City in Balance

Abstract

Amsterdam is dealing with a discontinuity between a gentrified urban centre and a disadvantaged periphery, caused by the presence of different spatial concepts. The centre follows the concept of centralisation and therefore has fine grain, marked by the richness of connections between the different scaled grids. Centrality happens on the streets and so these streets, including the radials, function as high streets full of vital urban life. The periphery, however, follows the concept of decentralisation and has a coarse grain with a disengagement between the different scaled-grids. The vivid high streets of the centre change into traffic arteries, characterised by a thinness of experience of public space. Centrality happens in self-contained pockets and neighbourhoods are culturally and socially homogeneous. In between centre and periphery the Ringzone is located, which is actually a grey zone dominated by the metropolitan scale.
Meanwhile, the municipality aims to maintain welfare and prosperity for all residents and therefore should acknowledge the social and economic importance of public space. The social benefit of spatial interventions is, however, not visible in the municipal strategy and in the scale and character of the projects close to the Ringzone. Moreover, trends like gentrification and fragmentation cause a growing dichotomy between centre and periphery. Amsterdam should not take this for granted, but needs to restore the balance between centre and periphery by creating continuity of vital urban life instead. Therefore, the city should focus on linking the concept of centralisation and decentralisation by making use of the radials connecting both city parts and crossing the Ring. The radials have potential as arteries of public life and the local economy, leading towards a reorientation process from centre towards periphery. Vital urban life is the end-product of the different scaled grids in the city and creating urban life therefore starts by integrating these grids. The strategy shows how Amsterdam can make a step towards continuity by zooming in on several locations in Amsterdam’s peripheral district Nieuw-West. This new approach towards the radials contribute to ‘The City in Balance’ and offers new insight for both other city parts and entire cities dealing with a dichotomy.