From obsolete industrial urban
space to a place beyond belief
NDA case study on the transformation of the NDSM in Amsterdam
MASTER THESIS HUMAN GEORAPHY June 23, 2014
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Graduate School of Social Sciences
Master Thesis Human Geography
Title: From obsolete industrial urban space to a place beyond belief Subtitle: A case study on the transformation of NDSM in Amsterdam
Student: Rick Stern Student number: 10617965
Supervisor: Dr. F. Pinkster
Second reader: Prof. Dr. A. Reijndorp
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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
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Abstract
This thesis is about the transformation and transition of the NDSM located in
Amsterdam. Originally an industrial space in the harbor of Amsterdam this space became a cultural hideaway. Nowadays festivals, bars, stores and offices emerge from the former
docklands and are attracting people from everywhere in Amsterdam and its surroundings. NDSM is presented as a bottom-up success; the slogan ‘Self Made Future’ emphasizes this. In this thesis the concept of place making ‘from below’ is used to show how different groups give meaning to this particular place in Amsterdam. Whose place is this and for what purposes is this place used? What are the dynamics between these place makers and the government? The research design of this thesis consists of a single case study, with interviews, observation and
documentation as the methods applied to collect data. Throughout this work the focus is on qualitative research to analyze the case study. The aim of this research is to contribute to the existing literature of place making ‘from below’.
Key words: place making from below; obsolete industrial spaces; cultural hotspot; alternative
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Acknowledgements
During the course about urban geography my interest in this particular subfield of human geography had grown. In the particular course ‘Social Challenges in Cities’ topics such as gentrification, urban inequality and social polarization in cities were discussed which really attracted my interest. Consequently, when we had to choose our final thesis topics my choice for the urban geography thesis project was quickly made. The next task was to find a suitable topic which would suit my interests. During the time I was living in Berlin to write my bachelor thesis a year ago the many abandoned and obsolete industrial buildings struck my attention. People were using these abandoned spaces creative and shops, working spaces and even clubs rose out of these urban ruins. Desolate spaces were transformed into hotspots. I was wondering if this was also happening in Amsterdam and after searching for similar projects I stumbled upon NDSM. The raw, untouched, desolate character directly caught my attention and I was sure that this was the exact location that I would like to write my Master’s thesis about.
And now, several months later, the end result is here. However, I could not have finished this thesis without the help of several people in particular. First of all I would like to express my gratitude towards everyone who participated in my research: from the respondents whom I interviewed until the people who have helped me on the fieldwork location. Without their effort, time and ideas about the NDSM this thesis would never be completed. I would also like to thank my supervisor Fenne Pinkster for guiding me through the entire research process. From initial thoughts towards the thesis you are reading now, her suggestions, ideas and advice provided me with fresh insights and knowledge for producing this final paper. Next I would like to thank my second reader Arnold Reijndorp for reading and reviewing my thesis. Finally, I would like to thank Esther Urlings as proofreader and motivator during the writing up of my thesis.
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Table of contents
Abstract ... 6
Acknowledgements ... 8
1. Introduction - A place beyond belief ... 14
1.1 Problem statement ... 16
1.2 Scientific and societal relevance ... 16
1.3 Methods ... 17
1.4 Readers’ guide ... 17
2: Theoretical framework ... 22
2.1 Places and place making ... 22
2.2 Place makers from ‘below’ ... 23
2.3 Industrial to post-industrial cities ... 26
2.4 Alternative urban futures ... 27
2.5 Government to governance ... 27
2.6 Cultural economy and the creative class... 28
2.7 Summary... 29 3: Methodology ... 31 3.1 Research design ... 32 3.2 Data collection ... 32 3.2.1 Documentation ... 33 3.2.2 Interviews ... 33 3.2.3 Direct observation ... 34 3.3 Analysis ... 34 3.4 Limitations ... 35 3.5 Ethical aspects ... 35
3.6 Reflection on the fieldwork ... 36
4: A short history of NDSM ... 38
4.1 NDSM as shipyard... 38
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4.3 NDSM as cultural hotspot... 39
5: Place-identity at the NDSM: "There are many things to be told about this place" ... 44
5.1 “Everything what stands here has a history” ... 44
5.2 “The attic of Amsterdam” ... 48
5.3 “It is like a hipster party” ... 50
5.4 “Check out the art-district” ... 53
5.5 The future NDSM? ... 57
5.6 Reflection on the data ... 60
5.7 Conclusion ... 62
6: Place makers ‘from below’ at the NDSM ... 63
6.1 Communities on the docks ... 63
6.1.2 Residents ... 63 6.1.2 Locals ... 67 6.1.3 Regulators ... 70 6.1.4 Large corporations... 71 6.1.5 Other ... 72 6.1.6 Consumers ... 74
6.2 Dynamics between different place makers at NDSM ... 75
6.3 Reflection on data ... 81
6.4 Conclusion ... 83
7: Discussion and conclusion ... 88
7.1 Still an alternative concept of urbanity? ... 88
7.2 Will NDSM lose its soul? ... 90
Literature ... 92
Appendix A: Location NDSM ... 96
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1. Introduction - A place beyond belief
At the backside of the Centraal Station of Amsterdam the IJ water is situated, which separates the downtown area from the northern part of the city. White and blue colored ferries await their daily commuters patiently for the crossing over the water. Cyclists rush by to catch the ferry just in time before departure. The leftmost ferry has as its destination the NDSM1 and sails in less than 15 minutes to its destination. During the voyage seagulls float alongside the ferry and the brand-new, luxurious apartments on the Westerdokseiland are on display. In the distance the contours of a harbor crane become visible and an illuminated text is to be seen. When the ferry is approaching the docks the text becomes clearer and reads: “a place beyond belief”. Raw industrial buildings such as warehouses, factories, and harbor structures dominate the street scene. When you leave the ferry another place is reached within the city of Amsterdam. It feels different from the downtown of Amsterdam, where tourists rush from one landmark to another landmark. It is also not the same as the multi-ethnic area in for example the Indische Buurt on the eastern part of the city. The abandoned docks create a unique atmosphere in the cityscape of Amsterdam. Welcome to NDSM, ‘Selfmade City’.
“A place beyond belief” by Nathan Coley, photo made by Andy Mcgeorge
This illuminated artwork “a place beyond belief” is on temporarily display in front of the NDSM. Nathan Coley was inspired by a women living in New York, who was interviewed in a radio show ten years after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in New York. She memorized the ride on the metro just after the attacks and called it: “a place beyond belief”. At the NDSM this piece of art
symbolizes the complex realization of this particular place and connects the place (a place) with
1
NDSM is short for Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij, which can be translated as Dutch Shipbuilding Company. To avoid any confusion this abbreviation will be used to refer to the place NDSM instead of the NDSM as a shipbuilding company.
