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Amsterdam
SAUL / SAUL Plus in Amsterdam
Noorderpark
Noorderpark is an urban regional park in the north Amsterdam area. The district is characterised by a long standing population of workers from the original harbour industry, interspersed with more recent immigrants from various ethnic groups. A new north-south metro line and station are being created, which gave the opportunity to join two deteriorating and underused parks by lowering the dividing road and bridging the canal. SAUL boosted people’s participation in this process by engaging them in a park design competition, holding a photography exhibition of the parks usage, and releasing publications to communicate the design process. Specific groups were targeted including rowers and the visually impaired. Young people were engaged, and the Youth Ambassadors project linked them to others in London’s Burgess Park. SAUL has also contributed to the first physical investments in the park.
Youth Ambassadors
Through SAUL, a joint project was developed with teenagers living around Burgess Park and from Noorderpark, Amsterdam. The project compared how young people are engaged in decision making in relation to their neighbourhoods, estates and open spaces. The young people were at the heart of the project’s design and development, which incorporated video-making and music events in order to attract and maintain commitment to the project.
Youth Ambassadors
Amstel Wedge
Early debates around the future of Amsterdam’s Amstel Wedge based ideas for future strategy primarily on its agricultural traditions and rural image. But SAUL proposed that, from an external perspective, the northern part of the Wedge is essentially an urban landscape. The city is visibly present in and around the area, yet it is a green, open and relatively quiet space. They questioned whether the existing plans could represent a sustainable future and helped to draw up a more suitable plan for the Wedge, which recognised that citizens of the city also have an important part to play.
The Amstel Wedge
Further information about the outcomes of the above SAUL projects can be found in the partnerships Final Report.
TEMS (Training, Employment, Maintenance and Sustainability)
This region also participated in the transnational TEMS project.
Current Project - SAUL 2 EXT
In an attempt to tackle the historic deprivation in the North of Amsterdam, attempts are being made to stimulate the knowledge-economy. Key to this is the creation of a new area of housing within the Noorderpark, known as the Volewijkspark. The aim is to attract both new upwardly mobile classes as well as the original population, who are characterised by low income and low education. SAUL 2 EXT will focus on developing this housing area with an emphasis on the spatial and social participation processes, identified by SAUL, that will be crucial to building a sustainable community. Investment projects such as restoring a children’s learner pool and installing creative furniture will be carried out, and the project will be carefully monitored to test how this kind of development may contribute to social cohesion and economic improvement.
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