Amsterdam, Netherlands - SEO Economisch Onderzoek

Source: Statistics Netherlands Statline (2006a), Statistics Netherlands Statline (2008a)In an international perspective, the greater Amsterdam region takes the 53 rd place in the hierarchyof European regions according to the size of regional domestic product (see Annex C, table D-3).In terms of its economic size, the greater Amsterdam region is comparable to the Münster region(Germany) and the Brussels region (Belgium). In terms of population, the Amsterdammetropolitan area takes the 191 st place. In this respect, the Amsterdam metropolitan region iscomparable to regions such as Midtjylland (Denmark) and Dorset and Somerset (UnitedKingdom).According to the European Cities Monitor 2008, the city of Amsterdam takes the 6 th place afterLondon, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels and Barcelona, in a hierarchy of 34 European cities (Cushman& Wakefield, 2008: 9). In terms of a list of pull-factors for businesses, Amsterdam scores high onthe factor “languages spoken”, for which it is the second-most attractive city (after London) inEurope. On all the other pull-factors, Amsterdam takes lower places in the hierarchy. It scoreslowest on the factor “availability of office space” (17 th place). On what is considered the mostimportant pull-factor for businesses, “availability of qualified staff”, Amsterdam ranks 5 th . Arecent report from the Boston Consultancy Group, however, shows that over the last 15 yearsAmsterdam has lost its competitive edge against several other European cities such as Barcelona,Berlin and Madrid (BCG, 2008: 26). Particularly in terms of accessibility, crime and air pollution,the international position of Amsterdam has worsened. The municipality of Amsterdam aims tocounter this trend by bringing the city back into the European top 5 of most attractive businesslocations. With the project Amsterdam Topstad, the municipality tries to improve theinternational reputation of Amsterdam by emphasizing its key characteristics: creativity,innovativeness and trade spirit. It also wants to attract more international visitors by organizingnew events. Other key priorities are to further strengthen the local economy as well as improvingthe international business climate. The municipality also runs an “Investor Development”programme. This programme is established to prevent that important national and internationalcompanies move their activities elsewhere and to stimulate these companies to expand theirinvestments in the Amsterdam region. In order to achieve this aim, the municipality ofAmsterdam gives more direct support to businesses, for instance by appointing a businessrelationship manager for the 300 most important foreign and the 50 most important nationalcompanies.1.2.3 The settlement structureWith a population of 747,093 the municipality of Amsterdam is the urban core of the Amsterdammetropolitan region. Another urban center is the municipality of Almere, which is located in thenortheast of the Amsterdam metropolitan area and has 183,270 in habitants. Also the municipalityof Zaanstad, which borders Amsterdam in the North and has a population of 142,863, is one ofthe urban cores of the region. The municipality of Haarlem, with a population of 147,640 andlocated in the West of the Amsterdam metropolitan region, is another urban center. A final urbancenter is the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, located in the South-West of the Amsterdammetropolitan area, with a population of 140,648. The Amsterdam metropolitan region ischaracterized by dense flows of traffic, which is mainly concentrated around the city ofAmsterdam. On a daily basis, 189,000 people commute to Amsterdam to work and 89,000inhabitants of Amsterdam leave the city to work elsewhere. The largest inflow of commutersstems from the cities of Almere, Zaanstad and Purmerend. About half of the Amsterdammetropolitan area inhabitants travel to work in Amsterdam by car. Of the people living inAmsterdam who have a job in the region, only one third uses a car to travel to work. Due to the12