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a value (beyond belief). The artwork will remain for two years in front of the docks (NDSM, 2013). Originally an industrial area, the NDSM experienced a great transformation throughout the last decades. Since the abandoned warehouses on the docks were regenerated into a cultural hotspot, the area is attracting artists, entrepreneurs and other people in design. The transformation also attracted new hospitality industries (e.g. bars, etc.) and other companies, such as the headquarters of MTV Europe. Nowadays, there are over 300 cultural events and festivals annually at the docklands of NDSM (Junte, 2014). Also in the media NDSM is often perceived as: hideaway (Volkskrant, 24 January 2014); breeding ground for creativity (NRC, 2008) and cultural hotspot (Telegraaf, 2008). The tagline of the NDSM is ‘Selfmade City’, a place for dreamers, pioneers, adventurers and forerunners where everyone can contribute to the place itself (NDSM, 2012). The focus of the ‘Selfmade City’ will be creating, culture and urban development as announced in the new policy document ‘Werk aan de werf’ (Stichting NDSM-werf, 2014). NDSM is often perceived as a resounding success of bottom-up development within Amsterdam. It started as a small independent artist community in the middle of the old decayed warehouses, but nowadays the rise of corporate headquarters in the middle of the refurbished docks gives another impression of the current situation. This transition from
obsolete space to cultural place also brought in implications for the users of this place. Therefore NDSM will be the case study to be analyzed in this thesis.
The central question for this research reads as follows:
“How do place makers ‘from below’ contribute to the transformation of obsolete industrial space into a cultural hotspot?”
Place makers ‘from below’ refers to actors that are involved in place making outside government involvement. These might for example be residents; people involved with the area for another reason, for example because of their work and users of the space. Obsolete industrial spaces in this regard refer to former industrial buildings that are not in use anymore and therefore
became superfluous. Cultural hotspot refers to an area where there is a lot of creative activity, in combination with economic activity.
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1.1 Problem statement
NDSM appears to be a clear-cut example of bottom-up development in the urban environment, which is seen increasingly by Dutch government as the best way to develop cities. Uitermark (2014) notes that bottom-up initiatives are flourishing and there is a fascination of self-organization raging through different fields of society. Uitermark calls this the desire for the ideal self-organizing city ‘Wikitopia’, where bottom-up collaborations result in a complex and ingenious society (2014, pp. 6-7). However, Uitermark explains that while markets and governments can fail, self-organization can fail as well. Therefore it is urgent to look what aspects of self-organization work and what does not work and we must remain critical towards bottom-up developments (2014, pp. 7-8).
Next to that, Nielsen and Simonsen (2003) argue that scholars in the field of human geography have been paying more attention to scales in the last ten years. The authors note that most of the existing literature start from the notion of globalization and then reason top-down as the following quote exemplifies: “The problems can be summarized as a dominant tendency of the analyses to be caught in a thinking of ‘scaling from above’- that is, a hierarchical view taking its starting point in ‘globalization’ and from that facilitating a top-down line of investigation” (Nielsen & Simonsen, 2003, p. 924). According to the author human geographers are caught by bounded hierarchical perspectives that are biased towards top-down thinking. However, Nielsen and Simonsen (2003, pp. 912-913) attempt to reverse the debate as they explain that we should: “consider the construction of urban spaces from below - from the practices and strategies of ‘ordinary’ people and organizations in the city.” Therefore, in this thesis a bottom-up approach is central to study the transformation of NDSM. The focus will be on place makers ‘from below’, without governmental involvement.
1.2 Scientific and societal relevance
As explained before there is an increased interest in self-organization nowadays. However, there seems to be a large gap within the literature regarding place making ‘from below’. In terms of scientific relevance this thesis will contribute to the larger debate around self-organization and place making ‘from below’ within an urban context. The already existing theories on these topics will be compared to my findings, and wherever possible I will make a connection between the
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already existing theories and my research findings. However, the results of this thesis are not only interesting in the scientific realm; they are also of societal relevance. This case study provides insights in how the NDSM developed from an obsolete space into a cultural hotspot. These insights are in the first place interesting because they provide us with knowledge about the transformations the NDSM area has gone through. Next to that, these insights will be relevant for similar areas facing the transformation from abandoned industrial buildings to creative scenes as well: the information gained by this thesis in relation to place making ‘from below’ can thus be applicable to similar places as well.
1.3 Methods
To get a detailed view on the development and functioning of the NDSM different methods and techniques are applied. However, the emphasis will be on qualitative research methods. The following methods will be part of the study: documentation; interviews and observation. These three methods together form a case study approach as described by Yin (2003). The justification and application of these methods are reviewed in detail in the methodology part of this paper.
1.4 Readers’ guide
This thesis is structured as follows: the next chapter elaborates the theoretical framework of this thesis. All relevant theories and concepts regarding place making, industrial urban regeneration, alternative urban futures and cultural economy will be discussed extensively. At the end of this theoretical framework the research questions will be presented to the reader. The third chapter discusses the methodology, research questions and research design of this thesis. The methods of data collection will be justified, limitations of the study will be explained, possible ethical issues are discussed and finally a reflection on the conducted fieldwork will end this
methodological chapter. In the fourth chapter a short history of the NDSM is given to provide the reader with contextual information about the fieldwork site. Particularly the development from NDSM as shipyard to cultural hotspot will be discussed within this chapter. The fifth chapter is the first empirical chapter and presents the collected data on the place-identity of NDSM. The different identities ascribed to NDSM by the respondents are clarified. The sixth chapter distinguishes the different place makers of NDSM and analyzes the dynamics and
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relationships between these various actors. In the seventh chapter the interpretation of the author on the collected empirical data is presented in a discussion and conclusion, which will answer the research question is given.
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2: Theoretical framework
This chapter will give an insight in the theoretical concepts which are of importance in relation to this research. The most important contributions in the field of places and place making, place making ‘from below’, industrial urban regeneration, alternative urban futures and cultural economy will be discussed. The chapter will start with the concepts places and place making in relation to which the construction of places will be discussed, followed by the characteristics of places. The second paragraph of this chapter will discuss the place makers from ‘below’, in which the focus will be on actors that are involved with bottom-up place making. Paragraph 2.3 will discuss the development from industrial cities into post-industrial cities. In this paragraph the ‘rise’ of abandoned industrial buildings is placed central. Paragraph 2.4 thereafter will be about the ‘alternative urban futures’ which refers to initiatives in order to innovate a certain
abandoned industrial space. The paragraph thereafter focuses on the changing urban policies: from government to governance. Then, the final paragraph of this theoretical framework
discusses the cultural economy and creative class. In this paragraph emphasis is being put on the creative capital approach and implications of this theory.
