Location
Amsterdam West
description
Urban planning study and architectural sketch design
client
MRP Projectontwikkeling
study
2020-2022
From garden city to park city
Amsterdam Nieuw-West struggles with social and spatial challenges: low employment, poor health, loneliness, language barriers, outdated housing, and safety concerns. De Punt is one of the weakest neighborhoods, with little to offer and much nuisance, making social uplift essential.
The Osdorp Area Agenda outlines goals such as creating diverse live-work environments, strengthening green and water structures, stimulating employment and entrepreneurship, and connecting more strongly with the city.
Yet Nieuw-West also has strong assets: proximity to Schiphol, the harbor, the ring road, and Amsterdam’s center, as well as good public transport. A future tram link to Schiphol will further enhance accessibility.
Dijkgraafplein—centrally located—can act as a catalyst for change. A proposed mixed-use development combines housing with health and sports facilities, an outdoor swimming pool, hospitality, retail, workspaces, and assisted living linked to the Cordaan care complex.
The vision relies on intensification and vertical layering, with green and water as structuring elements. This transformation marks the shift from Garden City to Park City: a more inclusive, healthy, and attractive urban model for multiple groups.
