The effect of accountability policies in primary education in Amsterdam

This paper assesses the increase in test scores of educational achievements in primary schools in Amsterdam by analyzing data of a large sample of schools, including scores on a published test and scores on similar independently taken tests that are not published. In 1995, the municipality of Amsterdam introduced accountability policies for schools in primary education. Population statistics show a large increase of test scores in the decade after the introduction of the policies. Difference-in-differences estimates show that after the introduction of the accountability policies, test scores for both tests taken in grade 8 increased substantially more in Amsterdam than in the rest of the country and more than in a sample of pupils with a low socio-economic status. Approximately 60 percent of the increase of the published test scores can be attributed to an increase in general skills and 40 percent to an increase in test-specific skills. Test scores of pupils in lower grades also improved in Amsterdam. We do not find evidence for strategic behavior of schools. Although part of the gains in test scores might be test-specific, the accountability policies in Amsterdam seem to have succeeded in raising educational achievements in primary schools.

Amsterdam 2050:

By using Amsterdam as a living laboratory, graduate students, researchers and teachers of the architectural design chair of Complex Projects at the Department of Architecture at TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment have been interested in seeing how ‘growth’ and rapid ‘changes’ – growth of numbers of inhabitants and tourists, and change of energy, mobility, health and leisure concepts - will affect the City of Amsterdam on a time horizon 2050. How can innovations be introduced to the domain of architecture and urban design? The creative exploration presented in this publication aims to understand today’s structure of the City, to explore possible future scenarios and to speculate on new architectural typologies new technology and ways of living may construct. Complex Projects teamed up for almost two years with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the municipality of Amsterdam, to focus on the theme AMSTERDAM 2050. The book is a systematization of the work of more than 80 graduate students and 6 tutors with the input from researchers and invited critics on a case study on 9 different locations in Amsterdam. The research-through-design process of documenting and analysing the present urban conditions of the City of Amsterdam and investigating various trends directing future urban development resulted in design solutions and visualisations of the predicted development of these locations

Amsterdam 2050:

By using Amsterdam as a living laboratory, graduate students, researchers and teachers of the architectural design chair of Complex Projects at the Department of Architecture at TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment have been interested in seeing how ‘growth’ and rapid ‘changes’ – growth of numbers of inhabitants and tourists, and change of energy, mobility, health and leisure concepts - will affect the City of Amsterdam on a time horizon 2050. How can innovations be introduced to the domain of architecture and urban design? The creative exploration presented in this publication aims to understand today’s structure of the City, to explore possible future scenarios and to speculate on new architectural typologies new technology and ways of living may construct. Complex Projects teamed up for almost two years with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the municipality of Amsterdam, to focus on the theme AMSTERDAM 2050. The book is a systematization of the work of more than 80 graduate students and 6 tutors with the input from researchers and invited critics on a case study on 9 different locations in Amsterdam. The research-through-design process of documenting and analysing the present urban conditions of the City of Amsterdam and investigating various trends directing future urban development resulted in design solutions and visualisations of the predicted development of these locations

Amsterdam 2050:

By using Amsterdam as a living laboratory, graduate students, researchers and teachers of the architectural design chair of Complex Projects at the Department of Architecture at TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment have been interested in seeing how ‘growth’ and rapid ‘changes’ – growth of numbers of inhabitants and tourists, and change of energy, mobility, health and leisure concepts - will affect the City of Amsterdam on a time horizon 2050. How can innovations be introduced to the domain of architecture and urban design? The creative exploration presented in this publication aims to understand today’s structure of the City, to explore possible future scenarios and to speculate on new architectural typologies new technology and ways of living may construct. Complex Projects teamed up for almost two years with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the municipality of Amsterdam, to focus on the theme AMSTERDAM 2050. The book is a systematization of the work of more than 80 graduate students and 6 tutors with the input from researchers and invited critics on a case study on 9 different locations in Amsterdam. The research-through-design process of documenting and analysing the present urban conditions of the City of Amsterdam and investigating various trends directing future urban development resulted in design solutions and visualisations of the predicted development of these locations

The spatial–temporal dynamics in job accessibility by car in the Netherlands during the crisis

This paper analyzes the changes in spatial–temporal job accessibility by car in the Netherlands during the economic crisis (2009–14). It also assesses which component change is the most determinant in accessibility changes per municipality and part of the day. The paper shows that changes in job distribution reduced accessibility in almost the entire country, except around Amsterdam. Improvements in the road network capacity increased accessibility in the central provinces, particularly during peak hours. In summary, the values of job accessibility by car in the Netherlands became more transport dependent, except in the Amsterdam region.</p

The spatial–temporal dynamics in job accessibility by car in the Netherlands during the crisis

This paper analyzes the changes in spatial–temporal job accessibility by car in the Netherlands during the economic crisis (2009–14). It also assesses which component change is the most determinant in accessibility changes per municipality and part of the day. The paper shows that changes in job distribution reduced accessibility in almost the entire country, except around Amsterdam. Improvements in the road network capacity increased accessibility in the central provinces, particularly during peak hours. In summary, the values of job accessibility by car in the Netherlands became more transport dependent, except in the Amsterdam region. Document type: Articl

Agglomeration Externalities and Localized Employment Growth

This paper addresses the question to what extent the performance of industrial sites is affected by their local economic structure and accessibility. For this aim, we test for the existence of statistically significant relationships between agglomeration externalities (specialization, diversity, and competition), accessibilty measures and the employment growth of a particular industry on a particular site. We use data on employment growth of site-industries on 68 formal industrial sites in the municipality of Amsterdam between 1998 and 2006. We show that at the site-industry level, specialization hampers growth. Furthermore, we find that industrial sites that are easily accessible from the highway grow relatively fast, as well as sites located in the Amsterdam harbour area

Defining and assessing the transformational nature of smart city governance: Insights from four European cases

Smart cities are a new approach to urban development based on the extensive use of information and communication technologies and on the promotion of environmental sustainability, economic development and innovation. The article is aimed at discussing whether the adoption of a smart city approach entails the transformation of existing institutional structures and administrative practices. To this end, four cases of European smart cities are analysed: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Turin and Vienna. The article describes their models of governance, investigates the level of transformation that occurred in their governmental structures, outlines the main drawbacks and identifies possible connections with the emergent paradigm of the New Public Governance