Amsterdam is the capital city of

and most populous within

the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The city is located in

the province of North Holland in
the west of the country.
It has a population of 813,562
within the city-proper, 1,112,165 in
the urban region and 1,575,263 in
the greater metropolitan area.

It is composed of semi-circles that create tiny islands linked by bridges.

Amsterdams city center is very compact.

Amsterdam was originally designed for defense

City is made of a
gently curving and
very narrow street
system, creates a
highly walkable and
interesting
environment.
The concept for open space within
the region was the idea of the five
green fingers. Each finger leads to
the heart of the city and allows
people to use them as connectors.
The bends in the road create a
sense of mystery and intrigue and
can prove a little confusing until
you figure out the names of all the
canals.

o Amsterdam is called by some

the "Venice of the North".
o

Its 62 miles of concentric canals

mean that more than 400 bridges
are needed to connect its radial
streets.
o The city's distinct character comes
from a history of deliberate city
planning, the inherent difficulty of
developing land below sea level, and
successful resistance to large scale
redevelopment .
o The city has gone through a unique
and unusually distinct series of
expansions as its merchant economy
boomed requiring more ship berths
and warehouses and its population
increased -demanding more space
for housing.

PLANNING

CITY OF CANALS

Amsterdam started out as a marshy fishing village at the end of

the Amstel River prone to frequent flooding. As the city's
name suggests, the villagers soon constructed a dam on a
branch of the Amstel to create a natural harbor for unloading
ships. (This branch of the river has now been paved over to
form Damrak, the city's main street.)
The first extension of the canal ring (from Brouwersgracht in
the west to Leidsegracht) was a huge relief to the city,
releasing the pressure on its land.

The second extension (completing the concentric half to the

east) was finished by the time the citys immense prosperity
had already started to decrease.
In the years 1421 & 1452 the city saw sweeping fires which
virtually leveled the city, then built mostly of wood. The city then
passed an ordinance requiring that all buildings have brick walls
and ceramic roof tiles. During the 15th century the city was
enlarged twice and new moats were built but the old moats were
not filled up (Kemme). The city's first three canals were dug in
1425 (Kloreniersburgwal & Geldersekade canals) and1428
(Singel canal).

Part II: 1585 expansion

(1570 population: 30,000)
When Antwerp fell in 1585, William of
Orange
who
then
controlled
Amsterdam ordered that a new
defensive wall be built around the city
. This wall, completed in 1593,
incorporated the western edge of
town and as a consequence, the city
expanded
to
cover
415
Acres. However, this expansion soon
proved to be inadequate and new
plans were soon needed.The city, that
around 1570 counted less than 30.000
inhabitants, in 1620 reached 100,000
inhabitants. Therefore the city
developed rapidly and underwent a
significant urban expansion, namely
the construction of the first canal belt
in 1613. The canals functioned as a
fortification and a wall was built
behind them, where nowadays
Nassaukade and Stadhouderskade are
now located.

It took almost two centuries (until around 1900)

before all plots laid out were built on. De Jordaan
was also part of the first canal ring extension. It
was a planned segregation, with the three canals
built for the rich (especially Heren- and
Keizersgracht), and the Jordaan area built for the
poorer workers and industries.

Part III: 17th Century

expansions
1613 expansion (Western
expansion)
(1600 population: 60,000)
The Dutch East India
Company (VOC) had become
very successful by this time
in the city's history and
merchants now demanded
more land for warehousing,
ship
berths,
and
mansions.
The more
wealthy merchants desired
to live further away from the
city's center with its noisy
ports, and therefore the city
expanded westward.

Part IV: 1663 expansion (Eastern

expansion)
(1640 population: 139,000, 1700
population: 200,000)
An early part of this expansion was the
incorporation into the city of three
mostly man-made islands- Kattenburg,
Wittenburg and Oostenburg. The VOC
soon moved their base of operations to
these islands.
This part of the
expansion may have been overly
ambitious and the city soon ran out of
steam to fully complete it. This explains
the more open-looking space in the
northeastern edge of the city which
eventually became the recreation area
known as the Plantage. As mentioned
previously, the 17 th century expansions
largly met the demand for space until
the end of the18 th century. In 1848 the
city ramparts were demolished, city
excises and tolls abolished and further
expansion became possible leading to
the 19th century expansions.

