Zuidwest Kwadrant

Almost all 1,800 apartments in the Zuidwest Kwadrant  (Southwest Quadrant) are owned and managed by eight nonprofit housing corporations. This affordable rental housing was built in the 1950s to accomodate working class families but the neighborhood started to show signs of neglect and decline in the late 1980s . In 1994 the City of Amsterdam designated the Zuidwest Kwadrant to serve as a model for the revitalization of the Western Garden Cities. The early planning efforts were greatly complicated by the large number of stakeholders representing different views and interests. A more streamlined process for developing consensus and making decisions was needed.

In 1995-1996 the local borough and housing corporations formed a public-private partnership and establsihed a platform for communication among the stakeholders and community participation in the planning process. I led the planning process on behalf of the partnership and directed a multidisciplinary study to analyze social, physical, and economic data, the spatial organization of the neighborhood, and the financial feasibility of rehabilitation as compared to new construction. De Nijl Architects developed a masterplan which proposed replacement of most of the 1960s buildings with a mix of affordable and market rate apartments and single family homes while maintaining the neighborhood's original urban design.