Yearly Archives: 2010

Suburban Bulldozer

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In 2009, american geographer Richard Florida, wrote a post at The Atlantic website about brand new homes being demolished in California, due to the real estate crisis. Dozens of suburban houses were being destroyed by the Guarantee Bank of Austin because appartenly it was cheaper than maintaining them empty. In fact, the abandoned McMansion type of dwellings, located in typical suburban cul-de-sac streets, are considered a hazard to the neighborhood since they are sometimes occupied by the homeless and by squatters, looking for free living space. According to Florida, author of The Creative Class and The Great Reset, most Sunbelt cities in the U.S. face this kind of problem since the real estate bubble burst a couple of years ago.

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Eilandje (Antwerp)

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Het Eilandje (The little Island), in the middle of a swampy tidal stream connected to the Schelde river, became part of the harbor of Antwerp in the golden age, when large numbers of cargo ships sailed into the city´s docks. When the port area consolidated later on, the island remained, between the Willems- and Bonaparte docks. It used to be a lively harbor quarter with the usual bars and nightlife.

By the 1980´s, Het Eilandje had become a rather abandoned and rundown neighborhood. The still populated sites in the area were indicated for urban renewal. State subsidies were considered to let inhabitants renovate their dwellings. However, this didn´t stop the decline of the neighborhood, which in the end attracted real estate developers  and investors. Ground prices started rising and bit by bit gentrification took hold of Het Eilandje.
The municipality stimulated the redevelopment of the area by building the Museum Aan De Stroom (MAS), designed by Dutch architects Neutelings Riedijk, which opens in May 2011.

Read more:
www.eilandje.be
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilandje…

The seriousness of play

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At the expert meeting ‘The Seriousness of Play’ the question was asked how art can be used to improve access of the population to cultural heritage. The meeting was meant to bridge the gap between artists, curators and heritage institutions such as museums. Merten Nefs was invited to shed light on the matter from the perspective of architecture and urban planning. A short number of inspiring examples were given of cooperation between a museum and an artist, for example at the Zuiderzeemuseum and Art Fortress Vijfhuizen in the Netherlands. However, this cooperation is rather an exception, not the rule.

As the border between art and the artist is quite subtle, some of the artists soon came to the conclusion that they weren´t eager to be used for anything by anyone, let alone to promote institutions, nations or cities. For example, in incubator areas throughout the world, young artists usually help to raise profits for the real estate industry. The benefits for the pioneers themselves are limited. The statement was made, that artists should actively propose interventions in a museum or other cultural heritage, instead of waiting for an invitation.
On the other hand, if the artist maintained a firm position in the process, instead of an ‘underdog’ position, both heritage institutions and artists would benefit. If the artists became more aware of their cultural and socio-economic role, perhaps they could negotiate better with institutions and investors to realize their personal artistic goals while at the same time performing a productive role in society. In this case, everyone uses everyone to achieve their objectives. But that’s a lot of if´s…
It was mentioned that one of the difficulties in practice is that an artist cannot guarantee the results of the artistic process beforehand, which makes it more complicated for companies and institutes to start a partnership. At the end of the evening, it was concluded that cooperation between heritage institutions and artists can be fruitful, but no one really knows what would be the best way to cooperate.

The Seriousness of Play was organized on September 10 2010, by Cultureel Erfgoed Noord-Holland, Kunst & Cultuur Noord-Holland, Saskia Monshouwer and Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen.

Gentrification Battlefield

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Invited by Mediamatic, Coen Rens and 21 artists, for example Golfstromen, spent the summer of 2010 mapping the borough’s visible and invisible locations, people and data flows, and research its history and future. The work resulted in an exhibition and gave rise to the first Arabic travel guide to The Netherlands. They created the game Gentrification Battlefield.

The game demonstrates the competition and clash between social groups in recent urban redevelopment sites in Amsterdam North. More than a decade ago, only few start-up businesses were based on the north bank of the IJ river. After succesful incubator projects and real estate development, the area is now ‘under attack’ by yuppies and mega-companies such as MTV. The former inhabitants are slowly being squeezed out through gentrification.

“Amsterdam-Noord is slightly changing. Not everyone is happy with this. The battle of Noord is a fight between traditional inhabitants defending their positions, and new ‘Noorderlingen’ discovering this district as a new frontier. The NDSM Wharf and the Van der Pekbuurt are already taken over by the invasion army of hipsters and yuppies, but big parts of Noord are still left alone. What will the future of Amsterdam-Noord look like? Who wins Gentrification Battlefield? Play this strategy game with hipster Timo and his freight bike and Volkswagen van! Cross the IJ river and fight your way through the North. Or play with traditional Sjaan and her Canta car to defend affordable housing and save good old Dutch ‘gezelligheid’. But be careful: soon a secret tunnel will be opened…”

Read more:
NDSM Media Wharf
NDSM (2)

Amsterdam – densification or expansion?

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Amsterdam desperately needs more dwellings. These can be built along the Zaan axis, north of the city center, or by expanding satellite town Almere, west of Amsterdam. At the same time, a third project, the office district Zuidas, is already under development. In January this year, politicians have decided to give the go-ahead for a plan to build 60.000 dwellings near Almere, almost doubling the city in size.  Since the economic recession of 2008-2009, it has become clear that the city cannot pay for all three projects at the same time. Criticism is mushrooming among experts in spatial planning.


Possible industrial redevelopment sites at the riverbanks of the IJ and the Zaan.

The Council of State Advisers has expressed doubts regarding the Almere expansion. It is an expensive alternative, since a new bridge would have to be constructed to the island Flevoland, costing over 4 billion euros (70.000 per dwelling). Furthermore, the concept of Almere as a satellite town is in essence very unsustainable. Most Almere workers commute daily to Amsterdam by car. More and more, the advantages of redeveloping the riverbanks near the center of Amsterdam are put forward: They are places with strong identity and history. The Zaan region was the first industrial zone in the world, which at the time thrived on small wind powered industries, shipbuilding and waterway logistics. The re-urbanization of this area would happen almost naturally, contrary to the massive State investments needed for Almere 2.0.


Possible expansion sites near satellite town Almere.


Read more:
Stop de Nieuwbouwwijken – article by Tijs van den Boomen and Theo Baart in NRC Handelsblad (Dutch)
Prachtig compact NL – publication by College van Rijksadviseurs (Dutch)
www.zaanstreek.nl