Stadsontwikkeling Amsterdam 1975-2025

In Amsterdam Urban Development 1975–2025 urban designer Maurits de Hoog describes how the city has changed over the past fifty years, from a port and industrial city in decline into a fast-growing metropolis. Old districts have been regenerated, the city has been expanded with compact low- and high-rise developments, and former docklands have been transformed into new residential areas. Business services have largely moved to the urban periphery, including to the Zuidas. At the same time, the city centre has evolved into a vibrant meeting place with a concentration of culture, hospitality and tourism together with new, innovative businesses. The transformations testify to the city’s resilience but also entail a variety of challenges: can Amsterdam remain a liveable and accessible city? De Hoog gives an absorbing account of how urban development and spatial planning are formulating responses to the turbo-charged growth. He concludes with a look to the future: what might the next fifty years have in store for Amsterdam?