Fifty years of urban planning in one book? Urban planner Maurits de Hoog has set himself an ambitious goal for ‘Amsterdam Urban Development 1975–2025’. Published by nai010, the book presents a ‘documentation and analysis of the act of city-making’.

Text: Anneke Bokern

 Allebéplein, 2025,1975, photo: Rindert van den Toren, Stadsarchief Amsterdam

City development and history

For most non-Dutch people, Amsterdam hardly evokes any images of contemporary cityscapes. The external perception is still dominated by the historic centre and the canal ring – connoisseurs may also think of the Berlage Plan. But the past five decades have been decisive for Amsterdam: during this time, the port city with a shrinking population transformed itself into a small international metropolis.

Echtenstein Amsterdam Zuidoost, photo 2025: Rindert van den Toren, photo 1975: Stadsarchief Amsterdam

From cars to human scale

The year 1975 is not only coincidentally exactly half a century ago, but also marks a turning point in the city's history. In the post-war decades, the city planning office had endeavoured to transform Amsterdam into a car-friendly business city surrounded by modern residential areas. When entire streets in the Nieuwmarkt district were to make way for a four-lane road, resistance arose for the first time. The protests led to a change of course: instead of clear-cut redevelopment, the city now focused on careful renewal on a human scale – and ultimately on bicycles instead of cars. The 1980s saw the rediscovery of the harbour areas, followed by new island districts and high-rise neighbourhoods along the motorway ring road. Today, the population is growing significantly again, and with it the demand for housing. At the same time, overtourism has become a hotly debated topic.

Van Beuningenplein, Staatsliedenbuurt, photo 2025: Rindert van den Toren, photo 1975: Stadsarchief Amsterdam

Transformation and housing construction

It is no coincidence that the book is being published in 2025: Amsterdam is celebrating its 750th anniversary this year, and the city has co-financed the publication. The volume documents all the important transformations of the past decades – in infrastructure, public space and, in particular, housing construction. Accordingly, the front cover flap features a map showing all housing construction projects, while the back cover flap features a map showing open space and transport projects.

Buiksloterbanne Noord, 2025,1975, photo: Rindert van den Toren, Stadsarchief Amsterdam 

Stages of the last 50 years

This impressive volume is divided into three parts. The first deals with major social trends – internationalisation, individualisation and informatisation – and distinguishes four phases of development: from Reversing the Decline to Recovery and Rapid Growth to the Shocks of the present, as de Hoog calls the current phase (with reference to Corona and the war in Ukraine). Each period is accompanied by an explanatory text and a map showing dozens of projects. A fold-out timeline links demographic developments, construction projects, political developments and global political events – undoubtedly one of the highlights of the book.

Built 2019–2025

Spatial developments

The second part, which forms the core of the book, is devoted to five major spatial movements: Renewal of the Existing City, Low-rise Housing on the City Edge,  Water City, Southward and  Supercluster City Centre. Each chapter begins with historical and current photographs that impressively illustrate the city's transformation. This is followed by descriptions of the areas with fold-out pages full of photos, drawings and floor plans of selected housing projects. Finally, the third part highlights planning strategies, control models and sources of financing.

A look into the future

This may sound complex at first, but it is made very accessible. While the main chapters outline the major development lines in longer essays, the project texts summarise the topics concisely. Numerous photos, maps and diagrams also make the book visually appealing. With Amsterdam Urban Development 1975–2025, Maurits de Hoog presents a comprehensive and compelling overview of Amsterdam's urban development over the last fifty years – and concludes with a look ahead: what might the next five decades hold for Amsterdam?

Maurits de Hoog, „Amsterdam Urban Development 1975–2025”, hardcover, 248 pages, design: Maud van Rossum, photographs: Rindert van der Toren, nai010 publishers, Amsterdam 2025, ISBN 978-94-6208-906-8