‘Delivering for the Fancy as Well as the Shabby’ Amsterdam’s Post-war Utopia of Urban Diversity

Tim Verlaan

doi:10.14195/1647-8681_7_1

Abstract

Over the last few years, Amsterdam’s inner city has seen a rapiddecrease in quality of life. Long-time residents and established retailers are increasingly giving way to the needs and demands of mass tourism.The advent of low-cost airliners, the rise of a global middle class and the uncontrollable spread of apartment sharing have put the affordability of central districts at risk, threatening the future of a socially and functionally mixed inner city. Most local residents respond with feelings of resignation, some of them even catering to the wishes of international visitors by renting out their flats using platforms such as Airbnb. Looking at these developments of gentrification and displacement, it seems as if Amsterdam has forgotten how its beloved inner city was once saved from similar threats.

Highlights

Over the last few years, Amsterdam’s inner city has seen a rapid decrease in quality of life
Whereas today the forces of destruction stem from the growth in mass tourism, during the first post-war decades it was the rise of a post-industrial economy that wreaked havoc
Due to the influx of young people Amsterdam’s inner city was becoming a hotbed of political and social activism, especially as a substantial number of them was engaged in urban action groups or at least studying social sciences, which frequently dealt with community work and the built environment

Summary

Introduction

Over the last few years, Amsterdam’s inner city has seen a rapid decrease in quality of life. It takes little imagination to see the visions of action groups as urban utopias, accompanied by a specific set of architectural typologies and social motivations.

Results

Conclusion