2.1 Places and place making
Lupi (2008) notes that places do not have meaning naturally, instead humans ascribe meaning to certain places. Massey (1995) elaborates also on this subject by noting that: “places, in fact, are always constructed out of articulations of social relation … which are not only internal to that locale but which link them to elsewhere” (1995, p. 183). This means that places are not only constructed from within, but are also constructed in relation to other places. Another important aspect is that places are also influenced by their pasts. To quote Massey about the relationship of places and their histories: “The past is present in a variety of ways” (1995, p.186). For example street names might refer to the history of a certain neighborhood or specific buildings or
structures can be a reminder of a certain past history of a place. Massey also notes that identities of places should be seen as a process, when she writes that: “The identity of places, indeed the very identification of places as particular places, is always in that sense temporary, uncertain, and in process” (1995, p. 190). Contrary to this there are also places without identity, which Augé (1995) names non-places. The author suggests that supermodernity creates these non-places, such as supermarkets of highways. According to Augé places are defined as
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relational, historical or in terms of identity. However, certain places cannot be defined in the aforementioned terms and are therefore non-places.
Now that we have the insight that places are socially constructed by humans and are by no means fixed, bounded or taken for granted, what then are the characteristics of place making and how does this relate to place? According to Lupi (2008) place making refers to the process of the identification, allocation, decision-making, building, using, interpreting and memorization of places on all scale levels from architects and planners to the actual users of the place. Lupi distinguishes between different place makers active in the process of place making, which are the professionals and users. On the one hand professionals are involved with the meso-level of place making by planning, designing, building and managing certain places (e.g. planners, architects, etc.). On the other hand there are the users of places, who are involved with place making on a micro scale. These users are the people that use a certain place on a regular basis for residential, commercial or occupational purposes. Next to these two groups Lupi (2008) adds the group public opinion leaders, such as the media, politicians and other external organizations. These opinion leaders especially influence the image of the place to people, who are not familiar with this place. However, there is no further distinction between the place makers ‘from below’ in the literature. The next paragraph is focused on how place making ‘from below’ processes works.
2.2 Place makers from ‘below’
In this part place making ‘from below’ is central, where places are not the product of urban planners, but the product of other actors outside the government. Places are also the product of everyday practices as de Certeau (1984) argues in his work “The practice of everyday life”. Herein de Certeau (1984, p. xix) makes a distinction between strategies and tactics. The author defines strategies as:
I call a ‘strategy’ the calculus of force-relationships which becomes possible when a subject of will and power (a proprietor, an enterprise, a city, a scientific institution) can be isolated from an ‘environment’. A strategy assumes a place that can be circumscribed as proper (propre) and this serve as the basis for generating relations with an exterior distinct from it.
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According to de Certeau these strategies are the structures and institutions that can be seen as the producers of a place. Reijndorp explains that the strategies are about the political and societal issues, such as freedom, progress, democracy, etcetera. These strategies encapsulate different social domains and are conflicted by various parties, such as institutions and political parties. These institutions try to occupy as much as possible within these specific social domains. According to Reijndorp this is also the case for urban redevelopment. In urban regeneration processes particular actors struggle for power (e.g. housing corporations, urban districts)
(Reijndorp & Reinders, 2010). Next to these strategies de Certeau (1984, p. xix) defined tactics as follows:
I call a ‘tactic’, on the other hand, a calculus which cannot count on a ‘proper’ (a spatial or institutional localization), nor thus on a borderline distinguishing the other as a visible totality. The place of a tactic belongs to the other.
According to de Certeau (1984) many of the everyday practices, such as, talking, reading, walking, etc, should be considered as tactical. According to de Certeau the tactics do not have their own domain, but take place in the domains that are produced by the strategies. For example, walking can be considered as a tactic as Nielsen and Simonsen (2003, p. 919) explain: “Walking in the city is one of the everyday practices or ‘ways of operating’ which make up the game of ordinary people when they move along in a creative and tactical way in a network of already established forces and representations.” The authors continue by saying that: “to develop a little more, this means that walking practices cannot be seen only as simple
movements in space, they spatialize. Their intertwined parts give their shape to spaces.” (Nielsen & Simonsen, 2003, p. 919). In other words the streets are the strategies planned by the
institutions within this particular example. However, the tactics are the way that people move along these streets and use these particular streets. By using them (or not) in a particular way these users can be seen as the place makers ‘from below’ in this case. In short, strategies are all about the bigger picture in contrast to the tactics that deal with the enactments. In this sense de Certeau links the strategies to the planned city and tactics to the lived city (Reijndorp &
Reinders, 2010, pp. 14-15).
With this distinction between strategies and tactics the differences between the top-down and bottom-up approaches has been mentioned. However, the differences between the categories in relation to these places has not yet been defined. Lofland (1973) and Small (2002) have set out different categorizations which will be explained below. In her study on the transformation
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of public space into private or semi-private space, Lofland (1973) argued that the knowledge and relationship of individuals to a particular place define them to a particular category. She
distinguishes three categories: somebody who possesses casual, familiar or intimate knowledge and the establishment of customer, patron and resident relationships (1973, p. 119).
According to Lofland (1973, p. 120) characteristics of people belonging to the first category are: “the least complete, detailed, and certain knowledge may be said to be casual and it is in the possession of the customer, who acquires it through short-term usage on intermittent, infrequent occasions.”
The next category which Lofland describes is that of familiar knowledge and patrons. According to Lofland (1973, p. 120):
The patron gains his knowledge through regular rather than irregular usage, but the duration of his stay on any one occasion is likely to be relatively brief. His knowledge of the physical features of the setting is on a par with that of the customer, but unlike the latter, the patron is certain to “know” some of the people who share the space with him.
The last category that Lofland (1973) discusses is that of intimate knowledge and residents. The word resident does not imply that one should be living at the place to be member of this category. It means that this person has the maximum knowledge and an intimate relationship with the locale. In the words of Lofland (1973, p. 122):
As the individual increases his knowledge, he transforms what were initially strangers into personally-known others. As he does this, he increases his ability to use the setting for his own private purposes. The more knowledge he possesses, the less the setting is an alien place full of strangers, the more it begins to seem like home.
