New Amsterdam City Plan   Term Paper ID:32828 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: City planning approaches in Amsterdam and the US are compared.... More...

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Paper Introduction: New Amsterdam City PlanIn this paper I will discuss city planning in Amsterdam The Netherlands inan historical and cross-cultural context For those of us who have certainunconscious assumptions about what cities are and can be based on ouracquaintance with our own urban areas studying urban planning trends inEurope and elsewhere can be a revelation In a nutshell the dominant influence on American city planning orlack thereof has been the automobile It matters that our cities areprimarily auto storage depots observes James Howard Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Since money and power almostalways go hand in hand, it is not hard to see why those holding the reinsof power nearly always get their way. While Europeans are focusing on making their central cities placesfor people of all walks of life to not just visit, but to live in, thedominant tendency in America is the extension of urban sprawl, the wideningand constructing of more roads, and the building of housing affordable onlyfor the upper middle class and the wealthy, and the razing of old buildingsand removal of their tenants. The Impact of Citizens' Protest on City Planning inAmsterdam. Politically-connected conservationists, such as the former mayor,took up their cause when a large bank was proposed for construction thatwould have displaced people in a time of severe housing shortages. For those of us who have certainunconscious assumptions about what cities are, and can be, based on ouracquaintance with our own urban areas, studying urban planning trends inEurope and elsewhere can be a revelation. As in the past,major private investors were on board to put up the cash. New Lesson from the Old World. New Amsterdam City PlanIn this paper I will discuss city planning in Amsterdam, The Netherlands inan historical and cross-cultural context. Works CitedJerde Master Plan Revitalizes Amsterdam's Amsterdamse Poort; Creates ASecond City Center in Centrumgebied Zuidoost. From then until 174 the country enjoyed a Golden Age, becoming the dominant sea power inEurope, with Dutch explorers making major voyages of discovery andconquering new lands for the empire. The French and English eventually eclipsed the Dutch.Industrialization replaced fishing and the sea trade in the 2 th century asthe prime economic focus. This is not surprising. As money flowed in divisions between the newly rich Protestants andthe Catholic aristocrats allied with the Spanish who occupied the region atthe time resulted in Holland's independence in 1579. The old city of Amsterdam consists of concentric rings of canals (thePrinsengracht, the Kelzersgracht, and the Herengracht) lined with 17th and18th century houses built by the upper classes during the heyday of theDutch empire. By the198 s the progressive forces in Amsterdam had managed to create a consensuson social policy that promoted neighborhood councils, the construction ofaffordable housing, tolerance for drugs, a legalized sex industry, and thelegal recognition of gay couples. It is not just Amsterdam, but many cities in Europe that have led theway to a more humane, aesthetic, democratic, ecological, and sensible urbanplanning philosophy. The success of their protests can be seen intransportation statistics from the city. Order total: $72. But the choices a givencity makes in how it changes and expands are in a continual evolution basedon geography, history, culture, and an awareness of the options available.Lastly, politics and economics are usually determining factors in whatchoices are actually made. This plan was developed bythe Urban Development section of the Department of Public Works ofAmsterdam's city government, which had seen its urban renewal proposalsbrought to fruition without major opposition since 195 . It is important to pause for a minute and reflect on the differencesbetween this model of city planning and the dominant American approach.While the Americans built and widened freeways, tore down old buildings,constructed new luxury housing, malls, offices, and retail outlets, as wellas removing the local (usually minority) poor people, in Amsterdam theyemphasized the reduction of automobile traffic, the narrowing of streets,investment in public transportation, bike paths, and pedestrian walkways,and the construction of affordable housing, or in the case of thesquatters, the legalization of formerly ad hoc housing in desertedbuildings. The Provos used political theatre and other means to rally supportfor opposition to this plan, stressing the undemocratic nature ofdisplacing residents, and comparing it to Nazi deportations. Therefore it is noteworthy that activists in Amsterdam successfullyprotested the construction of large buildings and urban freeways, andpressured the city council to accept anti-displacement policies to preventgentrification. A sophisticated and creative approach to urban renewal is beingproposed for Amsterdamse Poort in the Centrumgebied Zuidoost district, tobe carried out by the internationally-renowned planning firm The JerdePartnership. Constructingbuildings, highways, and other large-scale physical structures are amongthe most expensive projects in human society. 