a first reconnaissance
In our search for wastelands in Amsterdam, we’ve so far encountered lands that are mostly fenced and inaccessible, though adventurers breaking the boundaries have visited some of these wastelands, broken gates being the only traces they left. The lands always have a sign stating that access is prohibited (without the required safety measures) and punishable by law, claiming it’s a construction site although abundant weeds and full-grown bushes obviously contradict this.
Most of the wasteland we've found are located in or near the city centre, some of these lands have been empty for decades. A few years back the Amsterdam Squat Movement symbolically squatted a small piece of wasteland for one day. The land had been empty for 40 years, right in the centre of the city, next to a popular concert theatre and in an area buzzing with nightlife. Immediately after this action fences were put up around the terrain.
This city feels like it's bursting at the seams with new bigger and higher buildings being raised. Even creating more land for more buildings by filling up parts of the channel, as is quite common to the Dutch. Though in this whole process the wastelands, even the ones in the city centre, are left out.