Next to Lofland, Small (2002) also offers a way in which people perceive their neighborhoods and act towards it. In the words of Small (2002, p. 22): “their perceptions are filtered through a set of cultural categories that highlight certain aspects of the neighborhood and ignore others”. Small refers to this way of perceiving as neighborhood narrative frames, in which he distinguishes different groups with different frames of narrative. For this research this way of framing is an
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interesting way to distinguish different categories within an area.
2.3 Industrial to post-industrial cities
To analyze the place identity of NDSM some background information on the greater shift that is behind the transformation of NDSM is needed. This is the transition from a prevailingly industrial society to a post-industrial society, which will be discussed within this section. During the last 30 years most cities in Europe changed rapidly. The manufacturing economy changed into a service-based economy. Suburbanization also has had a lot of influence on the city, while many
individuals moved towards the periphery of cities the inner-city lost some of its functions. These two changes resulted in the rise of abandoned buildings in cities. Nowadays within the post-industrial cities in Europe and beyond there are many vacant warehouses, factories, mills, depots and other obsolete industrial buildings. Certain industrial places have become the non-spaces as discussed in the first section on places and place-making. These places often have a close relationship with their histories, since the former industrial structures are still present. This is the result of the collapse of the traditional manufacturing economy. Before the 1970s the presence of these old industrial buildings was seen as neighborhood decay and these buildings were often demolished (Stratton, 2005).
However, there has been a shift in the last three decades concerning industrial heritage. There has been a growing interest in the regeneration of industrial heritage (Rautenberg, 2012). Local communities and policy-makers recognize that these kinds of buildings are important for the communities in which they are situated. Stratton argues that it is now the challenge to: “use the resources in our town and cities which now stand idle, and create new and exciting communities in the places where people already live” (Stratton, 2005, p. 3). In the 1990s most European countries began to delegate the implementation of development to urban governments. This change evoked the increased interest in conserving heritage in urban regeneration policies, because these policies promoted the specific identity of a certain place.
Rautenberg also notes the change in relation to actors. First only the national government was responsible for urban regeneration, but now multiple actors are involved (e.g. municipality, private organizations) in the process of urban regeneration (2012). Different national
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point of view Britain promoted tourism for the new use of these abandoned industrial spaces. This in contrast to the government of France, which was more orientated on cultural use of these obsolete spaces (Rautenberg, 2012). The rise of industrial heritage gave opportunity for certain people to construct their own places, which will be discussed in the next section.
2.4 Alternative urban futures
Groth and Corijn (2005) note that in particular places that are left out by market-led urban development (e.g. become obsolete in terms of use and value) offer new possibilities for innovation and intervention. The authors label these initiatives: “alternative urban futures” (2005, p. 506). Especially, urban residual spaces (e.g. abandoned industrial areas) that are characterized by weak spatial locations offer opportunities for ‘alternative urban futures’ often initiated by informal civil actors outside formal urban planning. Also Krivý notes that “obsolete spaces, such as factories, warehouses, and industrial wastelands” can often resist the
commodification of cities (2013, p. 1725). Groth and Corijn (2005) explain that these bottom-up projects offer an alternative concept of urbanity, which is considered deviant, libertarian and marginal in comparison to the traditional codes of the city.
Governments have also understood this recent trend of transforming obsolete industrial spaces into cultural spaces. According to Krivý (2013) urban planners also discovered the use of culture as a planning instrument to differentiate urban spaces. The author mentions that there is a paradoxical role for planners, while they should promote non-planned development. This means that the planning does not disappear, but the projected identity of a certain place in response to culture is planned. Krivý refers to this as a culture factory, a former industrial building in which cultural activities are concentrated. Iveson (2013) poses the question to what extent are these processes contributing to a new kind of city and what might this city be like?
2.5 Government to governance
Groth and Corijn (2005) explain that within the last decades cities have experienced major cultural, social and economic transitions. Before these changes cities were characterized by state-led managerial systems and modernist planning regimes with close connections to the welfare state, so-called Fordist cities. However, nowadays cities seem to be symbolized by
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market-led urban development and entrepreneurial management. This shift in urban policies is also known as: “from government to governance” (Groth and Corijn, 2005, p. 504). This also had implications for urban planning issues. Fainstein (2010) notes that urban planning has too much focused itself on growth-oriented policies instead of social equity in the last decades, and therefore certain groups (e.g. low-income groups) were heavily disadvantaged by these pro-growth policies.
Next to these shifts from industrial to post-industrial and government to governance there is another shift noticeable concerning urban regeneration. Pacione (2009) mentions that these urban regeneration policies before the 1980s were often top-down which means that these policies were governed by the state and other local authorities. In contrast the 1980s were characterized by public-private partnerships. These projects often focused on downtown corporate centers and tourism and the idea behind this was that the regeneration would trickle down to other neighborhoods and areas. However, this was not often the case and these kinds of projects could be seen as uneven development. Bottom-up urban regeneration made its entrance to the scene and focuses on local economic development initiated by local
organizations, such as grass-roots or neighborhood-based organizations. These regenerations projects are aimed to improve the lives of residents of the neighborhoods (Pacione, 2009). In this sense it is bottom-up place-making, while the residents become place-makers instead of
professionals. As this phenomenon is quite new there is not many empirical data available. However, as already stated in the introduction it is important to note that these initiatives also can fail (Uitermark, 2014).
2.6 Cultural economy and the creative class
With more than 300 cultural events organized at NDSM each year and many creative companies, the cultural economy theory is highly relevant for this case. According to Gibson and Kong: "The 'cultural economy' has become an increasingly common term, both theoretically and empirically, in human geography" (2005, p. 541). The authors explain that together with other related concepts such as 'cultural industries', 'creative economy' and 'creative class' there has been a lot of interest in the 'cultural economy' by researchers. These different terms: "describe a space where the 'cultural and 'economic' collide" (Gibson & Kong, 2005, p. 542). The creative capital
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theory of Florida (2005) offers more understanding about the cultural economy. Florida argues that there is the existence of creative class, whose function it is: “to create meaningful new forms” (2005, p. 34). Members of this creative class are for example: scientists, poets, artists, entertainers, architects and many others with cultural professions. To achieve urban economic growth and regeneration Florida emphasizes that three particular factors need to be present in cities, which are technology, talent and tolerance.
