"Order is not a characteristic of a specific era of Dutch history, order is the main characteristic."
- Bank & Van Buuren, 2000
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.
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.
To view the City Guide in the Google Maps app on your smartphone click here (and find it under Your Places - Maps)
on-the-ground tours
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Architecture Centre Amsterdam: www.arcam.nl
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Dutch Cycling Embassy: www.dutchcycling.nl
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Sustainable Amsterdam: www.sustainableamsterdam.com
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