The renewal of what was tomorrow's idealistic city

Abstract

One of the finest and best-known examples of a CIAM-planned area is the Bijlmermeer in Amsterdam, one of Europe’s leading examples of high-rise estates. Over the years, the Bijlmermeer has been a shining example of the high expectations and ideas of CIAM-planning, the disappointment, problems and stigma of numerous improvement trials and nowadays of a radical redesign and integrated approach. This paper describes and analyses developments in the Bijlmermeer and places them within an international and historical context. The aim of the paper is to show how negative developments strengthened each other and how the early improvements were not sufficient. Nowadays, drastic renewal is taking place, with overall promising results, although there are still major problems. The paper will show that the present policy in the Bijlmermeer goes further than possibly any other measure in the world. As a consequence, there is only a marginal future left for high-rises in the Bijlmermeer. The paper will also show what conditions support the success in the Bijlmermeer: connecting the area within the region, an integrative approach, no fear of radical solutions, financial support and the participation of inhabitants.