Bjilmer has sometimes been referred to in some media as the “Dutch Ghetto”. And although this statement is highly overstated, it is still reasonable to look at some details why the area is rarely considered a desired landing.
Image source: Meershoek, P. & parool.nl. (2018, January 24). Zonder sloop was de Bijlmer waarschijnlijk nooit herontdekt [Photo]. https://www.parool.nl/nieuws/zonder-sloop-was-de-bijlmer-waarschijnlijk-nooit-herontdekt~b95eb81d/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Many of you probably envision Amsterdam as a stylish city with canals and traditional dutch architecture. However, several places also represent the modern urbanistic approach to city building. Bjilmermeer, an experimental area in the south suburbs, was planned initially as a 'park type' living area for the middle-class people. However, in reality, such a project was not so successful if we look at it from this target. Area organisation led to the massive inflow of ex-Dutch colonies' immigrants, who still shape the majority of the population today and lower-class immigrants in general. Unfortunately, the area also became quite popular among the drug addicted people and other marginal groups, creating a negative reputation for the district among the general public, mainly middle-class gentrifiers who find such an atmosphere unpleasant.
So how is Bijlmermeer doing today?
Although having quite a reputation, the local and city governors provide a substantial effort to transform the area socially through restructuring and encouraging owner-dominated housing (achieve the original target of having more middle-class households) and improving overall urban lifestyle conditions (think of the shopping area around Cruijf's arena). Much effort is made to reduce the concentration of the 'problematic groups' and create a feeling of safety in the area to attract residents and businesses locating their headquarters today. Research by Aalbers (2011) even claims that already ten years ago, Bjilmermeer has become an example of so-called 'Black Gentrification'. The area became a concentration of several minorities and created a unique atmosphere that is quite different from the rest of the city in which these minorities feel comfortable expressing themselves and that the rise of the middle class among those decreases the proportion of marginal groups and improves the area. Today Bjilmermeer is still having a sketchy reputation, though more and more immigrants, including students and young professionals, consider it as a place to start exploring Amsterdam with the area having things to offer. Though still, a long time will be needed for it to become a mainstream destination for newcomers.
In case you want to learn more on the topic of Bjilmermeer, please refer to this article:
Aalbers, M. B. (2011). The revanchist renewal of yesterday's city of tomorrow. Antipode, 43(5), 1696-1724. URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2010.00817.x