Metropolitan region of Amsterdam determines key projects for new housing challenge

The Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam (MRA) wants to partner with the national government to meet the enormous housing need in the region. The total requirement is 230,000 homes by 2040, of which the bulk must be built before 2025.

The building of so many homes has a major impact on the space and accessibility of the region. To achieve this, help is needed from central government. Support could relate to capacity, knowledge and expertise, regulations, accessibility and financial resources.

MRA representatives and city councillors whose portfolios include ‘Spatial Development’ collectively form the MRA Spatial platform. They have specified seven ‘key projects’ to act as a guideline in discussions with central government. Joke Geldhof, representative for the Province of North Holland and Spatial platform chair, is very pleased about that: “We’ve jointly taken up the housing challenge in this region. It is great that everyone is joining forces to get on with it. In this way we can concentrate our focus, so we can specifically bring the demands associated with housing at these locations to central government’s attention. That is sorely needed. We want to work very hard to alleviate the pressure in the market with these key projects.

Popular region
Both nationally and internationally, the MRA is a very popular region. Developments are moving fast, causing the region to be under pressure. Examples of this are strong growth of the number of inhabitants and jobs, rapidly rising house prices, crowding-out effects in the housing market, the economy’s growth at increasingly concentrated places and pressure on mobility. Additionally, there are also the issues of energy transition, climate objectives and the circular economy. Altogether, these are particularly large and complex demands.

Selection of key projects
In the selection of key projects, we looked at the importance of housing plans on a regional and national scale, and at the impact of projects on the surroundings. This should not only contribute to the housing need, but also to strengthening the quality of life, affordability and sustainability.

The key projects are:

  1. Amsterdam Zuidwest [south west] – Kerncorridor [core corridor] – Hyde Park
  2. Inner city locations Haarlem (Oostpoort [east gate] – Zuidwest [south west] – Europaweg/Schipholweg [roads])
  3. Kronenburg Amstelveen
  4. Northern IJ bank – Sloterdijk (phase 1 HavenStad [port city]) Amsterdam – Achtersluispolder – Kogerveld
  5. Purmerend Station Area
  6. Almere Station Areas (including Floriade terrain)
  7. Zeeburger Island (including Sluisbuurt) – IJburg II – Pampus

The majority of the key projects will be built in the medium term, after 2025, because their complexity calls for a longer preparation time. Aside from that, the MRA is committing to projects aiming for ‘acceleration possibilities MRA housing’. This concerns building projects with which production of new housing can be increased in the short term (before 2025), by resolving bottlenecks. This also includes some of the key projects.