Industrial areas at the outskirts of a city fascinate me, especially during the weekends when everything calms down. Once in a while I like to bike in the Westpoort area in Amsterdam, where one can find the architectural shapes of the grey shiny boxes of the distribution centers, big white oil storage tanks, container ships and mountains of coal while passing through the landscape. It almost feels like an abandoned city where nature could take over again any minute. Maybe you wouldn’t expect it in areas like these, but there is a great variety of wildlife inhabiting the greens and waters in the spaces between these buildings and machinery. Together they are part of the city’s eco structure and important for the future health of the inner city.

At the Kabelweg, near the Westerpark, but in an industrial area, lies a great 31.000 m2 big opportunity. Next to the raised motorway in the west and above a railway in the south lies a well connected unused piece of land with trees, water, wild native plants and a slope towards the highway. Nature wants to take over here, even in between the sheet pile walls trees try to grow.

After 2029, as part of Havenstad, a residential area will be build, in this part of the city. In my opinion it would be a shame to build houses on this plot, so why not claim this piece of land as a public green space that fits its surroundings, enhances the eco structure, makes a connection to the Westerpark (see my Gartenpark-design) and creates a meeting place for employees and an overall more attractive neighbourhood to pull future residents in.