PART V: 19 TH CENTURY EXPANSIONS

(Population 408,000)
With the industrial revolution, the city's
population grew dramatically -almost
doubling from 224,000 in 1850 to 408,000
just forty years later.
The 19th century
expansion plans followed the pattern of
existing roads and ditches and was largely
carried out by private developers.The old
city center was not left untouched by these
expansions. Canals were filled in to make
the center more accessible, streets were
widened and many old houses were
demolished. Central Station, completed in
1889, largely cut off of access from the
center to the IJ River. Fortunately, the
character of the historic city center with its
concentric canals has remained largely
intact even with the growth pressures it has
seen over the last two centuries and
remnants of what used to be the old city
walls remain.
This is what makes
Amsterdam's such a unique and rewarding
place to visit and explore to this day.

WE LOVE OUR

HERITAGE

THE SINGEL CANAL

The Singel encircled the city in the Middle
Ages. It served as a moat around the city from
1480 until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded
beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ
bay, near Central Station, to the Muntplein
square, where it meets the Amstel river. It is
now the inner-most canal in Amsterdams
semicircular ring of canals

KEIZERSGRACHT CANAL
The Keizersgracht (Emperors Canal) is the
second and the widest of the three major
canals in the city centre of Amsterdam, in
between the Herengracht and the
Prinsengracht. It is named after Maximilian I,
Holy Roman Emperor.

HERENGRACHT CANAL
The Herengracht (Gentlemans Canal) is is
the first and the most elegant of the three
major canals in the city centre of
Amsterdam. The most fashionable part is
called the Golden Bend, with many double
wide mansions, inner gardens and coach
houses on the Keizersgracht.

PRINSENGRACHT
The Prinsengracht (Princes Canal) is the
fourth and the longest of the main canals in
Amsterdam. Most of the canal houses along
it were built during the Dutch Golden Age of
the United Provinces.

The resulting urban layout indeed shows clear connections with examples of Italian
Renaissance design, like that of a river town from the treatise of engineer De Marchi from
1599.2 Amsterdam could be defined as a maritime variant of these radial city models, in
which streets are replaced by canals, which led the tidal water from the harbor into town, in
which the It takes up a prominent place in front of the town. The Amsterdam plan shows
variation and includes differing spatial zones, as result of external practical factors, like the
need for functional differentiation, existing properties and parceling procedures affected by
ground speculation. From the town planning point of view, not the analogy with but the
divergence from the renaissance ideal model is important. Contrary to the static center of the
concentric city model, in the Amsterdam plan the actual center is located in the harbor basin, in
front of the elongated base of the city, jammed in between the symmetrical counterparts of the
two clusters of harbor islands which close off the long urban axis of the harbor, on which the
system of concentric canals discharges. It is exactly this underside with the water of the It that
should be added as the fifth urban planning component, which is inextricably bound up with the
urban plan of Amsterdam and represents the essence of the planning of

THE MARITIME CITY

HOW CAN I

TRAVEL IN CITY???

Connective
corridors:
Transportation
systems
in
Amsterdam were very well
thought out in their conception.
Trains connect Amsterdam to
the Dutch countryside and to all
of Europe. Trams within the city
provide a cheap and fast
intercity transportation. But the
main
form
of
everyday
movement
through
the
compact city is the bicycle. The
bike
is
a
quiet
and
environmentally good solution
to the tiny street systems and a
perfect way to enjoy the urban
landscape. As mentioned above,
it is the streets in conjunction
with the parks of Amsterdam
that act as the connective
corridors within the city.

Amsterdam is compact,

and the same in

Copenhagen. Whilst such an analysis is simple, it is
also true a smaller city is more navigable by
bicycle purely because shorter trips are more likely.
85% of journeys by bicycle in Amsterdam are
shorter than 5km (3.1 miles), for which the compact
size of the city is inevitably a factor. OV bikes are ebikes provided by govt. to general public for free for
their easy mode of transportation promoting green
use and favoring the streets of Amsterdam.

Timeline
2009
All trams and metro lines use green energy.
All public street lights use green energy.
Two thirds of City of Amsterdam offices, including the City Hall, use green energy.
Anyone with an electric car, moped or scooter can park and charge their vehicles for free at
charging points on the network.
Incentives for Amsterdam businesses to buy electric vehicles from January 2010.
Most shared car spaces in the world.
Short term
2009-2010: 200 charging stations, 200 electric vehicles.
Mid term
2010-2012: 2,000 additional charging stations.
Long term
2015: 10,000 vehicles (or 5% of kilometres driven in the city emission free).
2020: 40,000 vehicles (or 20% of kilometres driven in the city emission free).
2040: 200,000 vehicles (or 100% of kilometres driven in the city emission free.