However, this creative capital approach is also widely critiqued by academia. Gibson and Kong (2005) argue that this approach is too reductionistic in the interpretation of culture. In other words the complexity of cultural activity is reduced to numerical scales (e.g. bohemian index). Peck criticizes by noting that: "creativity strategies were in a sense preconstituted for this fast policy market" (2005, p. 767). Moreover, these creative strategies empowered urban-elitist networks instead of grassroots movements. However, empirical data for the Netherlands have shown the concept of creative class could offer interesting perspectives. Marlet and van
Woerkens (2007) compared the human capital theory (only education as predictor of economic growth) and creative capital theory in the Dutch context and conclude that: "with our Dutch dataset, we do find evidence that Florida's creative class is a better predictor of city growth than traditional education standards" (Marlet & van Woerkens, 2007, p. 2620). Therefore, this
concept is highly useful in explaining certain processes and outcomes for cultural hotspots. This cultural economy argument has also certain downsides as Zukin (2010, p. 28) argues: “each form of commercial culture constructs a new form of authenticity that anchors the claim of new groups to live and work in that space. Consumers’ tastes, backed by other resources, become a form of power.” The result might be that with the influx of the creative class in certain
neighborhoods other people are to be displaced from their original living spaces. The original residents that were rooted in a neighborhood are disappearing because of these new groups. Because of these differences a cultural barrier comes up between the old and new groups.
2.7 Summary
To conclude, places are the product of social construction by humans. Places are by no means fixed, bounded and taken for granted but rather transformative, temporary and dynamic. Place making is the process of giving meaning to a certain place, and this is done on certain levels by
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professionals, users and the public. The last decades cities experienced transitions, in which the three most important are: the shift from industrial to post-industrial, from production to service economy and from government to governance. The shift from industrial to post-industrial made some industrial spaces obsolete and new functions and meanings are given to certain places. Alternative urban futures are on the rise in which people plan their own future outside formal urban planning. However, other actors such as the state and property developers also
intermingled with this process of bottom-up development. People began to use obsolete industrial spaces to create their own alternative urban futures. However, governments also interfere as they see that cultural hotspots are created that revive neighborhoods and areas. These developments are also occurring at the former shipyard NDSM, which is now a cultural hotspot where the creative class has settled down next to the former actors (e.g. artists and inhabitants). Different actors intermingle with the process of bottom-up development and place making brings the opportunity to analyze how different groups give meaning to the NDSM. Different groups create their own alternative future on the NDSM.
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3: Methodology
As already in the introduction discussed, there is an increasing interest in self-organization in society. Bottom-up development and citizen participation is seen by the Dutch government as the approach to develop cities in the future. As has been described in the problem statement in chapter one, it is important to consider the construction of urban spaces from below rather than as a top-down process (Nielsen and Simonsen, 2003, pp. 912-913). It is from this perspective that in this thesis a bottom-up approach is used in order to study the transformation of NDSM. Throughout this work a critical and reflexive view will be used in order to examine the self-organization from below at NDSM. The main research question of this thesis reads as follows:
“How do place makers ‘from below’ contribute to the transformation of obsolete industrial space into a cultural hotspot?”
To understand the dynamics of place makers ‘from below’ and to answer the research question the following sub-questions are formulated for this case study:
- “Which groups of users are involved in place making ‘from below’ at NDSM?”
- “What does the NDSM mean to these different groups of place makers involved?”
- “How do these different place makers involved experience the dynamics between various parties and with the government at NDSM?”
The first question provides more insight in the specific groups that are involved with place making ‘from below’ at NDSM. The second sub-question analyzes the different identities that these place makers ascribe to NDSM. The last research question will explore the dynamics between the place makers and other parties to get more insight into the interrelation and tensions that exist between these groups. Together these sub-questions will help to answer the research question. The first and third sub-questions will be answered within chapter 6 on place makers. The second sub-question about the meaning of NDSM to the participants will be answered within chapter 5 on the place-identity of NDSM.
In the remainder of this methodological chapter, the chosen research design and methodologies to be used in the study will be discussed. First, the choice for a case study research design will be
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explained. Secondly, the methods for data collection will be discussed and justified. Thirdly, the last section of this chapter will explain how the collected data will be analyzed within the study. Finally, a reflection on the fieldwork will be given, in which I will give an insight in and reflection on the process of fieldwork that I have conducted in relation to this research.
3.1 Research design
The chosen research design for this study is the case study research. Yin (2003) explains that a case study approach should be chosen when answering how and why questions, the behavior of respondents cannot be manipulated, include contextual conditions and the boundaries between object studied and context are not clear. All these conditions are met within this thesis project, so therefore case study design fits this research best. According to Yin the definition of a case study is: “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (2003, p. 13). Yin (2003) describes the possible variations of case study research design. First, he makes a distinction between single-case and multiple-case designs. In the single-case design there is only one context within the study, where in the multiple-case design there is more than one context. Secondly, Yin describes the difference between a holistic and embedded case design. A holistic study includes one unit of analysis in contrast to an embedded case design in which there are multiple units of analysis. For this research project there is only one context where the study is conducted, which is the NDSM in Amsterdam. In this respect this is a single-case study. The units of analysis of this study are the different projects/actors active at the NDSM-wharf, so in that sense this study is an embedded case design. Considering the context and multiple units of analysis this research can be labeled as an embedded, single-case design. In the next part the methods of data collection are discussed in detail.
3.2 Data collection
Yin (2003) describes six sources of evidence often used within case study research. Four of these methods described by Yin are applied within this study, which are documentation, interviews, direct observation and participant observation. These different sources or data collection
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supplement each other and contribute to the triangulation of multiple methods (Clifford, French and Valentine, 2010).
3.2.1 Documentation
Documentation refers to analyzing existing documentary information on the topic (e.g. reports, studies, newspaper articles, etc.). Yin (2003) describes the advantages and disadvantages of this specific method. Firstly, the material can be accessed multiple times by the researcher, so it is considered to be stable. Secondly, the documents are not created as a result of the study.
Thirdly, documentation is considered exact, while containing exact names, details and references of events. Fourthly, the broad coverage can be considered as a strong point (long time-frame, number of events and different settings). A big disadvantage of this method is that the
documentation might be biased (reflects bias of author and information is incomplete), access might be blocked and there might be a low retrievability of documentation. Documents that will be analyzed within this study include: newspaper articles (especially the Dutch newspapers such as Parool, Volkskrant and NRC might be interesting), policy documents by the municipality, website of the NDSM (digital source) and other online sources (e.g. blogs, news, etc.). This technique is used to get more insight in the different users and place-makers of the NSDM (relates to sub-question one and two). At the same time this might also provide knowledge on how certain people give meaning and use the NDSM, so it may provide a partial answer to sub-question three as well.
