CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM Welcome to Rotterdam Central Station. This iconic, breezy and steel-clad station opened in 2012, replacing an old and undersized station from the 1950s. The opening of Rotterdam Central has sent an important message to Rotterdam residents and visitors: the city is truly committed to creating safe and inviting public spaces that connect people to the heart of Rotterdam. Read more below...
CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM As you exit Rotterdam Central, you will step out into Stationsplein - the public square fronting the station. Here you will find the entrance to a 5,000 stall bike parking garage, and a pedestrian-oriented public space that acts as a gateway to the business district and city centre. The square opened in 2014. As a former street and drop-off point, has been completely reimagined in a way that favours pedestrians and cyclists.
CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM Coolsingel is an urban boulevard running through the heart of Rotterdam. Coolsingel is undergoing a major redevelopment. Between 2018-2020, over 58 million euro will be invested to redesign the street in support of the city’s objectives related to public space and cycling. Read more below...
CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM As you walk east up the Lijnbaan you will see the City Hall and the old post office. These are some of the only buildings that survived the WWII bombardment. Read more below...
AMSTERDAM CITY GUIDE
AMSTERDAM CITY GUIDE
AMSTERDAM CITY GUIDE
Amsterdam is known to most travelers for its charming, historic canals, compact, intimate streets and world-class cycling network. Despite its historic roots, Amsterdam is one of the most forward-looking cities in the world when it comes to urbanism and land use planning. Space constraints coupled with a rapidly increasing population have put Amsterdam in a position to continuously experiment, innovate and modernize.
EASTERN DOCKLANDS Entrepotdok is a former, warehouse district that underwent a significant restoration in the 1980s and 90s - the largest in Europe at that time. Today, it is a quiet enclave of market and social residential housing and office buildings located in historic, restored warehouses. The Entrepodok development has been acclaimed as the project that unlocked the renewal of Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands. Read more below...
WEESPERBUURT & DE PLANTAGE This is an example of what the Dutch call "Woonerf" - a road section where people-centered functions (walking, playing and meeting) are prioritized over traffic functions. Read more below...
CITY CENTRE Read more below...
HAARLEMERBUURT Read more below...
AMSTERDAM Stats
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Population: 850,000
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Population of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area: 2.4 million
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Population of the Randstad (an urban conurbation made up of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht): 7,100,000
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Population density: 5,135 people/km2
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The City of Amsterdam owns about 80% of the land within the city and administers land through a ground lease system
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Over 665,000 bike trips are made in Amsterdam every single day
SITES TO SEE
The Amsterdam City Guide features a selection of the countless city building projects across the city. It covers the development of canal rings and some of the adjacent neighbourhoods like Oud West and De Pijp. It also covers development on Amsterdam's many repurposed docklands and obsolete port areas.
on-the-ground tours
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Architecture Centre Amsterdam: www.arcam.nl
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Sustainable Amsterdam: www.sustainableamsterdam.com
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Do you offer on-the-ground tours, and would you like to be added to this list? Let us know!
RECOMMENDED READING
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Amsterdam Architecture Centre: www.arcam.nl
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Amsterdam Smart City: www.amsterdamsmartcity.com
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Architecture Guide NL: www.architectureguide.nl
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Het Nieuwe Instituut: www.hetnieuweinstituut.nl
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Housing Prototypes: www.housingprototypes.org
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Pakhuis de Zwijger: www.dezwijger.nl
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Placemaking Plus: www.placemakingplus.com
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Plan Amsterdam: www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/organisatie/ruimte-economie/ruimte-duurzaamheid/plan-amsterdam/
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Bruntlett, Melissa and Bruntlett, Chris (2018). Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality. Island Press.
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Huisman, Jaap (2009). Entrepotdok. De Allantie, Amsterdam.
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Komossa, Susanne et al (2005). The Atlas of the Dutch Urban Block. THOTH Publishers.
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Ruby, Andreas (2013). MVRDV Buildings. Nai010 publishers. Netherlands.
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Van der Kammen, H. & De Klerk, L. (2012). The Selfmade Land: the Culture of Urban and Regional Planning in the Netherlands. Spectrum.
Year published: 2018