Amsterdam

As the Dutch would say; Hallo en welkom!

My task today is to introduce and discuss some digital maps of my chosen city, that being Amsterdam.
I will compare the city’s historic origins, racing through the centuries, to the modern day; with a focus on Dam Square and the idea of ‘the public’. As a visual aid, I have also included some of my own photos and you can click here for further online materials.

Downloadable here: ePub.

I have been lucky enough to see some beautiful countries on my travels, each containing cities oozing with their own unique charisma; whether inherited or accumulated. One which felt the most foreign to me personally, was the city of Amsterdam. You could not come across a better example of man shaping nature from the very first settlements.

Katie O’Sullivan | 112362596

Key moments:	Statistics and figures:
Chartered town in 1300 End of 15th C. city expansion 17^th C (Golden Age) 20^th C social upheaval and population change Early 1900s – 1934, unrest and revolts, resulted in new pavement design in the city (removing bricks) May 1945, 22 people shot dead and many injured in Dam Square by German supporters	More than 800,000 inhabitants and 178 nationalities More than 8,000 buildings survive from the 16^th-18^th C. 165 canals (historically important for trade and navigation) 40 parks 216 trams 75 museums
Source and here.

The Amsterdam of today is similar to what locals and visitors would have witnessed in the golden age or thereafter. As can be seen in my 18^th C maps below (see Map 1.1 and 1.2), Dam square has existed for centuries. Though the dam originally functioned as flood protection for the city, the square now marks a hub of cultural activity. Centrally located and boasting a relatively small 200 x 100 metre gathering place, it draws the ordinary person towards the Royal Palace (see Image 1) and might have acted in a similar fashion to the boulevards of Paris (check out Jennifer’s blog), as an exhibition space for its citizens to flaunt their affluence, or publicly lament their disadvantaged situation.

Map 1.1: Reiner Ottens Map, c. 1727. Source.

Scale 1:7 650. Publishers: Reiner and Josua Ottens. The orientation of this map is not accurate. The city appears to have been broken into sections. The base of the map contains numbered lists, which detail street names. The presence of many ships indicates the city’s rich naval and trading past.

Map 1.2: Gerrit Droogenham Map, c. 1725-1750. Source.

Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher: Joshua Ottens. This map is more accurate in terms of orientation, but provides much the same idea of the city expansion. for more on the city over time please see this video.

Next to the palace is the Nieuwe Kerk. Royal family members are associated with this church and so two symbols of Dutch authority dominate the surrounding landscape. A third symbol of power also exists, that of the National Monument, directly opposite the Palace (see Image 2 and Map 1.3 or 1.4 for contrast, without the monument in place).

Image 1: Dam Square and the Royal Palace, 2013

View of Dam Square and the Koninklijk Paleis (originally the Stadhuis). You can see the grand imposing facade towering over the people in the square, which has a simple layout. Also visible are a number of bicycles, a common method of transportation in a city boasting flat roads.

Image 2: The National Monument, 2013

Located off Dam Square. Erected for the Dutch who lost their lives in WWII (1956). Urns within the monument contain earth from each Dutch province as well as former colonies.

Regulation regarding the city and sex is often intended to reduce public disorder. By confining the workers to certain areas such as the red light district, only streets away from the Square, ‘the public’ are less likely to encounter ‘‘local indecency’’ and uncivilized behavior as Dennis (2008, p. 148-151) remarks, unless they seek it out (see Map 1.3)

Map 1.3: Detail of (Map 1.1)

‘Den Dam’ seen here for ‘Dam Square’. The Royal Palace and the Church can also be seen in this illustration. The pink outlined area to the left of the map has become synonymous with the sex industry in modern times. There is an abundance of adult-stores, hostels and the infamous red light district, which lies a few streets back.

Map 1.4: Detail of (Map 1.2)

The circle, large rectangle and small rectangle midst open blank space represent the Palace, Church and Square. In this enlarged image it is easy to see the construction and design of streets and canals and how built up the area surrounding these points is, even in the 18th C.

Males predominantly visit the red light district, whereas females stick to the imagined ‘safety’ of the main square. The impact of design and regulation then is that public space has been engendered and the modern night time economy exemplifies this.

One author concluded,

”The Dam is the city’s beating heart.” (Dutch Amsterdam 2013)

On a final note I look forward to witnessing the future endeavors of Amsterdam as global cities continue to modernise.

That’s all for this week,

Katie O

Please consider and perhaps respond to the following if you would like to comment on this post.

In one hundred years will Amsterdam still be living off its legacy; or will the city and its people have forged another avenue through which to explore and implement modernity?