Definition
Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, known for its canals, narrow houses, bicycle culture, and famously liberal social policies. The city has a population of about 900,000 in the municipality and 2.5 million in the metro area. Amsterdam is the financial and cultural capital of the Netherlands, home to the world’s oldest stock exchange (founded in 1602), the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, and a red-light district that is both a tourist attraction and a model of regulated sex work. The city is also known for its coffee shops, where cannabis is sold and consumed legally under the Netherlands’ policy of tolerance.
Why It Matters
Amsterdam is the world’s laboratory for progressive policy. It decriminalized cannabis in 1976, legalized same-sex marriage in 2001 (the first country in the world), and has regulated prostitution in the red-light district since 2000. The city is proof that liberal policies don’t necessarily lead to chaos: Amsterdam has lower crime rates than most comparable cities, and its drug policy is cited by reform advocates worldwide. But Amsterdam is also struggling with the consequences of its own success: over-tourism, rising housing costs, and a strain on the very liberalism that made it famous. The city has begun to crack down on bachelor parties, Airbnb rentals, and the worst excesses of cannabis tourism. Amsterdam is a lesson: you can be progressive, but you can’t be a theme park. The city is trying to remember that it is a place where people live, not just a place where people visit.
Example
“He visited Amsterdam and walked the canals at night. The city was quiet, despite the tourists. The bicycles outnumbered the cars. The red-light district was matter-of-fact, not lurid. He bought a coffee at a coffee shop. He didn’t buy coffee. He sat by a canal and watched a city that had decided to be humane. He wondered if his own city could learn. He doubted it.”
Related Terms
- Netherlands — The country where Amsterdam is located
- Red Light District — Amsterdam’s famous regulated sex work area
- Coffee Shop — The Amsterdam establishment where cannabis is sold legally
- Canals — The waterway system that defines Amsterdam’s geography
- Progressive Policy — The philosophy Amsterdam is known for experimenting with