Urban Housing

Down through the centuries, Amsterdam has always been a compactly built city. There were good reasons for the compactness. It was not easy to make the marshy ground suitable for building. Water courses had to be filled in, marshlands drained, dikes had to be constructed and canals dug. Until the 19th century, the city had to be defended by walls and city ramparts from the surrounding dangers. It was only safe to life inside those walls. Even now there are still good reasons for continuing to build compactly. The Netherlands is a densely populated country where space and nature are scarce; the space we have has to well used, so city expansions were always carefully planned. There’s always been a tension between the need to build compactly and the quality of living in the city. In the history of Amsterdam can be seen how it was necessary to choose between density and space. In periods when the economy was flourishing, such as the 17th century, the city allowed itself more space. In periods of stagnation, buildings were placed increasingly close to each other. But, as architect Rietveld said, “In a properly built city, the scale of a dwelling can be closer to that of a big roomy coat with inside pockets than to a castle.”

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Intl.1995.3

Volume Editors
John K. Edwards