Amsterdam’s Bijlmer – A multi-cultural facet of contrasts
Every city has an area that they have a love-hate relationship with. In Amsterdam this area is the Bijlmer. It’s about as far away as you can get from your typical cheese and clogs image of Amsterdam, but with around 100,000 residents from 150 ethnic backgrounds, this is a side of Amsterdam that shouldn't be overlooked.
With a large concentration of high-rise, purpose-built housing, the Bijlmer is not conventionally attractive – although the area is surrounded by rolling countryside and picturesque waterways. But you can’t come here and not feel something. Whether that’s slightly estranged by the high-rise flats or deeply fascinated by the conflicting contrasts you'll encounter here. Many of the Bijlmer’s inhabitants have tropical ethnic roots, and so it is home to exotic food, rhythmic music and colourful scenes. Curiously this area is also a hot-spot for building hi-tech gleaming office buildings, so it is a true multicultural melting pot.
History
The Bijlmer saw the biggest urban expansion of Amsterdam in the 1960’s. On the drawing board it looked very impressive – a city of high-rise flats like a large honeycomb. But in the functional design, living, working and recreation were seen as separate activities and the new area was seen as bland and unattractive. As fewer middle-class people wanted to move here than originally planned, services were scaled back and did not materialize. And with the independence of Surinam in 1975, there was a great influx of Surinamese immigrants. Unemployment was rife and crime soared – something had to be done.
Renewal
After El Al Flight 1862 crashed into two Bijlmermeer buildings in 1992, the area underwent a vigorous urban renewal programme as part of Amsterdam’s Zuidoost (South East) municipality. It is no longer a satellite of Amsterdam but has its own throbbing city-heart and global multinationals, like ING, Staples and Nike have their European headquarters here. The sparkling Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA station is a hub for busses, trains and metros and there are numerous restaurants and entertainment venues here, including the Heineken Music Hall and Pathe Arena Multiplex cinema.
Football and shopping
The modern Amsterdam ArenA, built from 1993 to 1996 and with a capacity of 51,628 seats, is home to the most successful football club in the Netherlands, Ajax. Football fans can visit the Ajax Museum or tour the stadium and you might be lucky to see the team practicing. You should also pay a visit to Amsterdamse Poort, which is actually Amsterdam’s largest shopping area. Along with the usual chain-store offerings there are loads of smaller shops and stalls offering ethnic products from around the world – from spicy curry powder to exotic vegetables to hair extensions.
Amsterdam’s Bijlmer area is not on the usual tourist agenda, but if you want to see a uniquely contrasting side of Amsterdam, make sure to add Bijlmer to your itinerary.
- Tell a friend