I’m proud of this first edition of the Plan Amsterdam e-magazine, and of its form and content. Let me start with the content. The central focus is ‘Omgevingsvisie Amsterdam 2050 – een menselijke metropool’ (‘Amsterdam Local Vision 2050 – a human metropolis’), adopted by the City Council in July 2021. This vision inspires, guides and above all invites you to work together on major tasks and small initiatives. We call this collaborative citymaking, and the great thing about it is that it was already being implemented during the development of the vision. 

The major challenges that Amsterdam faces, such as rapid growth, the energy transition and concerns about inclusiveness, health and the soul of the city, require all parties involved to do a great deal of learning. That’s also one of the reasons that we are now publishing Plan Amsterdam as an e-magazine. Plan Amsterdam is and will remain focused on sharing knowledge about spatial development in the city and region, and how we operate within it. The e-magazine format enables it to reach a larger audience by being more accessible and easier to share. For example, we would also like to share knowledge with other cities and regions facing similar challenges.  

In this edition, Errik Buursink discusses the vision statement with the five strategic choices, with videos of peers describing what each choice means in practice. Frank van den Beuken explains how the vision remains a living story, while Flora Nycolaas describes the development of the five strategic choices at various levels into broadly accessible maps.

I hope that you find this first edition of the Plan Amsterdam e-magazine enjoyable and inspiring, and look forward to hearing what you think of it. We hope, too, that this edition prompts deep discussions and knowledge-sharing about improvements to urban planning, collaborative citymaking, and working with a living comprehensive vision.

Josja van der Veer, Director Space and Sustainability, Municipality of Amsterdam