3.2.2 Interviews
In this study there will be an extensive use of interviews as method of data collection. In specific semi-structured and unstructured interviews will be used as a method within this
research. These two types of interviews are used because of their open-ended nature in contrast to surveys and structured interviews. Yin (2003) argues that interviews are targeted directly on the topic of the study and can be insightful in the causal relationship. Yin also notes that it is important to construct the questions carefully, take care of socially desirable answers of respondents, reflect at own position as researcher and inaccuracies of the data (recall of
event). Small (2009) provides an interview technique relevant to case study logic, which he calls sequential interviewing. This means that each case provides information about the topic studied
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and these findings inform the next case. The objective of this technique is to achieve saturation within the case studied. The number of cases needed to complete the study is unknown, but when the researcher does not find any new information about the topic saturation is reached. The intention is to first conduct semi-structured interviews and if the result is that a particular topic or subject should receive more attention, than unstructured interviews are conducted to fill up the gaps in the data. After each interview topic lists are adapted to the findings of previous results. Interviews will be taped and coded afterwards to keep the exact formulation of the respondents preserved. Respondents from different groups of place makers are selected to interview about the thesis topic. During the research respondents are recruited to purposive and/or snowball sampling (Neuman, 2012). To get in contact with respondents the internet is used to find relevant persons (e.g. the NDSM website and Facebook group for people living on the NDSM have an active community) and also people are recruited on location. This method is applied to get more understanding about how people give meaning to and use the NDSM, but also gives insight in the dynamics between the different actors (relates to sub-question three and four). The topic list used during the interviews within this research can be found in appendix B of this thesis.
3.2.3 Direct observation
When visiting the field site direct observations can be made. This kind of data is especially useful in providing additional information on the chosen topic. Yin (2003) argues that observational data of neighborhoods add new dimensions of the phenomenon studied. Direct observation can include events, sidewalks, meetings, etc. Yin (2003) argues that this method offers insight to the context of an event and into reality. However, the author also notes that this is a
time-consuming, highly cost, reflexive method. The observations were noted down in field notes, which will were elaborated after visiting the fieldwork location.
3.3 Analysis
Analysis of the data should not be considered to be the final part of the thesis project. Instead the writing up and analysis part of the data should be an iterative process (Ward, 2014). After data collection the analysis of this particular data is directly analyzed, so that findings from this
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data can be taken into account during the data collection process. Interviews were recorded for transcription after the interview. This enables the researcher to listen back the interview and reproduce the exact wording of the respondent. After transcription the interviews were coded manually with excel. A grounded theory approach was followed in the coding of the data. Open coding was conducted first where data is labeled by certain topics. Secondly, axial coding was performed where the relationships between the different codes is identified. Finally, selective coding was done to expose the core issues and variables within the research theme.
3.4 Limitations
There are some possible limitations of the study regarding access, time constraints and answers of respondents. These limitations will be discussed in the following section. Access to certain groups represented at the NDSM might be limited or not available at all. For example realtors, property developers and councilors of the municipality might be hard to reach for participation in the study. The restricted time period can also be considered as a limitation within the study. While the complete study is only taking place within approximately four months with roughly one to two months of fieldwork, therefore not all aspects of the phenomenon can be studied extensively and in-depth. Another point of concern is regarding the nature of the data collection methods used in this study. When working with interviews it is possible that participants forget, exaggerate or alter the information to the researcher. Therefore, the use of respondent
validation is included in the research design to minimize these effects.
3.5 Ethical aspects
Hay (2010) provides a list with common ethical procedures in geographical research. First the principle of informed consent must be taken into account when doing research. This means that participants are provided with information about the purpose of the research, methods
involved, time involved, discomforts, risks and potential consequences. This is done by informing each participant before the interview or any other research related activity. Secondly, it is important to assure confidentiality to each participant of the study. This will be done by
anonymizing the identity of the participant, securing data storage during and after the study and respecting the privacy of the informants. Thirdly, the results are provided to the participants of
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the study of prevent any misinterpretations or misuses of the results. These three mentioned points are taken into account when conducting the research to maintain to scientific ethical standards.
3.6 Reflection on the fieldwork
During my fieldwork I applied various methods and techniques, such as semi-structured and open interviews, informal conversations, observations and documentation. Within this paragraph I will reflect on the conducted fieldwork and applied methods.
The degree of access to the different actors varied among various groups. I had some difficulties gaining access to certain subgroups of my research. For example, the artists were hard to reach for interviews and several attempts leaded to no results. I tried to fill in these gaps in the data by making use of already existing data, informal conversations and observations. Other groups were easier to get access to, such as the residents and people involved in organizations. After my fieldwork period I conducted 13 interviews, which means that I have conducted two interviews less than I anticipated before the fieldwork. As I mentioned before some groups were easier to approach and others were difficult to reach. This is also represented in the variation of my interviews. Nine interviews were held with residents, two interviews were held with people from organizations and two interviews were held with people who were employed in a company located at NDSM. How I approached the participants also differed with these subgroups. For example, the people from the organizations I spoke to were contacted by telephone. Most of the residents I interviewed were approached by a message on their communal Facebookpage. Remaining respondents were found by snowball sampling, thus contacted and selected through other informants.
Most of the interviews took 40 minutes to an hour to complete. The length of the interview depended on the knowledge of the participants about the area. One exception was an interview which lasted approximately three hours. This respondent was really acquainted with the area and knew everything about the history of NDSM. During my selection of informants I tried to recruit only respondents who had enough knowledge to talk about the selected topics. I ensured
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this for example by selecting residents, who lived over two years at NDSM. Most of the
interviews were conducted in the homes of respondents. Some respondents were interviewed on location (e.g. public space or café at NDSM). One exception was an interview that I conducted online through Skype, while the respondent was traveling abroad and there was no other
practical way to plan the interview within the timeframe of the research. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed afterwards with permission of the respondents.
Another part of the fieldwork consisted of observation. During my observations I walked around with a camera and notebook trying to capture the daily routine of NDSM. From my previous Anthropological studies I learned how to observe the environment. This anthropological background provided me with new insights and concepts about the research topic and this is also to be found throughout the thesis. To ensure variation I visited the fieldwork location at different days and various times, to get a more detailed representation of NDSM. The durations of the visits varied from a short half an hour walk until almost a full day observation including interviews and informal conversations with respondents. Furthermore, I also visited all of the cafés and bars located at NDSM to get a feeling of the atmosphere. I visited some events at NDSM, such as the IJhallen flea market, DGTL music festival, Buitenspeeldag NDSM.
