-
Artikel
Amsterdam on foot
Walkability, which refers to the extent to which the built environment encourages walking, has been linked to increased physical activity and improved health. While various studies have developed indicators to assess walkability, limited attention has been given to the influence of specific city characteristics on residents’ perceptions of walkability. Therefore, this study proposes the development of a context-specific walkability index for Amsterdam. Through a mixed methods approach, the study explores subjective viewpoints on what defines a walkable street and identifies the most significant walkability factors for this particular urban region. These factors are then incorporated into a weighted walkability index, which provides street-level scores.
The findings emphasize that walkability in Amsterdam is not a uniform concept, as individual walking behaviour is influenced not only by the environment but also by personal factors. The resulting walkability index underscores the importance of factors such as traffic safety, crime safety, pedestrian infrastructure, and proximity to amenities in shaping residents’ decisions to walk on specific streets.
This study highlights the significance of participatory approaches and the inclusion of individuals’ subjective views when evaluating walkability. By considering both objective indicators and subjective viewpoints, cities can develop more meaningful strategies to enhance walkability and create environments that promote active and healthy lifestyles. -
Artikel
Shared Micromobility, Shared by Everyone?
Shared micromobility, which refers to small, lightweight vehicles like bikes and scooters, can provide flexible and eco-friendly transportation options. However, these services are mainly used by privileged groups, such as younger, wealthy, single, and male populations, which raises concerns about inclusivity. Amsterdam is experimenting with shared micromobility to achieve societal goals, but the low usage by a small privileged group highlights the need to address accessibility issues.
Most research in this area has focused on users, and few studies have included of non-users in their study. The aim of this research is to fill this knowledge gap by investigating which groups are not using shared micromobility and for what reasons, using a qualitative research approach. This involved face-to-face surveys with non-users to identify their barriers to using these services.Author: Julie van Damme
-
Artikel
Tranquilitree: the Potential of Trees to Mitigate Aircraft Noise Pollution from Schiphol Airport
Flying has become increasingly accessible in the last few decades, leading to enormous growth in aircraft traffic worldwide. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is the fourth-busiest airport in Europe based on passenger traffic, and noise pollution from the airport affects over 63,000 individuals daily. This study aims to determine if the presence of trees has the potential to significantly mitigate noise pollution from aircraft across seasonal leaf patterns and across different configurations in a simulated street canyon near a major airport.
Thirty-six adolescent Common Linden trees were placed in a simulated street canyon near Schiphol Airport’s Kaagbaan runway, where sound, weather, and flight data were collected between February through May. Two additional configurations of the trees were also tested to evaluate the effect of planting density and patterns on scattering
and reflecting noise. Trends in sound pressure levels measured inside the street canyon were compared to levels measured by a reference microphone, and a linear regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of weather and trajectory variables on the differences in sound pressure levels between these two environments. Between 0.68 and 3.3 dB of noise attenuation were observed in the experimental courtyard for arriv- ing flights, versus between -2.65 and 0.5 dB of noise attenuation for departing flights. Furthermore, while around 10 percent (R2 =0.099) of variation in the noise attenuation
of arriving flights could be explained by flight trajectory and weather variables alone, this percentage was significantly higher for departing flights (R2 =0.46). These results are in line with previous research which found that the interaction of building properties with meteorological variables and flight trajectory have the most influence on sound propaga- tion of aircraft noise within a street canyon environment, but also suggest that vegetation can play a role in mitigating noise pollution. Further research is required to determine if the presence of adult leaves or the psychological effects of greenery on the human per- ception of aircraft noise pollution could augment the modest noise pollution attenuation effects of trees seen in this experiment.Author: Lanie Preston
-
Artikel
Fast Food, Slow Sustainability?
