The Zuidas
city district is located just south of the historical center of Amsterdam ,
along the A-10 Ring Road. Plans for the
district originally began in 1997, and the area is not anticipated to be
completed until 2040. Zuidas literally
means South Axis in Dutch, but it is
also known as the “Financial Mile”. The
district was originally planned as a business district when a coalition of
interested stakeholders, which included ING
Group, ABN -Amro, and Akzo Nobel, began
leading the market by consolidating their headquarters in the area. In 2012, Zuidas district was rated the Best
Office Location in the Netherlands
by the real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle. The ranking is based on 40 different criteria
in three categories: geographical
location, quality, and market & policy.
 |
| Zuidas District Plan |
But the
Zuidas district is more than just business.
The area is approximately 270 hectares (1.0425 square miles) and is
surrounded by two large parks and situated between two popular residential
areas. In additional to being home to
over 400 companies, Zuidas contains over 600 apartments. An additional 9,000 homes are planned for
development in the Gershwin, Vivaldi and Kop Zuidas areas. The goal is a mixed use urban space
containing 44% offices, 44% housing and 12% facilities. The district currently includes the Vrije
University Amsterdam, the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Center, 12
schools, 2 hotels, 5 childcare centers, and a synagogue. There are also planned events such as the
Zuidas Run, Zuidance, and regular outdoor concerts.
Amsterdam
Zuid Station, located in Zuidas, is the 5th busiest passenger
station in the Netherlands
and currently serves 65,000 passengers per day, with an expected 10% increase
in passengers per year. Services include
train, Metro (mixed rapid transit and light rail), tram, and bus. From the station, it takes about eight
minutes to get to Schiphol Airport Amsterdam . In addition to the airport, there are high
speed rail connections to Rotterdam , Belgium England , France
and Germany . Zuidas is a highly accessible area with 38% of
people arriving by public transport, 30% by automobile, and 30% by bicycle.
 |
| A 10 Motorway |
The
ZuidasDok Project has been proposed to expand the Zuid Station for greater
transfer capacity between the rail, metro, tram and bus; improved connections
for pedestrians and cyclists; and new facilities and storage for more than
10,000 bicycles. The ZuidasDok Project
is also looking to expand and improve the A10 motorway. New lanes will be constructed to improve
traffic flow to the south, and local traffic will be separated from through
traffic to cut down on merging and congestion.
When completed, the A10 will consist of twelve lanes, four for through
traffic and two for local traffic, in each direction. The A10 currently divides the Zuidas District
and project plans include rerouting the road underground where it runs through
the district. This would create a large
urban space that will allow for greater pedestrian and bicycle connections and
transform the entire area.
Considering
the scope and goals of the project, there are many groups and organizations involved. The commissioning parties include the
national government (the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, and the
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation), the Province
of Noord-Holland Amsterdam
urban region, and the City of Amsterdam . The Directorate-General for Public Works and
Water Management (RWS), Prorail (a rail infrastructure company), and the City
of Amsterdam are responsible for
preparing the decision-making process and cooperating within the ZuidasDok
Project Organization.
Sources:
Hello Zuidas: http://www.hellozuidas.com/
ZuidasDok: http://www.zuidasdok.nl/en
Competitive Comet Metropolises - Large Scale Urban
Projects: Amsterdam: Plan Zuidas:
http://www.oeaw.ac.at/isr/comet/documents/Final_Results/COMET_CTT/largesc/largesc-190.html
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