Garden Cities Revisited

The historic inner city of Amsterdam is surrounded by the Ring highway that  seperates the city built before World War II from more recent developments such as the Western Garden Cities. These were built as part of  the General Extension Plan designed by Cornelis Van Eesteren, one of the most prominent Dutch urban planners of the 20th century. MORE >>

Urban Villages

In cities one may encounter enclaves within the larger urban fabric that feel, and often look like, a village. In some cases the village existed before the city spread out and incorporated it, in others individual developments were created on a small scale with a design and social structures that lead people to refer to them as villages. MORE >>

Sloterplas

Outside the ring highway surrounding Amsterdam's historic center are the Westelijke Tuinsteden (Western Garden Cities). Built after the war, they comprise a sprawling collection of housing estates, single family houses, shopping centers, and considerable open space. MORE >>

Urban Transformation

Until the 1980s urban renewal in the Netherlands was traditionally based on a collaboration between government agencies and nonprofit housing corporations. In the 1990s, as the focus shifted to the renewal of postwar neighborhoods, and changes in housing policies allowed nonprofit housing corporations to operate independently of government agencies, nonprofit housing corporations gained significant control over urban renewal. MORE >>