The current food system has a large impact on global greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater use. Shifting towards a sustainable food system is becoming increasingly important, and individuals can contribute by making sustainable food choices and avoiding excessive consumption. However, consumers face challenges in making sustainable choices due to the prevalence of unhealthy and unsustainable fast-food outlets. The association between fast-food outlet exposure, specifically the proximity and density of fast-food outlets, and environmentally sustainable food choices is not well understood. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by examining the association between fast-food outlet exposure and sustainable dietary intake and food-related behavior. Statistical and GIS analyses were performed to explore the influence of the fast-food environment. The study's findings did not demonstrate a significant association between fast-food outlet exposure and sustainable food choices and food-related behavior. This suggests that factors beyond fast-food availability may have a stronger influence on sustainable dietary choices. Although the study did not find a significant association between fast-food outlet exposure and sustainable food-related outcomes, it provides valuable insights into the fast-food environment and sustainability. Future research should address limitations such as sample size, representativeness, and the consideration of other contributing factors. By doing so, the fast-food environment and its influences on sustainable food choices and behavior can be better understood, thereby guiding the development of more sustainable diets.
Author: Antonia van der Grinten
-
Artikel
The Biologic Networks of Cities
Given the development of network theory and complexity theory and their application to urban studies in recent decades, a paradigm shift is occurring with more and more scholars claiming to see the city as a complex adaptive system. This system is supposedly built up from the simple individual actions and interactions and give rise to emergent patterns. Much like an ant’s colony. Another research trend in recent decades is the science of cities. Aimed at finding the underlying rules of urban development. This branch of science is finding allometric scaling laws that are present in biological networks (e.g., like water transport in trees or the cardio-vascular system in mammals) and are applicable to urban characteristics. Using a slime mold as model organism for its ability to form robust and efficient networks, this study aims to develop a computer model of urban growth through its networks. Instead of chemotaxis, geodata will guide the slime mold’s growth. Using geodata from Western Europe a virtual “petri dish” is populated by the slime mold to mimic urban networks. The results from the model show that by adding geodata, slime mold models can become more accurate in representing real urban networks. Despite the positive results, the accuracy of representing real urban networks differs in the different study areas. Nonetheless, the study show that this methodology can be further developed to allow for network evaluation in the future.
Author: Thomas Schram
-
Artikel
Revitalizing Amsterdam’s Green Policies
The decline of microbial diversity in the Anthropocene era has ecological and human health implications. The gut microbiome, which plays a crucial role in immune system regulation and overall well-being, emphasizes the importance of microbial diversity. Urban environments, however, present challenges for microbial exposure due to absence of biodiverse natural environments. Strategies like Microbiome-Inspired Green Infrastructure (MIGI), which emcompasses green spaces that aim to support the functionality and resilience of microbial ecosystems, need to be integrated into long-term urban development plans to mitigate the loss of microbial diversity and foster healthier urban environments. This study aims to understand how MIGI or other microbial-inclusive practices can be effectively integrated into Amsterdam's existing green policy. This is done by studying the current relation between Amsterdam’s green policy and microbial-inclusive practices using a Policy Arrangement Approach with four dimensions: actors, resources, rules of the game, and discourse. Document analysis, semi-structed interviews and an expert meeting reveals that microbial-inclusive practices are largely absent within the current green policy of Amsterdam. Based on the findings recommendations are provided to systematically integrate microbial inclusive practices, alongside recommendations for further research.
Author: Lune Walder
-
Artikel
Who are they? What do they want? And why do they want it?
The Dutch population is facing a housing crisis. This crisis has slowly been affecting housing options in the whole country, but it predominantly shows problems in the densely populated urban regions. In September 2021, approximately 15000 gathered in Amsterdam at a large housing protest: the Woonprotest. This research is an explorative case study to comprehend the pluriformity of ideologies and protest motives that came together at the Woonprotest. By means of a literature review, a photo analysis and qualitative interviews, the differences in housing ideologies and protest motives of the protesters are determined. Based on a literature review, the run-up to the housing crisis is reconstructed. A photo analysis determines the different types of protest attendees. By analysing the interviews, it appears that protesters clearly have three different ideologies when it comes to housing: communism, anarchism, and solving the crisis within the current system. However, the respondents’ opinions on actual policy changes are very similar, even when it comes to radical ideas. Considering the protest motives, the respondents have equivalent purposes to protest. Protesters want to express their discontent with the housing shortage and they want something to change after the protest. The results of this research helps the movement to get a grip on its supporters. Further research is needed to understand the implications of having strong differences in ideologies within the housing movement.
