Academic literature on the topic 'Watergraafsmeer'

Abstract The objective of this study is the comparison of green roof systems with conventional isolated and non-isolated ones in order to identify the potential energy savings of green roofs and the benefits provided in comparison with the cost of construction to the buildings. The region of interest is the Watergraafsmeer area in the city of Amsterdam. The method evaluates literature reports - mostly from 2003 to 2010 - that present the advantages of green roofs. Examples in real implementation of green roofs in USA, UK and Germany, retention of rainfall and a Life Cycle Assessment from a residential construction in Madrid will be introduced, showing the energy savings from insulation and heating/cooling that can be gained. All the reports have shown a reduction in energy costs and in runoff of water. Hence, costs and retrofitting potential completes the research. The age of buildings and the absence of insulation make green roofs an ideal alternative project for the retrofit of Watergraafsmeer.

AbstractLong distance emigration of agriculture workers or farmers is usually associated with seasonal migration. Permanent migration of farmers on the other hand, is considered to be a non-European phenomenon and commonly linked to migration to the New World where capital costs were relatively low and institutional barriers limited. Interestingly, in the early modern period, in the wake of the mass migration from continental north-western Europe to the urban areas of the Dutch Republic, a contingent of German market gardeners and their descendants were slowly able to take over the production of farmed vegetable goods for the nation's capital, Amsterdam. In the middle of one of Europe's most densely populated areas, in a polder called Watergraafsmeer, a parish neighbouring, and subsequently part of, Amsterdam, Germans dominated the agricultural sector for over a century. This article will try to answer the question of how these German migrants were able to control a sector that is usually run by locally born producers, for such a long period of time.

AbstractThe Amstel river is located in the peat-covered coastal plain of the Netherlands and gives Amsterdam its name (Amstel dam). It is a small secondary branch of the repeatedly bifurcating Rhine delta system. Historically, the Amstel debouched into the peat-fringed former Oer-IJ estuary, which was connected to the North Sea, but after the closure of this inlet the estuary was transformed into an inland sea (IJ) due to erosion of the adjacent peat. The Amstel river was active between 3000 BP and 1122 AD after which time the supply water from the Rhine was stopped due to the construction of a dam far upstream near Wijk bij Duurstede. On the basis of borehole data from various sources, four cross-sections were constructed in the Amstel branch to study the unknown lithology and lithostratigraphy of the Amstel sediments in the Amsterdam area. The deposits show the Amstel was a low-energy river which carried mainly clay. The cross-sections reveal that the Amstel in its downstream part was flanked by two lithologically identical layers of overbank clay, intercalated by a peat layer. The lowermost overbank clay was deposited from 3000 BP to about 1000 AD. The intercalated peat layer is estimated to have developed between the 11th and 12th centuries AD, indicating a decreased sediment supply in the Amstel, and rise of water level in the downstream river caused by Zuiderzee influences such as storms and tide. The uppermost overbank clay was deposited during major storm surges such as those documented in 1164 and 1170 AD, and was derived from the brackish Zuiderzee; it has been traced upstream along the Amstel for over 10 km. Near the mouth of the Amstel channel in the Oer-IJ estuary its bottom has been scoured by estuarine processes to a lower level. On the basis of archaeological and geological data it is argued that the Amstel channel of medieval Amsterdam had a water depth of about 6 m before the construction of a dam in the 13th century. Soil scientists, historical geographers and historians have argued that the Amstel once consisted of two separate rivers: a northern Oer-IJ connected channel draining from the Amsterdam Stopera to the north, and a southern peat draining channel draining from the Amsterdam-Watergraafsmeer to the south. The relatively straight stretch of the present-day Amstel now positioned within the urban area has been hypothesised to be man-made between the 11th and 13th centuries AD. In this paper, on the basis of geological arguments such as channel depths, overbank clays, peat composition and other characteristics, it is concluded that the Amstel had a natural channel in the Amsterdam area.

La tesi propone un originale modello per lo studio della qualità di vita urbana riferendosi alla Capability Approach (CA) di Amartya Sen (1992, 1999, 2004, 2009) con l’inclusione di aspetti partecipativi. Il concetto di qualità di vita si lega al benessere inteso in termini di sviluppo umano. L’approccio pone la centralità dei cittadini nell’individuazione di quelle dimensioni di benessere che essi stessi hanno motivo di valore come importanti per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi di sviluppo della proprio vita. Il modello propone una definizione partecipativa di benessere e qualità di vita urbana e viene combinata con l'indagine dei modi di vita dei cittadini. La tesi prende in esame quei tratti di vita urbana composti da funzionamenti, capacità, libertà, scelte e valori messi in gioco dai cittadini quotidianamente per migliorare la propria qualità di vita. Un test empirico di questo modello è stato implementato in un’analisi comparativa sulle famiglie con i bambini in due quartieri di Milano e Amsterdam. I dati sono stati raccolti attraverso focus group e interviste e sono stati analizzati secondo le categorie del CA declinato all’ambito urbano. Risultati positivi delineano una nuova direzione negli studi sulla qualità di vita urbana basata su un approccio centrata sulle persone e sugli abitanti della città.
The thesis proposes an original model to define quality of urban life referring to the Capability Approach (CA) of Amartya Sen (1992, 1999, 2004, 2009) with a participative enforcement. Opening the concept of quality of life to well-being as human development we refer to citizens' centrality in identifying own dimensions of well-being according to what they have reason to value and to what they aim to achievement. The model proposes a participative definition of well-being and quality of urban life to be combined with the investigation of citizens' agency as the sum of valued actions chosen to develop their life. Urban traits of citizens' functionings, capabilities, freedom, choices and values emerge with relevant indications on how people like to improve their personal and social well-being. An empirical test of this model has been implemented in a comparative analysis on families with children in neighborhood in Milan and Amsterdam. Data has been collected trough focus groups and interviews and analyzed trough the CA categories with urban sociological and geographical declination. Positive results have emerged and further improvement on this model could bring new direction on quality of urban life based on a more people-centered approach.