1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Amsterdam
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Lint van postzegelparken in Indische Buurt
Short description of the intervention
In order to improve the Indian Neighourhood, a 'ribbon' of multiple pocket parks was created that improves social cohesion and environmental quality. The area lacked social cohesion previous to the creation of the pocket parks and was faced with nuisance from addicts and drug dealers as they were involved in disturbing behaviour, vandalism and criminality (1,10). This created an unsafe environment for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood (1,5) In the stamp parks, social activities are organized and the green spaces are completely managed by citizens themselves. (1)
Address

Kramatweg
146
1095 KD Amsterdam
Netherlands

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Source of NBS area image
There is no specific information exactly where the ribbon of pocket parks would have been created (ed)
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Public Greenspace Area
Website of the intervention
http://www.postzegelparken.nl/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2009
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2011
End date of the intervention
2017
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
By 2017, some parks had already been created (Niasstraat/Soembawastraat was the first stamp park) and the other 4 parks were in the process of creation, while one was in planning stage (Droogbak Amsterdam) and more parks were envisioned. The parks that are already created still require maintenance activities by citizens (1)
As of 2020, there is no publicly available information about the 'Ribbon of Pocket Parks in Indian Neighbourhood' as an initiative anymore; the official website is not available anymore, along with most of the indicated online resources. Furthermore, no information was found on the Stamp Park Foundation, as one of the key initiator organisation (ed.)
Goals of the intervention
1. Turn derelict areas into small green parks that are managed by citizens themselves and support social cohesion in the neighbourhood (1,2,4,5,6,8)
2. Improve the visual appearance of the neighbourhood. (2)
3. Encourage citizen participation in green space management (1,4,5,6).
4. Improve social and physical safety in the neighbourhood (5)
5. Reduce the litter on the streets and in the neighborbood and the creation of a cleaner environment which contributes to citizen health (5)
6. Support exercise of citizens by means of sport facilities (5,6)
Quantitative targets
The target was to create a total of 10 pocket parks between 2010 and 2013. (5,8)
Monitoring indicators defined
The number of pocket parks created is monitored by Stadsdeel Oost (Municipality of Amsterdam) (8)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Waste management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Effective management
Combatting crime and corruption
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social cohesion
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Implementation activities
- Creation of pocket parks, including green spaces that attract people to the park and sport facilities (squash, chess), fruit and nut trees, flower garden, allotments, recreational facilities, a kiosk in which information is provided on activities (1,4,6)
- Organisation of activities that support citizen participation such as meetings, working groups, newsletters, website, flyers and use of social media (2)
- Organisation of social activities such as festivities and drinking tea (1)
- Organisation of art exhibitions and workshops (7)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Maintenance and management of urban nature
Transformation of previously derelict areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Community gardens and allotments
Allotments
Community gardens
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Shrubs
Trees
Flower beds
Garden beds
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Benches and drinking water stations
Sports areas and equipment
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Inspiration for culture, art and design
Recreation
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Please specify "other regulating service"
Pollution reduction
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups
Marginalized groups
Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants
Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The idea of the ribbon of pocket parks were initiated by the Stichting Postzegelparken (Foundation Pocket Parks) who guides citizens and other actors in the process of designing, implementing and maintaining the parks, which was a result of the plan of Stadsdeel Oost (City Part East of Municipality of Amsterdam) who is also the land owner. Citizens initiated pocket parks themselves and the foundation guided them in the process in collaboration with housing corporations (Eigen Haard, Ymere and De Alliantie) and an NGO (Publicarea) (3). The role of the Publicarea was to guide and coordinate the public parks including monitoring the budget, realising new financial resources and creating process plans (3). The municipality of Amsterdam is a major financial contributor and land owner and also responsible for final decision-making (8). The housing corporation also financially contribute. (3). Citizens select locations, design, implement and do maintenance (2)
Key actors - initiating organization
Private foundation/trust
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Please specify other Key actors - Other stakeholders involved
housing corporations
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Public sector institution
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private foundation/trust
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
Taskforce groups
Dissemination of information and education
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Co-management/Joint management
Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)
Citizen monitoring and review
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
'Wijkaanpak Indische Buurt Amsterdam Oost 2009' (Neighbourhood Plan Indian Neighbourhood Amsterdam East), in which measures are described to improve the neighbourhood (2,8)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
'Wijkaanpak Indische Buurt Amsterdam Oost 2009' (Neighbourhood Plan Indian Neighbourhood Amsterdam East), in which measures are described to improve the neighbourhood that includes pocket parks. (2,8)
In2018, the municipality still funded pocket parks in the neighbourhood, in the 'Gebiedsplan 2017 Indische Buurt' (Spatial Plan 2017 Indian Neighbourhood) which is relevant for the pocket parks that are currently planned or envisioned in the neighbourhood (11)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Urban redevelopment plan