GREEN
BUILT

Amsterdams Bos is a 2310 acre park and the largest

urban park created during the twentieth century
anywhere in the world.
It was conceived as a green wedge of recreational
open space for the people of Amsterdam, directly
linked to the green heart of Randstad. Like most
great urban parks it is not located in the city center.
Instead its entrance is about 6 kilometers from
Amsterdam Central Station.
This woodland park is the largest recreational
area in Amsterdam. Lying about 4 meters below sea
level and laid out in 1930s in a project to reduce
unemployment. Today, the marshy areas around
Nieuwe Meer are nature reserves. A stretch of water
called the Bosbaan flows through the park, and is the
venue for rowing competitions in the season. At the
west end of water is the Bos Museum which exhibits
on natural and social history of the park, there are
also temporary exhibitions. The Amsterdamse Bos is a
home to about 150 variants of foreign and native
trees and colorful collection of birds.

Museumplein

The
is an important open space within
Amsterdam that consists of a
concentration of museums in a
park-like setting. Similar to the Mall
in Washington D.C., monumental
buildings are all situated around a
symmetrical central lawn. This
space is great because it combines
the worlds of art and nature; two
subjects that go hand in hand.

Green roots
As far back as 1610, trees were being systematically planted along the entire length of
Amsterdams canals - making it the only city in Europe to do so at the time. In an age in which
Europe was dominated by authoritarian monarchies that built princely palaces, Amsterdam
was, and is still today, primarily a city of ordinary townspeople. The members of the City
council came from the merchant classes which resulted in a city with an unusually pleasant
climate in which to live and work. Every time a canal was dug, numerous lime and elm trees
were planted along its banks. The German city chronicler Philipp von Zeses wrote in 1664: "We
gaze on these canals in astonishment. It seems as if we have arrived in an earthly paradise".
There is no record of the background leading up to the decision to plant trees, but it
was undoubtedly based on the golden rule for urban planning of combining usefulness with
pleasure. Besides creating shade and boosting the quality of fresh air and public health, the
trees also provided a scenic contrast to the brick buildings and the water of
the canals.

Garden space
Amsterdam City Council also decided that only half of the residential blocks could be built upon
- the remaining space of the building plots had to be used as garden space. This enhanced the
appeal of the new district enormously and gave the stone city its green lungs. The double
intervention of trees and garden space gave the canal ring the impression of a leafy suburb. The
canal ring is still a hive of activity and four centuries on, it remains a desirable place to live and
to work.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

CONDITIONS AFFECTING CITY PLANNING

AND

LAND

The land problem is created by the fact that Amsterdam is situated below the sea level, so the
proper existence of land, before buildings, depends on a technical intervention. By means of
drainage, polders and finally dykes (dams), land can be obtained. dykes need to be watched
over for at least five years before the construction of buildings and then checked by the
municipality periodically to guarantee the safety.
In Amsterdam, due to this kind of interventions, the canals create a very clear urban structure,
allowing an economical and logical distribution of the space. The traditional building typology
used until the beginning of the 20th century is also simple, with the use of local materials,
bricks and wood. The famous narrow houses which characterize the city have this width
because they are perfectly as long as the span of a timber beam, and they are divided one
from the other by 10m long bearing walls made of mud and sand, with piled foundations.

Waste Dispos-al ????

AEB Amsterdam
AEB Amsterdam is a waste to energy company, owned by the City of Amsterdam. Our mission is
to be the world leader in the sustainable conversion of waste into energy and valuable, reusable raw materials. We provide a solid solution for the disposal of your household and
commercial waste. Which is more durable for the environment and more cost-effective than
landfilling. For municipalities we can propose an offer including production of RDF and transport
to AmsterdamWe can recycle up to 99% of your waste. This has earned us a R1-status when it
comes to high energy recovery. This helps you to reduce your CO2 footprint. AEB is flexible in
arranging the treatment and logistical chain from any proposed transfer station(s) to the AEB
facility in Amsterdam. Nearly 99% of the total tonnes of waste treated is reused. AEB has an
State of the art EfW PowerStation with an energy efficiency of 30%. AEB produces energy and
city heat and has one of the highest efficiency of all Dutch EfW facilities. After the waste
treatment metals (Ferro and non-Ferro) are extracted and recycled

Amsterdam Has a Deal for Alcoholics: Work Paid in Beer

The workday begins unfailingly at 9 a.m. with two
cans of beer, a down payment on a salary paid mostly in
alcohol. People get two more cans at lunch and then
another can or, if all goes smoothly, two to round off a
productive day. The basic idea is to extend to alcoholics
an approach first developed to help heroin addicts, who
have for years been provided with free methadone, a
less dangerous substitute, in a controlled environment
that provides access to health workers and counselors.
A group of alcoholics in Amsterdam are given beer
during breaks from their street-cleaning job.

