Ground for Wellbeing

GfW focuses on Tuindorp Oostzaan (TO), a historic 'garden city' neighbourhood in Amsterdam North, located in a subsiding polder. Known for its tight-knit working-class community shaped by a 1960 flood disaster, TO faces significant poverty and health challenges. The neighborhood ranks among the poorest 25% in Amsterdam, with over half of its adults classified as obese (56% compared to the city average of 39%), and chronic health issues disproportionately affecting its elderly population. At the same time, ongoing gentrification is reshaping its demographics, exacerbating social tensions, and fostering mistrust toward the government.. Across Amsterdam, urban transitions for sustainable energy, digitalisation, new mobility and climate adaptation require more infrastructure, especially in scarce subsurface space. A fundamentally different planning approach is needed for public space.
GfW seeks to enhance TO's climate resilience, improve residents' health and wellbeing, and innovate municipal planning with Soil and Water Sensitive Urban Design (SWSUD). The focus is on redeveloping Plejadenplein, a central square, into a climate-proof, healthier space, and redesigning Meteorenweg, a central artery, as a case study for process innovations. These include integrating social and spatial design, incorporating subsurface planning into municipal processes, and using new tools like the Zoöp and Urban Rhythm Analysis. Thus, TO can become a model for a green, just transition of socially vulnerable neighbourhoods with high climate precarity.