Author: Marie Gaeraedts
-
Artikel
Elucidating a ‘black-box’ transcends explaining the algorithm
Responding to the trend of increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI), we need to ensure applica- tions of AI are designed, implemented, utilised and evaluated in a careful manner. Explainable AI, or XAI, meaning; - given a certain audience, the details and reasons of both technical processes of the algorithm-support system and the reasoning behind the system to make its functioning clear or easy to understand - is one of the ways to responsibly design and implement AI systems. This re- search looks into AI-supported public decision-making processes in the Netherlands and the role and possible contribution of XAI in such a context. To this end, I conducted a mixed-method qualitative study; interviewing sixteen respondents from three key-actor groups within two Dutch national public sector executive bodies, additionally performing three observations and document-analysis. Differen- tiating between different phases of an AI system’s implementation life-cycle, the study unveils how the respective actors - managers, data scientists and domain experts/(potential) AI users - encounter various challenges in bringing an AI system from idea to production. The empirical findings show that many AI systems, whilst technically developed, are not deployed or adopted by the wider organisation. The study discerns the challenges hindering the AI implementation process from an organisational, human and technical point of view. Moreover, the study highlights the need to approach XAI from a multi-purpose, multi-actor perspective; both acknowledging that various actors need different kinds of explanations, but also bridging different respective professional worldviews to apprehend one another. XAI is often seen as a one-size-fits-all solution for various implementation challenges, however the study shows that certain challenges need to be addressed at least beyond traditional ways of XAI from a computer science perspective, and perhaps beyond XAI all together. As such, the insights of this thesis contribute to generating a more realistic idea about the opportunities and limitations of XAI, within real-world AI implementation processes in the public sector.
Author: Abhiramini Rajiv
-
Artikel
Ageing in Place
The demographic shift towards an aging population in the Netherlands is a significant concern, with projections indicating that 25 percent of the country's citizens will be over 65 years old by 2050. Addressing the needs of these older adults to live in suitable homes that support aging in place is crucial. Older adult homes, commonly implemented by social housing corporations in urban areas, present a potential solution. By studying these buildings and their ability to support aging adults, valuable insights can be gained for future designs. To investigate the shared spaces and their attributes within older adult housing complexes, this research employs the Multi Assessment System for Built Environment (MASBE) and utilizes the social network theory. The case study conducted in this research focuses on the Laurierhof complex in Amsterdam and employs interviews and observations as data collection methods. The results of the study provide a diverse range of perspectives on the livability of the complex and how residents use the shared spaces. Based on these findings, recommendations are proposed for various target groups, including policy makers, housing corporations, and architects. These recommendations encompass design considerations aimed at enhancing indoor visibility, incorporating benches or facilitating furniture, creating space for personalization of shared areas, broadening spaces, establishing sufficient support systems, recognizing the importance of the threshold space, and providing both collective outdoor and indoor spaces.
Author: Loeki den Uijl
-
Artikel
Heat Stress in Outdoor Spaces in Amsterdam
Due to the global temperature rise and urban heat island effect Amsterdam, like many Dutch cities, will suffer aggravated consequences of heat. The high temperatures have consequences for both health and liveability, particularly among vulnerable groups such as elderly with less financial means. Although previous research has been extensively conducted on urban microclimates and heat stress, more research needed to be done in the context of the temperate climate, across multiple scales and for the demographic group elderly. Therefore, this research investigates which design interventions are effective in decreasing outdoor heat stress around social housing for elderly.
This study investigated which social housing buildings for elderly are located in heat-prone areas and selected three buildings suffering from extreme heat stress. Afterwards, the microclimates of these cases were simulated with the use of ENVI-met. The microclimate analysis investigated the heat stress and which different climatic elements (air temperature, radiation, humidity and wind) was most influential in the high heat stress. In the third part of this research interventions were explored based on literature, of which interventions were selected based on the probable main cause of the heat stress. The chosen interventions were assessed based on their efficiency through simulations and their suitability through interviews with several housing corporations.
The findings of this study contributed to finding practical implications for urban decision-makers for interventions in heat stress mitigation. The results suggest that many outdoor spaces social housing buildings suffer from heat stress. The probable causes of the heat stress differ; however, one common cause was a decreased wind speed.