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The pocket parks have been studied as example project in the GREEN SURGE research project, which is a transnational research project on urban green infrastructure planning that studied 20 case studies of European studies (9)
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The Stichting Postzegelparken received a subsidy from the municipality of Amsterdam (5)
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Not applicable
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Costs were in between 300.000 and 500.000 (5)
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Costs are in between 300.000 and 500.000 [5]
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
Private Foundation/Trust
Please specify other source of funding
financial contribution of housing corporations [5]
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Donations
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Business models
Local stewardship model
Vacant space model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Type of innovation
Social
Governance innovation
Please specify social innovation
A network of pocket parks were created, with the aim to involve citizens in all stages of the process, including designing, planning, implementing and maintenance of the pocket parks. [1,2, 4-6,8]
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The idea of pocket parks is not new, but it is the first time a network of pocket parks is created In Amsterdam [1]
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) without substantial adaptation
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
After the first pocket park in the Niasstraat, 4 additional parks were created: Valentijnkade, 1e Atjehstraat, Menadostraat and Flevopoort [1,6] Currently the foundation is planning to build a new pocket park in Droogbak and states that they envisioned multiple pocket parks in the area in the future [1]
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Restoration of derelict areas
Description of environmental benefits
There is no sufficient information about the progress of the NBS, therefore, there is no reported impacts of it either. Only expected benefits of individual stamp parks in the Indian Neighbourhood can be listed here, rather than the positive impacts of the overall project. These environmental benefits include:
- With the creation of stamp parks, the size of the green area in the district has increased (2)
- Most of the created stamp parks within the neighbourhood were realised on former derelict areas, thus the visual appearance of the area improved (2)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Safety
Increased perception of safety
Decreased crime rates
Improved social cohesion
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Health and wellbeing
Improved physical health
Please specify other environmental justice issue
Improved neighbourhood safety
Description of social and cultural benefits
There is no sufficient information about the progress of the NBS, therefore, there are no reported impacts of it either. Only expected benefits of individual stamp parks in the Indian Neighbourhood can be listed here, rather than the positive impacts of the overall project. These social benefits include:
- With changed appearance and purpose, it is expected that the stamp parks that formerly was a place of antisocial behaviour of a large group of people with psychosocial disorders and/or addicted behaviour causing great inconvenience to local residents transform to a more peaceful and safe environment (2)
- Residents are involved in the preparation, construction and management of the stamp parks and thus actively contribute in the form of ideas, manpower and equipment (12)
- The pocket parks provide exercise and recreational facilities and reduced pollution that improve the health and well-being of citizens and the pocket parks have increased the well-being of residents of the health care residential Flevohuis for disadvantaged adults. (5,6,7)
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Environmental quality
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Other
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of November 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Online Forum
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Citizens can provide information on the circumstances of their pocket park on this online forum: https://postzegelpark.wordpress.com/
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Website of Stichting Postzegelparken (foundation of pocket parks)
News website on development of the pocket parks
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Neighbourhood Plan which resulted in the NBS (310.94 KB) 310.94 KB
List of references
1. Stichting Postzegelparken. (n.d.). Postzegelparken. Website not available
2. Postzegel Park (2011). Eerste postzegelpark in Indische Buurt.Accessed on November 4, 2020, https://postzegelpark.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/eerste-postzegelpark-in-de-indische-buurt/
3. Tolman, M. (n.d.). Projectbegeleiding en procesbegeleiding Voorbeeldproject Postzegelparken. Website not available
4. Stichting Postzegelparken (2017). Stichting Postzegel Parken. [pdf] Amsterdam: Stichting Postzegelparken.Website not available
5. De Alliantie (2014). Postzegelparken Indische buurt.Website not available
6. De Groene Stad (2015). Postzegelparken voor een leefbare buurt. [online] Available at: http://degroenestad.nl/postzegelparken-voor-een-leefbare-buurt/
7. Oost Online (2014). Flevopoort heeft postzegelpark. Website not available
8. Gemeente Amsterdam (2012). Omgevingsvergunning voor afwijking van het bestemmingsplan. Amsterdam: Municipality of Amsterdam [pdf] Available at: http://ftp.ruimtelijkeplannen.amsterdam.nl/SDOost/19254449-B882-4CF8-A97C-A72B86E0FC1C/b_NL.IMRO.0363.M1201PBSTD-VG01.pdf
9. Havik, G. & Buizer, M. (2015). Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Case Study City Portrait; part of a GREEN SURGE study on urban green infrastructure planning and governance in 20 European cities. Amsterdam: Municipality of Amsterdam. Website not available
10. Gemeente Amsterdam. (n.d.). Aanpak Drugsproblematiek Zeeburg. Amsterdam: Municipality of Amsterdam. Website not available
11. Gemeente Amsterdam. (2017). Gebiedsplan 2017 Indische Buurt. Amsterdam: Municipality of Amsterdam. Website not available
12. Kenniscentrum Wonen-Zorg. (2012). Lokale Kracht Uitgelicht: Postzegelparken. Accessed on November 4, 2020, https://www.kcwz.nl/thema/burgerinitiatieven/lokale_kracht_uitgelicht__postzegelparken
Comments and notes
Comments
The pocket parks have received two awards: an award for citizen initiatives (Appeltjes van Oranje 2012 - Oranjefonds) [1] and publicity award [2].
Additional insights
It is uncertain if the plan of creating 10 parks has been successful as only information can be found about 5 created pocket parks. It seems that only five pocket parks have been created.
Public Images
Postzegelpark Indische Buurt
Source: https://www.kcwz.nl/thema/burgerinitiatieven/lokale_kracht_uitgelicht__postzegelparken