen het cultuurhistorische karakter of de leefbaar- de woningbouw terug. Tegelijk groeide de te maken voor arbeiderswijken. Het Algemeen heid aan te tasten. Dat vraagt wel om een Amsterdamse populatie in die jaren met Uitbreidingsplan van Van Eesteren uit 1934 visie op verdichting. ongeveer 12 duizend inwoners per jaar. gaat uit van een opengelegde stad met Het feit dat grote investeerders zich niet bebouwing te midden van groen en werd na Atelier Ringzone: ontwerpend bouwen langer melden, zorgde voor een herwaar- de Tweede Wereldoorlog gerealiseerd. In de aan de stad dering van particuliere opdrachtgevers en jaren zeventig leidden ingrijpende plannen De Ringzone is aangewezen als het gebied kleinere bouwende partijen. En daarmee tot verzet. Als gevolg hiervan kantelde de waar mogelijkheden liggen om een aan ook voor vragen. Wat voor stedenbouw manier waarop de stad plannen maakte naar trekkelijk stuk stad aan Amsterdam toe te vraagt kleinschalige ontwikkeling? Hoe zorg een meer open benadering: eerst kijken wat voegen. Daarnaast biedt ontwikkeling van je dan nog voor samenhang? Wat voor er is en wat er bij stakeholders leeft. Sinds de dit gebied een unieke kans om de stadsdelen stad wil Amsterdam eigenlijk zijn en welke laatste crisis, met de terugvallende woning- aan weerszijden van de Ring A10 en het IJ stedelijke milieus vraagt de 21e-eeuwse productie, is er nu ook oog voor alternatieve beter met elkaar te verbinden tot een aan- stedeling en stadseconomie? methodes als kleinschaligheid, gebruiken van eengesloten stedelijk gebied. Atelier Ring- bestaande bebouwing en zelfbouw. Ook nu zone, een initiatief van medewerkers van Amsterdam heeft een sterke traditie van moet de lokale overheid zijn eigen rol bepalen, de gemeente Amsterdam, is een zoektocht stadsontwerp. Sinds de zeventiende eeuw waarbij twee aspecten leidend zullen zijn: naar hoe de Ringzone op een betere manier zijn in perioden van groei altijd nieuwe het betrekken van uiteenlopende partijen bij onderdeel kan uitmaken van de stad: een groeiringen toegevoegd, met alle hun eigen het proces, en het vastleggen van een visie middel om de werking van stadsstraten, kwaliteiten. De laatste jaren onderzoekt op de stad. pleinen, fietsroutes, parken, openbaar Amsterdam de kwaliteiten van een mogelijke vervoersknooppunten beter te doorgronden. 21e-eeuwse groeiring: de Ringzone. Deze Groei door te verdichten: hoe doen Gebleken is dat deze Ateliers een schat aan krijgt de komende jaren gestalte binnen de steden dat? inzichten opleveren, zoals hoe om te met bestaande stad, langs de Ring A10 en de De bouwopgave in populaire steden is verschillende typen verdichtingslocaties. IJoevers. gigantisch. Een duidelijke trend is dat mensen en activiteiten elkaar opzoeken in De ruimtelijke ontwikkeling in Amsterdam Naar een 21ste-eeuwse stadsontwikkeling en rond de centra van grote steden. Om aan zal zich de komende jaren toespitsten op vier Groeiende economie en inwonertallen zijn de sterk gestegen vraag naar wonen en typen gebieden: langs stadsstraten, rond door de eeuwen heen de aanjagers geweest werken in een stedelijke omgeving te vol- openbaar vervoersknooppunten, op trans van stadsuitbreiding. In Amsterdam wisselden doen, is heel precies plannen en bouwen een formerende bedrijfsterreinen en in ontwikkel- gemeente en particulieren elkaar af bij het noodzaak. locaties. initiëren van nieuwe plannen; de bestuurlijke en sociaal-maatschappelijke verhoudingen Londen kiest voor groei de lucht in. Maar waren bepalend voor het ontwerp en de uit- de weerstand tegen de honderden hoog- voering. bouwprojecten groeit; in Parijs heeft men te kampen met het haast niet te slechten beeld De zeventiende-eeuwse grachtengordel is dat het échte Parijs zich binnen de Route de eerste grote stadsuitbreiding en werd Péripherique bevindt. In Kopenhagen zijn door het stadsbestuur geïnitieerd. In de goede, maar ook mislukte voorbeelden te negentiende eeuw hield het liberale stads zien van nieuwe woonwijken. Toronto heeft bestuur enigszins de touwtjes in handen in een plan vastgelegd hoe de groei in met een algemeen uitbreidingsplan dat als goede banen te leiden, met de focus op richtlijn diende voor een goede infrastructuur. ontwikkeling downtown, rond centres en In 1901 kregen gemeenten met de invoering langs avenues. van de Woningwet expliciet de regie.