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4: A short history of NDSM
This chapter focuses on how the NDSM developed from an industrial space to a cultural hotspot. The most important transformations of the shipyard are discussed and will give the reader an idea about how these transformations formed this particular place: from the early history with the settlement of the shipyards at this particular place until the newly built offices at NDSM. The location of NDSM within Amsterdam can be seen on the maps of appendix B in this thesis.
4.1 NDSM as shipyard
In 1894 the predecessor of NDSM, the 'Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij' (NSM) which could be translated as the Dutch Shipbuilding Company, was established at the Oosterdok. However, overtime the cargo ships constructed became of a much larger size. The result was that the NSM shipyards at Oosterdok were hard to reach for ships because of the embedded location near the city center of Amsterdam. In 1922 the NSM moved to the other side of the IJ at the waterfront of Amsterdam Noord. Because of increasing competition from Rotterdam based shipyards the NSM merged with another company specialized in ship reparations called the NDM in 1946. This fusion gave birth to the ‘Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij’ or NDSM (Stadsarchief Amsterdam, 2006). This new name of the merged companies could be best translated as the Dutch Dock and Shipbuilding Company.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s the Dutch shipbuilding industry was one of the major industries of the country. During these years NDSM was prospering with eight slipways and three docks. The whole complex was stretched out over two kilometers along the waterfront. However, during the 1970s competition from Japan and South Korea arises. The Dutch shipbuilding industry could not compete with these other foreign shipbuilding companies. The market share of Dutch shipyards was at a rapid pace decreasing and employees of these companies were fired (de Waard, 2010). Eventually the Dutch shipbuilding industry was no longer profitable and the inevitable happened. Exactly after one century in 1984 NDSM went bankrupt and a period of abandonment and decay began to rise. There were numerous amounts of attempts to revive business activities at the abandoned docks. Some small scale companies were established, but most other attempts failed (Kennis- en projectenbank herbestemming, n.d.).
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4.2 NDSM as hideaway
After the disappearance of the shipbuilding companies another stage started at NDSM. The buildings, warehouses and factories were abandoned and started to decay. At that moment some artists saw the possibility to squat the empty buildings at NDSM to establish their working places. After a while the municipality wanted to intervene and close down the working places of the artists, because they had other development plans in mind. Under the leadership of Eva de Klerk a protest movement had started, because the shutdown of this particular place meant a loss for the city in cultural, artistic and economic terms. The result of these protests was that the municipality founded the Bureau Broedplaatsen, which helped people with the establishments of hideaways. Simultaneously the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant was looking for a cultural entrepreneur for the development of NDSM in the form of a contest. Eva de Klerk sought other people that were interested in this project and began to raise money for the creation of a plan. Eventually, they won the contest with their plan and were allowed to start a feasibility study for the shipbuilding hall. After the renovation of this place the group could really start building their dream. The shipbuilding hall was transformed into de Kunstloods where artists could have their working place; also a skating track was built in the warehouse. This was the beginning of the hideaway NDSM (Dekker, n.d.)
4.3 NDSM as cultural hotspot
After NDSM gained more popularity within the city major property developers were attracted to this place. Amsterdam Waterfront is a collaboration of the following property developers:
BIESTERBOS, Reggeborgh Vastgoed and Het Fort Ontroerend Goed (NDSM, n.d.). According to a
planning document of the Municipality of Amsterdam the NDSM wharf is divided in four districts, which are: de werf Noord (northern part), de werf Oost (eastern part), de werf West (western part) and de NDSM-haven (harbour). Different functions are ascribed to these four different districts of NDSM, which will be briefly explained below.
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Map with the four districts of NDSM, source: Gemeente Amsterdam
The eastern side of NDSM is called werf Oost and can be considered the busiest area within the area. Some buildings, such as the big warehouse where artists work, are listed as a national monument. Within this district the Kunststad is situated in the old warehouse, where around 200 artists have their workspace. Furthermore, there are some bars and cafés near the waterfront (Pllek, Noorderlicht) next to the old crane, which is transformed into a luxury hotel recently. Furthermore, the Y-helling (monumental slipway) is situated next to the Faralda Crane Hotel. At the moment this slipway is being renovated until 2016. Werf West is primarily reserved for new projects by the aforementioned property developer Amsterdam Waterfront. The first project was completed in 2010 and houses now the headquarters of HEMA and VNU media. Currently most of werf West is fallow land, but planned projects are soon to rise out of this undeveloped land. At the moment the municipality is engaged in the decontamination of these vacant lots, while the soil is highly polluted. However, it is at these vacant lots that currently student housing in the form of containers are placed. These containers are placed temporarily, it is not yet certain when these containers will have to make place for future projects. At the moment more than 300 students live at this student complex and are the only permanent residents of NDSM. In werf Noord there is in comparison to the other districts not much activity. There are a number of companies operating, but new developments are not yet planned for this area. If necessary this area can accommodate the anticipated growth of the other NDSM
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headquarters, Dutch branch associations for water sports, is located within NDSM haven and organizes also every year a branch trade show at NDSM. Furthermore, a yacht harbor called Amsterdam Marina is established at this area (Gemeente Amsterdam, n.d.).
In this contextual chapter the different stages that NDSM experienced were discussed briefly. Firstly, NDSM was a functional shipyard, where ships were built and repaired. Manufacturing and production were central during this period. After the fall of the production economy, as discussed in the theoretical framework, NDSM lost its function as shipyard. Soon artists began to squat the buildings that were decaying and abandoned at NDSM to establish their working places. This led to the founding of the Kunstloods in one of the warehouses were a cultural hideaway was created by these artists. Another phase started where commercial investors and project developers got involved into the development of NDSM. MTV, HEMA and other offices were constructed at NDSM and a lot of cultural events and entrepreneurs were attracted to the large spaces available at NDSM: with this the cultural hotspot came up. All these different phases were linked to different place-identities that will be discussed within the next chapter of this thesis.
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PART III – EMPIRICAL CHAPTERS
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5: Place-identity at the NDSM: "There are many things to be told
about this place"
In this empirical chapter the place-identity of NDSM will be discussed. Different subjects in correspondence with identity are taken into account. These topics emerged during the fieldwork and were often discussed during interviews and conversations with the informants. Within this chapter the multiple identities of the place emerge and some might overlap, while other identities possibly collide. It is an exploration of the different identities that NDSM expresses. It answers the following sub-question: “What does the NDSM mean to these different groups of place makers involved?” As one of my respondents noted: "There are many things to be told about this place.”
