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Conservation campaign

This is not only visual report of how residents view the village and their surroundings but moreover a citizens’ initiative for environmental awareness and conservation.

In Amsterdam, especially across the river in Durgerdam, the transition between city and outside is obvious – silence, space, green. Given the increasing building density on the other side of the city, this contrast is not only becoming clearer, but also more important and valuable and, above all, more vulnerable than it already is.

How is public space used? What does spatial quality means from different perspectives? What do we value? What can change? How do we create a new balance?

Since 2018 a group of local residents actively tries to protect not only their region but their heritage, their environment and conserve it for future generations. Concepts such as space, place, bay and sightlines describe the spatial quality of Durgerdam in new ways and capture the consequences of spatial changes.

The reportage includes three walks along the dike. The first walk describes the spatial quality based on designers’ concept. The second walk presents a series of images of how residents view the dike. The third route provides views from the living spaces of the landscape and the dike where the shift from east to west can be seen.

The reinforcement of the dike is demanded to conserve space and identity of the region.