Compact city

-Amsterdam
-Riga
Dr. Ahmad Al-Zoubi

Done by :
SARA SABA
SAMIR HALLAK
ZAINA ATTASI
YASSER 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 areas
Compactness 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 was originally designed for defense. It is composed of semi-circles that create
tiny islands linked by bridges. Amsterdams 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 allows
people to use them as connectors. The finger that leads from Amsterdam is Bos Park.

Amsterdam after Amsterdam end of

1663 the 19th century
Land Use:
Public Transportation :
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 of
everyday 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 the
urban landscape.
 Sustainability:
Sustainability is Amsterdams 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

Sustainable Sustainable Sustainable Sustainable

Energy Mobility Economic Living
 1-Sustainable Energy:
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 City

Hall 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 citys energy
monitoring program. Most municipal buildings are
still heated by gas.

More and more green power is being used in

Amsterdam.

All the citys trams and metro trains now run on it,
as do the street lighting, two-thirds of council
services and enterprises and City Hall.
2-Sustainable Mobility:
Amsterdam is the most bicycle-friendly city
in the world. It has 400 kilometres of dedicated cycle
paths, whilst about 90 per cent of the road network is
deemed safe and suitable for cycling.

Electric transport with a network

of on-street charging points at which the owners of
electric cars and scooters can park and top up their batteries
free of charge
 3-Sustainable Economic:
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.

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.
 4-Sustainable Living:
The residents of Amsterdam are reasonably healthy and they are generally
satisfied with their living environment.

people in Amsterdam have developed a more positive attitude towards members of

other ethnic communities over the past two years.

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:
Just as important as large parks are neighborhood parks. After World War II
an
amazing 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.

Neighborhood parks in 1954 Neighborhood parks in