30 Plan Amsterdam

1 In the 1990’s, high density housing blocks were 2 The north bank of the Sloterplas lake, at the end built along the banks of the IJ. of the Jan Evertsenstraat city thoroughfare. Photo: Frans Boom Photo: Edwin van Eis

The Authors

Hester Aardse (1971) – is senior advisor urban heritage for the Department of Monuments and Archeology, Amsterdam City Council − graduated in architectural history at the University of Amsterdam − did research into historic conservation areas and the cultural heritage of the harbour of Amsterdam and the North bank of the IJ. − wrote a number of articles on the Shell works on the North bank of the IJ, as well as Amsterdam’s western and northern harbour areas; was, with Trude Hooykaas, co-author of the book Kraanspoor. − Is co-founder and artistic director of the international arts and science organisation PARS Foundation

Errik Buursink (1978) – is senior planner at the department of Urban Planning and Sustainability, Amsterdam City Council − graduated in history and heritage studies at the University of Amsterdam − works on Amsterdam’s development plans through his participations in the Ring Zone Studio and the Room for the City platform; develops visions and frameworks for Amsterdam’s public spaces; is co-author of the research into new metro connections − publishes on spatial planning issues in a number of Dutch newspapers, including Trouw and NRC Handelsblad, and for the Dutch digital platform Ruimtevolk (Space People).

1 Esther Reith (1964) – is chief urban designer at the department of Urban Planning and Sustainability, Amsterdam City Council − graduated in urban planning at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam − is co-founder of the Ring Zone Studio − has worked on a range of projects for Amsterdam City Council, including the Structural Vision Map Amsterdam 2040, High Rise Vision Amsterdam, Olympic Ambition 2028 and the Sport Axis District

Jouke van der Werf (1962) – is senior advisor urban heritage for the Department of Monuments and Archeology, Amsterdam City Council − graduated in architectural history at the faculty of Art History of the VU University Amsterdam − has worked on a range of projects for Amsterdam City Council, including the development of the Van der Pek area, Development of the Vision for the Museum Quarter and an analysis of the Cultural Heritage of the Stadionplein district in Amsterdam.

Plan Amsterdam is published by the City of Amsterdam. It can be downloaded as a PDF from www.amsterdam.nl/ 2 planamsterdam/en.

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Cityscape 02/15 Amsterdam’s buzzing

Source: City of Amsterdam

Amsterdam takes good care of its bees The reasons that the bee population is thriving in Amsterdam are the We all know the honeybee. It produces the sweet nectar which we many private gardens and the less intensive management of the enjoy on our toast. However, the honeybee is not the only bee living city’s public green spaces. A bee will visit up to two thousand flowers in Amsterdam; there are another 61 species of bees, ranging from each day. An enormous amount of blossoms is needed to feed the the mining bee and the sandpit mining bee to the leaf cutter bee. growing population. These wild bees are not managed by beekeepers. They make their Bees need flowers and flowers need bees. Eighty percent of plants own nests, laying their eggs in tree cavities, reed stems or sandy depend on pollination by bees. This means that bees are of crucial ground. importance for diversity, as well as an indicator of the quality of the On the map we have indicated the various bee species living in city’s environment. Amsterdam. The map also shows the number of bee species living in Amsterdam in the last fifteen years. Over this period, their numbers See: maps.amsterdam.nl/bijen and maps.amsterdam.nl/honingbijen have grown by 20 percent, and in some parts even doubled. When the research supporting these findings is concluded this summer, Florinda Nieuwenhuis, Planning and Sustainability City of Amsterdam / we’ll be able to present the complete picture. Team Living Environment [email protected]