intervention strategies for renovation of social housing estates

A Dutch case study. The Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam Zuidoost. Chapter 5
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Although the Amsterdam Urban Plan (1928-1935) advised against the residential extensions
to this area due to the lack of transportation links, in 1966 the polder is officially added to
the city. Two years later, the first dwellings are completed (Hoogoord, by K. Rijnboutt in
Fig.7). However, the metro line was realized not before 1980. This excluded the
neighbourhood from the city for too long. With respect to the initial enthusiasms, just three
years after the beginning of the works, the first complains began. The inhabitants
constituted an independent resident
association (OBO). They protested
especially against the management
of the public spaces, which is and
was a responsibility of the
municipality The Nota Matteman is
the first critical dossier gathering
together all the critical comments
(Archis, 1997).
Most of the buildings were completed
between 1975 and 1976 but, in the
mean time, the former Dutch colony
Suriname, obtained the
independence from the Netherlands.
The Surinam inhabitants could
choose their nationality. As a
consequence, many immigrants
looking for a house, found their place
in the Bijlmermeer, because it was
the only quick available housing
scheme.
OMA WAS CHARGED BY THE AMSTERDAM HOUSING
DEPARTMENT WITH DEFINING A NEW PLAN FOR THE
BIJLMERMEER. IN 1986, THE GROUP PROPOSED REVISIE
BIJLMER, A PROPOSAL BASED ON THE IDEA OF THE SO-
CALLED BIJLMER STRIP, A NEW LINEAR URBAN CENTRE
SURROUNDED BY HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING. THE PLAN HAS
NEVER BEEN REALIZED, BUT MANY IDEAS WERE LATER
RECONSIDERED, SUCH AS THE CENTRUM ZUIDOOST AND
THE BIJLERMDREEF LOWERING (Laner & Menegotto, 1998).
The failures of the urban and building
scheme have been sensibly raised
over the years. With the first Agenda
delivered by the council of
Amsterdam Zuidoost in 1976, a first
set of interventions is planned, but
the first concrete solutions were
implemented by the Project Group on
High-rise Buildings. The group,
founded in 1982 under the
Municipality of Amsterdam, proposed
interventions to adapt and improve
the existing spatial concept of the
Bijlmermeer. Many physical
measures were implemented such
as: addition of new dwellings at the
bottom, closing of the inner
walkways, equipment of additional
elevators, provision of small
commercial activities, demolition of
multi-storey parking places and
retrain the green spaces with cycle
and pedestrian signed routes.
However, additional public facilities like sport hall, indoor swimming pool, police station, a big
commercial centre and a mosque were finished only at the end of the ‘80s (Wassenberg,
2006)
All over the last 20 years, many studies have been conducted in order to clarify the real
conditions of the neighbourhood and identify possible solutions of intervention (like the first
report of the working group ‘Future of the Bijlmermeer’ in 1986, and ‘Revisie Bijlmer’ by OMA
in 1986).
In 1983, the sixteen housing associations managing the neighbourhood merged their
dwellings in the Bijlmermeer into a new housing association: Nieuw Amsterdam. The
Amsterdam administration together with the central government allocated new funds to let
the housing association act immediately. The rents were decreased and some renewal
interventions implemented (see two examples next page).
7. E
SECOND RENEWAL
WAVE
1983-2002