Almere
From the moment of its establishment in 1976, Almere has been one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. Since its initial development as a suburban area east of Amsterdam, it has grown to achieve the status of the Netherlands' most exemplary ‘new town’. In just 30 years it has attracted nearly 190,000 residents and 13,000 businesses. Almere is the largest city in the province of Flevoland and the seventh largest city in the Netherlands.
Expansion
The expansion of the city continues apace. Its ambition is to double in size over the next twenty years. But why is this abundance of space still available, even though it is situated a mere twenty minutes from the epicentre of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area? The reason lies in the fact that, in line with the typical Dutch tradition of reclaiming land from water, Almere has been built on land that used to be hidden beneath a large lake (the IJsselmeer).
Sustainability
Almere was established as a suburban city, providing a sustainable alternative to the dense, urbanised metropolitan region of Amsterdam . The city was built implementing a multi-centred structure, incorporating the surrounding water and nature as much as possible. This has resulted in a unique city with distinct ‘blue’ and ‘green’ characteristics.
Innovation
Almere is a city where innovations can thrive, which is essentially what the new town character of Almere is all about. For example, on the western side of town a whole area has been built on floating panels, creating the possibility of building inside the waterfront. Furthermore, the entire city is equipped with traffic-free bus lanes, extending from the outskirts to the city centre, which is why residents and visitors regularly use public transportation instead of cars. Moreover, the whole city is fitted with fibre optics, allowing internet at any location.
Diversity
Above all, Almere is a pleasant city for its residents, with great diversity in religion, ethnicity and culture. The largest ethnic population after the Dutch is the Surinamese. Almere is also home to Moroccans, Turks, Ghanaians, Antilleans, Americans and Indonesians. Altogether, Almere is home to 164 different ethnicities and 134 different nationalities.
Further information
More information can be found on Almere's comprehensive English-language website.
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You can also reach us by phone:
+31 (0)20 254 79 99