The State of the City of Amsterdam I was published in the summer of 2001. At the time, the report opened with the sentence 'Things are going well in Amsterdam'. Indeed, many residents of Amsterdam had profited from the favourable economic developments, which had repercussions on the social participation and social integration. But this certainly did not apply to all of the residents of Amsterdam. Some of the groups of residents in Amsterdam, many long-term unemployed for example still stayed on the sidelines.

Two years have passed. These developments raise a number of questions, such as:

On the other hand, the favourable economic development has gone into a nosedive on a national level and Amsterdam cannot escape this either. Are the consequences of this already visible in the city? The monitor 'The State of the City' has been carried out in Amsterdam for a second time in order to answer these and other questions.

To answer these questions two types of data collection were used in the monitor:

In addition to these two sources, by way of supplement and for reasons of comparison, data from other studies in Amsterdam are used:

Many things have improved in Amsterdam during the past years:

There are also less positive developments and risks for the city. Not everyone has profited from the positive developments in the city. This can mainly be observed in certain areas in the city, as the spatial differences with respect to participation are connected to the homes that are available in certain neighbourhoods. On the other hand, concentrations of non-participation may cause a further decrease in the extent of participation. The question is therefore: what are the consequences of the economically deteriorating situation for the housing market and the existing problems concerning participation?

The lack of participation in the city is evident from, for example, the high number of long-term unemployed and people who have had to depend on a minimum income for a prolonged period of time. The areas in the city where concentrations of non-participation can traditionally be found, such as concentrations of people on social benefits, remain clearly visible. There are even areas in which one can observe stronger concentrations. And so there are still (potential) problem groups and problem areas in the city. An alarming development is, for example, that many youngsters drop out of the educational system without starting qualifications.

Compared to two years ago, the State of the City II gives a sharper impression of which groups at which locations in the city are in the worst position. The position of foreign youngsters in particular deserves extra attention in this respect. They are often underprivileged, not only in terms of education and on the labour market, but also on the housing market. What's m ore, the number of foreign youngsters will substantially increase in the years to come. Even if their socio-economic position improves, it will be difficult to bridge the gap between this group and the youngsters with a good starting position. In addition, we can also see the effects of an economic climate that is becoming less favourable: the strong increase in employment is coming to an end and the proportion of the labour force that is unemployed is increasing. These effects can be observed to a great extent nationally as well.

O+S, Amsterdam Bureau for Research and Statistics, City of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 20 5279527
algemeen@dos.amsterdam.nl
http://www.os.amsterdam.nl/english/

09/10/2003

Lindeman, E., Dignum, K., Schyns, P., Klein Wolt, K., Smeets, H., Crok, S., Slot, J.

research

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Competitiveness