5.1 “Everything what stands here has a history”
When you wander around at NDSM you immediately feel the history of the place. You will note the decayed warehouses, a crane, slipways et cetera. The waterfront will easily reveal the history of this place as a shipyard. In the words of Massey (1995, p. 186): "The past is present in places in a variety of ways." As described extensively in the previous chapter the NDSM has industrial roots, which are still dominating the landscape today. These abandoned buildings are the legacy of the collapse of the traditional manufacturing economy (Stratton, 2005). This is also the case at NDSM, which is in fact the remainder of the Dutch shipbuilding industry. During the
conversations and interviews the history of the place, at least the visible remains of that
particular history, often came up as an important topic. Most of my respondents knew about the industrial history of NDSM. Some informants were well informed about the history of the NDSM and could tell me in detail about the previous history of the docks. However, most of my
informants were less informed about the history of NDSM, but still knew that this place used to be a shipyard. There was no interview were this specific topic had not been discussed or noted by the informants.
As one of the students I spoke to expresses his feeling about NDSM: “The place is kind of industrial en therefore a bit mysterious.” He is not the only respondent who emphasized the industrial character of the place. Most respondents labeled the NDSM as industrial, raw,
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authentic, a place with history, spacious and modern. As an employer of one of the organizations on NDSM describes the place: “It is industrial and raw, and therefore very authentic and unique as well. It is a place with a history, which is to be seen everywhere around.” All referred to the authenticity of the place, which is illustrated by the following passages from interviews:
NDSM used to be a shipyard, so some elements of that period still exist. For example the old slopeway, where now Henk op de Helling is given. The big warehouse, which can be described as raw and authentic at the moment. However, it will not surprise me if more commercial initiatives will be held there in the future.
Another respondent, working at an organization, supplemented this with the following quote:
A lot of new projects are being constructed at NDSM, which look new but if you look closely, you see that some elements are inspired by the history of the old warehouses. I think that is good, because if you put an skyscraper just like the ones at WTC at NDSM that would be inappropriate.
However, for one student the old buildings gave authenticity to the place, while new buildings (even when built with industrial features) do not belong at the NDSM. The following quote exemplifies this:
An ugly hotel has been built recently, the Brooklyn hotel. That is kind of sad. The hotel was built very quickly within weeks. I have the idea that everything what stands here has a history and is therefore quite interesting. That is the reason that this newly built hotel does not fit into the place. This in contrast to the Botel, while it looks old and decrepit. It attracts tourists with a lower budget. I always imagine what these tourists might think when they arrive here. Probably something like: what the fuck, is this Amsterdam? What there is no ferry at night?
In other words, buildings, which are constructed out of the blue, do not fit into the NDSM
according to this student. However, old structures or refurbished buildings do fit the area in her point of view.
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Photo 1: Newly built Brooklyn hotel, with the reflections of the crane in the windows (own material)
Another example of this is the crane, considered a landmark of NDSM, which you can spot from the other side of the IJ water. The state of this particular crane was extremely poor and
something had to be done to save the crane otherwise it probably collapsed with a storm. An entrepreneur had the idea to renovate the crane and reconfigure it into a luxurious hotel. So, I asked one of the interviewees working for an organization that tries to preserve the area, what his thoughts were on this particular renovation and he answered that: “If the crane was not renovated it would presumably not be there at all.” He let me know that this commodification of remains of the industrial past has had its negative impacts, because the original appearance and function of the crane have changed. However, this person also expressed that if nothing would have happened there was no crane at all in the near future and in that case the NSDM would have lost a great landmark. One could argue that commodification of the crane as a hotel might have saved this historical landmark of NDSM from demolition.
Nonetheless, many people who are involved with the NDSM in some way express a critical view regarding the current developments. An example of this is this students’ view in relation to the ‘new’ crane:
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I think it is good and bad at the same time. Good because it keeps the image and the industrial feel alive, but it is bad because I heard that one room in that hotel for a night is about 300 euros, that of course is amazing. I don’t think they will attract the good people with that. It is for the high class, but I don’t think they are the right people for the NDSM here, they might like the view from their hotel room up there, but they will not like the raw atmosphere around here.
This example of the renovated crane shows that there is certain ambivalence in the reasoning of the respondents. At the one hand it is seen as a negative development, because it leads to the commodification of the history of the place. At the other hand it can be seen as a positive advancement, while the place preserves the industrial character.
Photo 2: the crane, which houses now the Furalda Crane Hotel (own material)
My interviewee told me that while he was visiting the NDSM someday there was a Dutch guided tour going on. People were carefully listening to what the guide had to say about the history of NDSM. He could also hear what the guide was telling and noticed that some historical facts
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about the NSDM were inaccurate. So, he decided to intervene the guide to correct some misunderstandings about the history of the place. He told me that he is disappointed that the history is not represented correctly. For example, some buildings do have names that are not in correspondence with their history. The Y-Helling sounds like it is the name of the old slipway, but my respondent told me that the former slipways on the shipyards were represented with
numbers instead of letters. The historical correct name would be “Helling 5”. This is an example of the fact that with the developments of the area obviously they try to be close to the former functioning of the area. In this way it seems for outsiders that the area is pretty much preserved, while actually this is just the appearance and in reality it is a wrong reference, as my respondent working for an organization emphasized.
5.2 “The attic of Amsterdam”
The second way of talking about NDSM is by referring to its identity as a ‘vrijplaats’, which would be translated into English as ‘hideaway’. Most of my respondents noted that the NDSM is a place where there is more tolerance and freedom in comparison to the rest of the city. It is often described by respondents as an island away from the rest of Amsterdam, as a place where people retreat from reality. What is it exactly that gives NDSM this image of ‘vrijplaats’?
This particular identification of NDSM is often connected to the first arrival of artists, when the NDSM was an abandoned non-place. That is exemplified by the following quote from one of my respondents working for an organization at NDSM:
When the land was vacant, anybody could enter. Campfires were made, art was created and I do not know exactly what else was happening there. The NDSM as hide-out came to existence and that was certainly a bunch of unfettered people and now all this is a foundation or an association with a chairman, who supervises this.
This quote includes not only the association of hideaway with artists, but also tells us something about the change process from free and unregulated hideaway to a more regulated place. The organization of NDSM will be discussed in detail later on in this chapter.