Being such an old town who has its deepest social

connections the aware public of Amstel has raised
funds for public who can not afford food!
There is a restaurant run by group of young
entrepreneurs who with the help of their social
contacts get waste food from all around the city..
This food is not waste or dumped exactly but this is
the food which is no longer required by the food
outlets or other restaurants. They cook this food on
their own and serve the people at their outlets for
free at one day of the week. Rest days the
restaurants place is open for social ceremonies and
thus funds collected by doing so are used for
cooking etc.
Also there is a separate day kept in a month when
all of them host a food party in which almost whole
of Amsterdam is participating and dose funds raised
are used to feed people who cant afford food every
day..
This way they not only prevent food wastage but
also serve the needy..

AM STERDAM
PRESENT SCENARIO

The map is basically upside down, with Amsterdam (that evolved from a
late 12th century fishing settlement) looked at from the North. The dam
in the centre is now Dam Square. The city is walled (on the left side at
Zeedijk and on the right at Singel). The pattern of the old city is still
intact, with some of the waterways now paved.

HERE
PINK
PATCH
REFERS TO THE AREA OF
RIVER AMSTEL WHICH
HAS BEEN PAVED NOW
ALONG THE CANAL
SINGEL

THE RED CIRCLE MARKS

THE DAM PALACE AND
DAM
SQUARE,
RESIDENCE OF KING
AND QUEEN

The pre-1600 inner city today.

The
first
big
extension
plan
was formed in the
first decade of the
17th
century.
Because the city
was literally full
after the Golden
Age started, it
was decided to
build a canal ring
around the old
city and move the
defence
wall
outward
(over
1km
eastwards
and almost 1km
to the west). The
canal ring was
built
in
two
phases,
one
starting in 1610
and one starting
in 1660.

A 1657 map showing the large canal ring extension (south side up).

The first extension of the canal

ring (from Brouwersgracht in
the west to Leidsegracht) was a
huge relief to the city, releasing
the pressure on its land. It was
filled up quickly with some of
the richest Europeans migrating
to one of the classy canals. The
second extension (completing
the concentric half to the east)
was finished by the time the
citys immense prosperity had
already started to decrease. It
took almost two centuries (until
around 1900) before all plots
laid out were built on. De
Jordaan was also part of the
first canal ring extension. It was
a planned segregation, with the
three canals built for the rich
(especially
Herenand
Keizersgracht), and the Jordaan
area built for the poorer
workers and industries

De Jordaan today (it is located on the very right of the 1658 map above

The canal ring today (take a look at how green it actually is).
AMSTEL THE SINGEL CANAL KEIZERSGRACHT CANAL HERENGRACHT CANAL PRINSENGRACHT

The citys economy only

really started growing
again in the second half
of the 19th century.
That is when plans for
expansion were made
again.
The
first
residential bit outside
of the canal 17th
century extension was
built in 1870 (as part of
an 1866 plan than
never was executed
except for this part,
because it turned out to
be too expensive). This
was the northern part
of the current De Pijp
area. The city expanded
concentrically in these
years after, according to
the 1876

PLAN-KALFF

First 19th century expansion of De Pijp

Staatsliedenbuurt, part of the 1876 Plan-Kalff

The next large

expansions were
undertaken
between 1920 and
1940, consisting of

Plan Zuid
(South), designed
by Berlage, and

Plan West.
These
developments
included a lot of
Amsterdam School
architecture.

Plan Zuid.

Plan Zuid Today.

Plan West with the

respective architects
of
the
building
blocks.

Plan West today.

After WWII, several big urban plans have been realized. Much of it, realized between 1951 and
1966 was the execution of the General Extension
developments are based on early modernist ideals.

Plan of 1935.

Most of these

The functionalist Slotermeer, a result of the General Extension Plan.

Bijlmermeer
It was built
just before
1970 and is
considered
one of the
most radical
post-war
plans in The
Netherlands
Part of it
has already
been
demolished
because it
turned out
to be not as
utopian as
planned
Bijlmermeer plan.

Bijlmermeer today.

IJburg (a few years ago)

Lately, Amsterdam
turned to the water,
with THE KNSMISLAND (1990S), JAVAISLAND AND IJBURG
(BOTH 2000S) being
the largest expansions.
Currently, the second
part of IJburg is being
built. In the near
future, Amsterdam
wants to house the
increasing population
mostly by densifying
the existing city

Java- and KNSM-Islands

Photo Album
Viewing city INSIDE

Amsterdam, 2040