Going Dutch: Lessons in urban amenity from Amsterdam
By Soon-Tzu Speechley
October 2015 FEATURE
In the summer, the streets are filled with rowdy visitors drawn by the city’s reputation for sex, drugs and rock and roll. But at the same time, Amsterdam is also home to the average Dutch.It’s a human theatre conducted against the gracious Golden Age backdrop, where over 7,600 buildings in the city centre alone are listed as “monuments”1. It’s a delicate balance, but for decades Amsterdam has somehow juggled the competing needs of tourists and locals alike.Despite amassing over 11...
Soon-Tzu Speechley
studied History and Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne. He now works at the Architectural Conservation Lab at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). His writing has appeared in a number of publications in Malaysia and Australia. He tweets @ speechleyish.
