This session will shed light on Amsterdam’s public space strategy from a variety of lenses, by the city’s senior planners and designers.
The city of Amsterdam has a rich history in public space planning and design. In the recent Public Space Vision for the municipality, public space is envisioned as "the city’s living room," with a few key characteristics:
- Green: The planning department just completed a study of the distribution and design of green spaces, and its connection to the city’s growth strategy.
- Participatory: Over time the municipality learned to transform the design process from centralized top down to a more participatory approach.
- Walkable: Until recently the mobility strategy of the city was focused on cars, public transport and cyclists alone, basically allocating the leftover space to pedestrians. Due to the increased use of public space, as a result of tourism and densification among other things, the city is now developing a pedestrian strategy.
As the city is facing substantial growth and densification between now and 2025, with the estimated addition of 50,000 houses over the next few years, the key challenge is how to keep up with the quality of public space at the pace of the development.