In terms of design, scale, and blending of ecologicical and aesthetic function, Amsterdam's seventeenth-century Canal District is a European marvel. Its survival for four centuries is a testament to its ingenuity, reflected in its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. The Canal District today is an extraordinary example of resilient historic design and cultural heritage in a living city, but it is not without present-day challenges: in recent years, its urban ecology has become subject to severe pressures of global tourism and supergentrification.

This edited volume brings together seventeen reputable scholars to debate questions about the origins, evolution, and future of the Canal District. With these differing approaches and perspectives on the Canal District the contributions render a collection where the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. The book breaks new ground in our understanding of the District's historic design, its evolution over four hundred years, and the fundamental issues in future-facing strategies and policies. While the main focus is clearly on Amsterdam, the discussions in this collection have an important bearing on broader questions of urban historic preservation elsewhere, and on questions about enduring urban design.

About the Author
Jan Nijman is Director and Distinguished University Professor at the Urban Studies Institute of Georgia State University, and professor of Geography at the University of Amsterdam.

Reviews

"Amsterdam's Canal District, edited by Jan Nijman, makes an important contribution to the historic preservation literature and, more generally, to writings on global cities. Whereas most books on the Canal District focus on its creation in Netherland's Golden Age (the 17th century), this book, which brings together top-flight scholars from a wide variety of fields, highlights both lessons to be derived from the district's evolution since the 17th century as well as contemporary debates in Amsterdam about how to cope with the challenges posed by over-tourism."

-- David P. Varady * Journal of Urban Affairs *


Awards
Winner of 2020 BRONZE Winner for Regional Foreword Indies / forewordreviews.com 2021 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9781487500344
Author Jan Nijman
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint University of Toronto Press
Publisher University of Toronto Press
Weight(grams) 900g
Dimensions(mm) 221mm * 218mm * 23mm