The results imply that single interventions are insufficient in decreasing heat stress. Further research could be done to investigate combinations of multiple interventions. Also, the application of temporary interventions for heat stress mitigation and strategic placement of interventions should be further investigated.
Author: Ilse Ellenbroek
-
Artikel
Achieving Carbon Budget Compliance in the Dutch Housing Development Sector
The Dutch housing development sector faces challenges of dealing with a housing shortage whilst having to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge is urgent, the carbon budget for the Dutch housing development sector for staying within 1.5 degrees Celsius is running out rapidly and expected to run out as early as 2027. Hence, there is urgent need to decarbonize the sector. Barriers and opportunities for carbon budget compliance for Dutch developers are explored in this research utilizing an embedded case study research design. Where first a CO2 analysis is performed for twelve representative case study buildings, considering both upfront embodied carbon emissions and operational carbon emissions between 2023 and 2050. The findings indicate that the majority of these cases are currently non-compliant with the carbon budget threshold levels, highlighting the urgency for a necessary fundamential transformation of the sector.
Author: Evelien Dekker
-
Artikel
Sewer Water Harvesting to Support Urban Green Spaces
This research has investigated how Sewer Water Harvesting (SWH) can be applied to provide a
climate-proof fresh water source to support Urban Green Spaces (UGS) in Amsterdam. SWH is the
process of extracting raw municipal sewage from the sewer and locally treating this to provide fit-forpurpose water in a dense urban environment while treatment residuals are discharged back into the
sewer. SWH can help to meet the increasing water demand of UGS in Amsterdam, which experience
exacerbated dry periods as a result of climate change, while conventional water sources are unlikely to
meet this demand.The overall aim was to provide a conceptual design example of how SWH could be applied in
the Amsterdam context to uncover what kind of impact can be achieved and advise on how SWH can
be implemented From an analysis of potential applications, irrigation of UGS during dry periods was
selected for the focus of the study. Suitable locations were identified, from which the Vondelpark was
selected as study area for this research. Quality requirements for irrigation water and discharge of
treatment residuals were determined. The water demand of the study area was determined by
modelling the soil moisture balance using transformed weather data, taking into account climate
change. Based on these requirements, a conceptual design of an SWH-unit comprised of fine
screening, MF, NF and UV steps. To evaluate this potential impact for Amsterdam as a whole, the
findings from the study area were extrapolated. The cost of SWH were compared to alternative water
sources and the potential direct economic benefits. This demonstrated that costs of SWH are
acceptable and can be further decreased. Furthermore, the potential impact on plant and soil health was
evaluated. Interviews with stakeholders identified barriers and opportunities of SWH and resulted in
some recommendations for larger scale implementation.The results of this research indicate that SWH can provide a new and reliable water source
during dry periods to support UGS. SWH-units can be designed as mobile and modular units that can
for a large part be operated and monitored remotely. The results further demonstrate that potential
negative environmental effects can be prevented or mitigated and SWH can even improve the plant
and soil health of UGS. From an engineering perspective, challenges related to the water quality are
unlikely to be insurmountable. However, three aspects still require a significant amount of time and
investment before SWH can be implemented on a larger scale. These are: (1) the lack of regulatory
framework, (2) the unresolved responsibility for operation and (3) extensive water quality testing and
environmental impact assessment. To accelerate innovation it is recommended to start as soon as
possible with addressing these remaining issues. Commercial operation of SWH can provide an
interesting opportunity, all the more so because SWH can also be used for household or industrial
applications. The involvement of a wider variety of stakeholders can further help to overcome the
remaining barriers.Author: Jan-Joris van der Plas
-
Artikel
Accelerating the implementation of green roofs
Innovative strategies are required to increase urban resilience in the face of the increasing impacts of climate change, such as heat stress and flooding. With many benefits, including improved social well- being, increased biodiversity, temperature reduction, and water management, green roofs have emerged as a potential solution to combat climate change.
However, the components currently used in green roofs often compromise their environmental performance, undercutting their potential benefits. This research suggests that biobased and circular materials, which have less environmental impact, could be more environmentally friendly alternatives.
Therefore, these materials can potentially improve the environmental impact of green roofs, aligning more closely with their intended purpose of combating climate change. This research question combines two main components of this research.Author: Vera Brugman