Amsterdam Zuidoost
| Amsterdam Zuidoost | |
|---|---|
| Borough of Amsterdam | |
 |
|
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Holland |
| Municipality | Amsterdam |
| Population | 83,743 |
| Website | zuidoost.amsterdam.nl |
Amsterdam-Zuidoost ("Amsterdam-Southeast") is a borough (stadsdeel) of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It consists of four residential neighborhoods—Bijlmermeer, Venserpolder, Gaasperdam and Driemond—as well as the Amstel III/Bullewijk Business Park and the Amsterdam Arena entertainment and shopping district.
Geographically, Amsterdam-Zuidoost is an exclave of Amsterdam as it does not border any of the other boroughs. As of 2013[update], Amsterdam-Zuidoost had almost 84,000 inhabitants.
The largest neighborhood of Amsterdam-Zuidoost is Bijlmermeer, planned in the 1960s as a modern, functional 'town of the future' in accordance with the principles of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. In total, 18,000 homes would be built, 13,000 of which were in highrise tower blocks. Roads were elevated above the ground, with separate routes for cars, buses, bicyclists and pedestrians. The main architect of Bijlmermeer was Siegfried Nassuth. Construction of the Bijlmermeer began in 1963. The first tower block, named Hoogoord, was completed in 1968. The last of the 13,000 apartments was completed in 1975. In 1977, Amsterdam's first metro line was opened, connecting Zuidoost to the city center and Amsterdam Centraal.
Soon after its completion, however, it turned out that the new neighborhood with its functional, monotone highrise buildings was not as popular as expected. As rents dropped, the area attracted mostly underprivileged residents, including recently arrived migrant groups. It has the largest community of people of Surinamese descent in Amsterdam, many of whom came to the Netherlands after Suriname's independence in 1975. The area gained the reputation of a poor neighborhood with high unemployment. With its tall, impersonal and increasingly abandoned towerblocks allowing for little social oversight, the area struggled with soaring crime rates and vandalism.
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