Almere is considered the most successful New Town in the Netherlands. Though the city is only a few decades old, it nearly has 200.000 inhabitants and is still developing as part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. Since 2012, that development is focused on sustainability, health and green space. Almere will be the host city of the Floriade, the World Horticulture Exhibition in 2022. In preparation for this game-changing event, themed ‘Growing Green Cities’, the city has initiated a city wide program aimed to make Almere greener, healthier, and more sustainable. In order to reinforce the lasting effects of the Floriade, the city is also building a new neighborhood in Almere, of which green space, water, and urban farming are the main assets.
– Almere deals with a steady negative image. Many lower-class inhabitants have moved there to escape the high prices in Amsterdam, leading to decay of the social fabric of the city.
– The maintenance of all the new and already existing green space requires financial needs which are not yet fully secured.
– The Floriade and accompanying program of ‘Growing Green Cities’ provide excellent possibilities to improve the social structure of the city, as well as its level of sustainability and health of the population
– The city is very well connected to Amsterdam (20 minutes by train) and the rest of the metropolitan area in the center of the Netherlands