This election year the municipality of Amsterdam allows and encourages the citizens of its neighborhoods to enter the election process as individuals or setup individual lists in order to become advisors.
Being an advisor means you can influence the expansion, composition, future plans of where you live in Amsterdam.
With 10 signatures from neighbors (with special thank you to Runa Ong, Daniel Radu Finica, Kethianna Oppenhuizen, Till Hormann, Jörn Nettingsmeier, Radna Rumping, Dodó Kis, Kathryn Chlosta, Isabel Cordeiro and Erno Langenbergand) and a bit of jumping through the hoops, I applied and entered the election process for the neighborhood of Bos en Lommer, in Amsterdam West, where I spent most of my stay since getting here from Romania in 2012.
My list number in 33. Coincidentally that’s also how old I’ll be this year! :)
But coincidence or not, this seems to be the year when local say about how things are going in Amsterdam is of uttermost importance. With the city becoming a touristic playground, following suit of other European capitals, rent prices rising, short term contracts proliferating and flex wok in abundance, it helps to question, wonder about and imagine how the impact of current conditions strikes on a local level.
Cities need to follow profit in order to grow, but if they only focus on that, what gets sacrificed in the process?
I hope, if nothing else, that my run can spark a further dialogue about an alternate future.
It’s a start.
More information on the election process (in Dutch, but Google Translate helps!) you can find here:
https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/bestuurscommissies/nieuw-bestuurlijk/registratie/