Amsterdam Beyond the City Center
Amsterdam has become one of the largest tourist destinations in the Netherlands. The city center is very concentrated, making it easy to get from one place to the other. However, the city was not always so easy to navigate. During this Dialogue, we’ve learned of how the Dutch have taken an innovative approach to transportation to make it more efficient, reliable, and sustainable. By learning about the transportation system in Amsterdam, we were able to see a different side to the city that most tourists do not venture into.
In Amsterdam and most major cities in the Netherlands, over 50% of people use bicycles and public transit to commute to and within the city. Walking through the crowded streets filled with pedestrians, it can be difficult to imagine that Amsterdam was once crowded with cars. During the 1960’s, the Netherland’s saw the use of cars grow rapidly. Many Dutch cities, such as the Amsterdam, quickly became congested. In the United States, our solution to traffic congestion is to build more streets to meet increasing traffic demands. However, in the Netherlands, the Dutch have found that doing the opposite by limiting space for cars will reduce congestion and the number of drivers on the road. Many Dutch cities have a traffic ring surrounding the city for motor vehicles; only a few roads leading into the city center from the traffic ring. This limits the number of cars that can enter the city. Many roads within cities will not allow cars to pass through. Most public squares were used for parking lots. In the 1990s, many Dutch cities banned parked cars in cities squares. Now, squares have become open plazas where people can gather.
You might be thinking that without cars, how do the Dutch get around? We quickly learned that the key to reducing motor traffic is to promote public transportation and bicycling infrastructure. Amsterdam is the easiest major, European city to navigate without a car. However, it’s also a very busy city. The streets are lined with tourists and locals; it can be difficult to navigate without a car. Although difficult, it is still possible. And once you’ve learned to navigate Amsterdam by bike, you can finally see a new side to it.
When coming to a historic city such as Amsterdam, most people head for the city center and popular museums. However, on our first day in Amsterdam, our teacher did the opposite. We took a tour a bike tour that showed us around the outskirts of Amsterdam. We were initially amazed by the diversity of the city landscape and architecture. Most people have an image of Amsterdam being a city filled with gorgeous canals, narrow cobbled streets, and historic houses. However, we drove through some of the modern districts of Amsterdam. High, apartment buildings and office windows populated the outside neighborhoods.
Biking away from the modern residential area, we found ourselves on winding paths that took us through a forest. We rode along lakes and rivers, under the canopy of trees with bright green leaves. Small, rural homes lined the river. Riding a little further, we found a large lake with a sunny beach. We couldn’t believe that less than an hour ago, we were in the busy heart of Amsterdam. Despite being so expansive, all of Amsterdam is accessible by bike. Even the forest we rode through had wide, paved paths for bikes and pedestrians. The Dutch have been able to connect different parts of the city with a cycling network and as a result, travelling from one part of the city to the next is quick and easy.
By seeing several parts of the city, our class was able to have a better sense of what it would be like to live in Amsterdam. It’s easy to imagine yourself living in an apartment in the city’s center if that is the only part of Amsterdam you have seen. However, many people do not live in the city center. The outer parts of the city are filled with beautiful nature, sleek, modern housing, and properties with extra space. Like in many Dutch cities, the bicycling infrastructure connecting the Amsterdam allows people to easily commute into the city center. Bicycling offers an affordable, healthy, and quick way to travel to work. As a result, the people of Amsterdam and visitors like us can easily enjoy various parts of the city.
Although I recommend discovering the different neighborhoods of Amsterdam, there is so much to see and do in the city center. Amsterdam is much busier than any other Dutch city we had explored. The narrow streets meant for cyclists and pedestrians are filled with people, and it can be intimidating to navigate by bike. However, even at its busiest hours, pedestrians know how to make space for cyclists.When a cyclist rings their bell, locals and even tourists smoothly step out of the path of the cyclist. Because cycling is such a norm in the Netherlands, pedestrians and cars respect cyclists and make space for them, even in the most crowded areas. If weaving your way through the city’s crowded streets becomes seamingly too overwhelming, you can also choose to use public transit. The city has a train system that can take you from one side of the city to the other. For shorter distance, the above ground train system allows you to easily access popular destinations within the city.
While in the city center, take advantage of all that Amsterdam has to offer. I enjoyed that every street of Amsterdam was unique to the next; walking (or biking if you’re brave enough) through the city can keep you captivated for hours. Be sure to also check out museums such as the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijks Art Museum, and the Anne Frank house. Take a canal tour of the city and enjoy a stroopwafel at the city center. However, if you find that you need a break from the crowded streets, rent a bike and take a ride through the outskirts of Amsterdam to see all that the city has to offer.
