Compact city

-Amsterdam

-Riga

Dr. Ahmad Al-Zoubi

Done by :SARA SABASAMIR HALLAKZAINA ATTASIYASSER Rijjal

Compact city in The Netherlands The Netherlands is a densely populated and highly urbanized country with a long-standing tradition of spatial planning. In the early 1980s, the compact city concept was welcomed by the Dutch authorities and planners, and it has become the heart of national, regional and local urbanization policy in The Netherlands since then (Dieleman et al., 1997).. The compact city was seen as the solution to the two main problems that the densely populated parts of the country were confronted with – rapid urbanization of open space and continued increase of mobility, contributing to better environment of both urban and rural areasCompactness is the key word in its planning policy. It focuses on “support of urban capacity; reduction of car use; promotion of the use of bicycle and public transport, and limiting the 16 urbanization of the countryside”

Amsterdam As A Compact

City:

History Background:

Amsterdam after1663

Amsterdam end ofthe 19th century

Amsterdam was originally designed for defense. It is composed of semi-circles that create tiny islands linked by bridges. Amsterdam’s city center is very compact. This, coupled with the fact that the city is made of a gently curving and very narrow street system, creates a highly walkable and interesting environment. The bends in the road create a sense of mystery and intrigue and can prove a little confusing until you figure out the names of all the canals. The concept for open space within the region was the idea of the five green fingers. Each finger leads to the heart of the city and allowspeople to use them as connectors. The finger that leads from Amsterdam is Bos Park.

Land Use:

Transportation systems in Amsterdam were very well thought out in their conception.Trains connect Amsterdam to the Dutch countryside and to all of Europe. Trams within the city provide a cheap and fast intercity transportation. But the main form ofeveryday movement through the compact city is the bicycle. The bike is a quiet and environmentally good solution to the tiny street systems and a perfect way to enjoy theurban landscape.

Public Transportation :

Sustainability is Amsterdam’s genes. To take just one example, it has always been the cycling capital of the world. Today it is one of the ten most sustainable cities on earth, and in Europe one of the top four. This report has been compiled to provide the people of Amsterdam, local businesses and other interested parties with an insight into what the city government

Sustainability:

Sustainable Energy

Sustainable Mobility

Sustainable

Economic

Sustainable Living

• More and more “green” power is being used in Amsterdam.

• All the city’s trams and metro trains now run on it, as do the street lighting, two-thirds of council services and enterprises and City Hall.

• generation of a lot more sustainable energy at the local level – from the sun, the wind, biomass and hydrogen

• At present, 5.8 per cent of the energy consumed in Amsterdam is derived from sustainable sources. That is 3 per cent more the national average.

• The computer servers at CityHall are cooled using water from the River Amstel. Two-thirds of council services and enterprises now use “green” power and a third have joined the city’s energymonitoring program. Most municipal buildings arestill heated by gas.

1-Sustainable Energy:

2-Sustainable Mobility:

• Amsterdam is the most bicycle-friendly cityin the world. It has 400 kilometres of dedicated cyclepaths, whilst about 90 per cent of the road network isdeemed safe and suitable for cycling.

• Electric transport with a networkof on-street charging points at which the owners ofelectric cars and scooters can park and top up their batteries free of charge

• Amsterdam already plays host to a wide variety of sustainable business activities rooted in the strengths of the local economy: energy, ICT, trade, logistics, finance and tourism. For a rapidly growing number of companies, sustainability is the main force fuelling their innovation.

3-Sustainable Economic:

• A trial with so-called “smart air curtains” and automatic

shop doors achieved a saving 43 per cent on energy costs and reduced levels of noise and exhaust fumes inside the stores, without adversely affecting customer numbers.

• people in Amsterdam have developed a more positive attitude towards members of other ethnic communities over the past two years.

4-Sustainable Living:

• The residents of Amsterdam are reasonably healthy and they are generally satisfied with their living environment.

• Amsterdam has about 200 primary schools and 28 special schools attended

• Schools are improved to be sustainable which let to: 1. Less pupil and teacher illness 2. Improved pupil performance.3. Carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 30-40 per cent.4. A permanent reduction in energy costs.5. Better quality school buildings

Neighborhood parks in 1954 Neighborhood parks in 1961

Neighborhood parks:Just as important as large parks are neighborhood parks. After World War II anamazing number of neighborhood playgrounds (around 860 by Aldo Van Eyck) were designed and built in the city of Amsterdam. Parks were fit in wherever space was available. This created small areas perfect for local residences. Although the spaces individually were small the effect they had on the city as a whole was enormous.