3/1/2 5 Projects | Messages | Payment History | MyInfo | LogoutProject ID: 58728Date paper is needed: Friday April 8 5:24:53Pages: 6Page rate: $12. "It matters that our cities areprimarily auto storage depots" observes James Howard Kunstler, author ofThe Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-MadeLandscape (quoted in Walljasper 2 5). In a nutshell, the dominant influence on American city planning (orlack thereof) has been the automobile. In Heidelburg, Germany they are attempting to make thebicycle the vehicle of choice for at least one-third of all trips -something already achieved by the German city of Munster as well asCopenhagen, Denmark. Although there was a Roman settlementwhere the modern city was built, Amsterdam really owes its origin to 12thcentury dam-building farmers and fishermen who drained the swamps and builtcanals and dikes to control the encroaching sea water.The city grew because of its natural harbor and strategic location betweenthe North and Baltic seas and the trading ports of southern Europe. As a Dutchcity planner writes: "When reading the urban studies literature, it is hardto escape the conclusion that urban movements have little impact on thebuilt environment" (Pruijt 2 2). Their alternative to American-style "urban renewal" was the formulation of a series of progressiveprinciples that were all based on the concept of an inner city where across-section of the population could live, work, and shop. While there is often protest, it usually comes from conservationistsfrom the same elite as the politicians, who are more concerned withpreserving historic buildings than they are with what uses they will be putto - or from radicals who lack popular support or a power base. The key difference seems to be the political activism of theprogressive forces in Amsterdam. In American cities the power playersgenerally get their way, whether it's putting a freeway through the centralcity, constructing a sports stadium, or a building a mall or Walmart super-store. The result is a ring of suburbs surrounding decaying or gentrifiedcentral cities, with ease of access by car being one of the primeconsiderations in nearly every step of the planning process. Amsterdam was built on wet marshlands filled with swamps, lakes, andsoggy peat (www.lonelyplanet.com). Narrow streets emanate out from the old medieval Centrum andDam Square like spokes in a bicycle wheel. In 1968 the city's key decision-makers were planning to constructhighways and large office buildings throughout the old city, leaving onlythe most well-known canals and historic structures untouched. The themes oftheir protest were the importance of preserving and reclaiming public spacethrough squatting in unoccupied buildings, as well as the ecological valueof downplaying polluting and congesting automobiles and promoting bicyclesand walking as alternatives. In fitting tribute to the squatter's movement that spearheadedopposition to the destruction of the inner city along the American model,Jerde stresses integration with the surrounding neighborhoods, usingbuzzwords such as "differentiation, connectivity, and articulation" toemphasize that their plan seeks to disrupt the area as little as possible,while adding a variety of residential, office, retail, dining, andentertainment features that fit will the cultural context and demographicvariety of the place (Business Wire 2 5). Format: MLAMinimum number of sources: 3Topic: New Amsterdam City planRequirements: (6 pages including the abstract and bibliography) "...[S]uburbanliving often means cnuntless hours in the car, cruising down endless milesof pavement, passing ceaseless stretches of new subdivisions and stripmalls, all of which depend on limitless supplies of land, fossil fuel,lumber, and other environmentally scarce resources" (ibid.). Paper presented at the conference "The future of the historicinner city of Amsterdam". And speaking of bicycles,Amsterdam has 55 , of them, with bike paths and whole lanes of urbanstreets dedicated to them, a well as a remarkably flat landscape thatfavors them(www.lonelyplanet.com). They alsowanted to expand the Unhversity of Amsterdam, build a subway system, andlower the residential population in the area. So one of the real determinants of urban planning is political power,or put another way, how much democracy there is in a given place. It is important to remember that all aspects of human culture,including city planning, are matters of choice. This is the exception rather than the rule even in Europe. Large-scale mobilization of thepopulace against a project supported by the elite is always difficult,because there are rarely city-wide issues that unify urban protest, since avariety of interests are always involved, such as the natural antagonism oflandlords and tenants. Business Wire. "In Amsterdam...only 2 % of thepeople's trips around the city are in a car; 36% are made on foot, another31% on bikes, and 11% on [public] transit" (Walljasper, ibid.). E Magazine. And when urban areas are revitalized it isprimarily according to the gentrification model, in which the urban poorare scooted out and existing buildings are torn down to make new office,commercial space and housing for the upper classes. 3/11/2 5.Pruijt, Hans. Amsterdam, 5-7 September 2 2 (revised version)http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/amsterdam/printable.htmWalljasper, Jay. A motley collection of anarchistr (the Provos), rtudents, women,hippies, gays, and squatters pressured the local politicians to rethink thedemolition of scare cheap inner-city housing. Citizensin the areas affected by the proposed changes, including squatters, beganto organize in local councils and to pressure city authorities. By the 196 s Amsterdam was earning its reputation as the most tolerantand radical place in Europe, with a cosmopolitan population that was notshy about protesting city planning issues to the powers that be. It also managed to convince the city fathers thatmaintaining and renovating old buildings with the least possibledisplacement of residents was preferable to simply razing them and removingthe inhabitants, in spite of the greater costs involved. Theopposition was successful in stopping the construction of four-lanehighways through the inner city, and most of the proposed large scalebuildings were cancelled. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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