Floradorp is a neighborhood of

Amsterdam-Noord Amsterdam-Noord (; ) is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands with a population of about 90,000. The IJ, the body of water which separates it from Amsterdam-Centrum and the rest of the city, is situated southwest of Amsterdam-Noord. The borough, whi ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the Dutch

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

. The neighborhood is bordered in the north by the ''Buiksloterdijk'' (a dyke), in the east by the ''Noorderpark'' and the

Noordhollandsch Kanaal The Noordhollandsch Kanaal ("Great North Holland Canal") is a canal originally meant for ocean-going ships. It is located in North Holland, Netherlands. The canal was of great significance in Dutch history. Location The canal is about 75 ki ...

, in the west by the ''Klaprozenweg'' (Poppies Road) and in the south by the ''Sneeuwbalstraat'' (Snowball Street) in the ''Bloemenbuurt''. The majority of street names in both the ''Bloemenbuurt'' and Floradorp are named after flowers and plants. By the

Noord Noord () is a town and region in Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). This town is known for its low rise and high rise hotels, restaurants, beaches, malls, the California Lighthouse, and other places of attraction. Places of interest ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

, the neighborhood is classified as part of the ''Volewijck'' (a neighborhood). Floradorp was built in the late 1920s by the

municipality of Amsterdam The Government of Amsterdam consists of several territorial and functional forms of local and regional government. The principal form of government is the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The municipality's territory covers the city of Amster ...

, at a time when homes in the city centre were declared uninhabitable on a large scale, such as in the Uilenburg, ''Rapenburg'' (also an island) and the

Jordaan The Jordaan is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengracht to ...

. Plans were developed for

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

replacements. The ''Bloemenbuurt'', between the ''Sneeuwbalstraat'' and the ''Mosplein'' (Moss

Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...

), and Floradorp formed the biggest part of ''Tuindorp Buiksloterham'', one the many garden cities developed in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

between 1920 and 1940 to counterbalance the

impoverished Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

neighborhoods in the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. The garden cities in the

Watergraafsmeer The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in the Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. Since 1921, the Watergraafsmee ...

Buiksloot Buiksloot is a former village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is now a neighbourhood of Amsterdam-Noord. Buiksloot was a separate municipality from 1811 until 1921, when it was merged with Amsterdam. From 1888 to 1956, Buiksloot had ...

, ''Buiksloterham'',

Nieuwendam Nieuwendam (literal translation: "new dam") is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands, best known for its marina (Dutch: ''jachthaven''). A former village in the province of North Holland, Nieuwendam was a separate municipality until 1921, wh ...

and

Oostzaan Oostzaan () is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality had a population of in . Oostzaan has a total area of of which is water. Oostzaan—together with Westzaan and Assen ...

are owed to the progressive

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

Floor Wibaut and Salomon Rodrigues de Miranda, and the dynamism of Arie Keppler, director of the Amsterdam Municipal Housing Service.

Uninhabitable declared homes

In the first quarter of the 20th century, there was a problematic housing shortage in Amsterdam. Although at the same time plans were being made to revitalise run-down neighborhoods in the city centre with new public housing. Hundreds of slum dwellings could only be declared uninhabitable once there was a reasonable alternative for the residents. In response, the municipality of Amsterdam planned to build multiple garden cities around the old parts of the city. Here, new homes were to be built in newly annexed neighbouring municipalities such as Buiksloot and

, so that Amsterdam could offer a new home.

Low rent

In Floradorp, the municipality built houses in accordance with the ''Woningwet'' (Housing Act) for large families. These houses had three or four bedrooms which met the minimum standards. This made the homes eligible for a

government grant A grant is a fund given by an end entity grant – often a public body, charitable foundation, or a specialised grant-making institution – to an individual or another entity (usually, a non-profit organisation, sometimes a business or a local ...

and low rent, as the intended tenants had little to spend. The various rooms were no larger than the minimum dimensions. Along with the houses in Tuindorp Nieuwendam, the houses in the neighbouring ''Bloemenbuurt'' by

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...

''Zomers Buiten'' were among the first working-class houses in Amsterdam that did have a bathroom, but the rent of these houses were higher than people from the slums could pay. ''Zomers Buiten'' rented its houses primarily to skilled

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...

with permanent positions at the municipality of Amsterdam. Between the ''Klaprozenweg'' and ''Sneeuwbalstraat'', the municipality built around 600 houses. The first 183 houses were completed in 1927 and the final ones in 1929. Only working-class houses were built, which were then rented out to working-class families by the Amsterdam Municipal Housing Service. Certain tenants came from ''Asterdorp'', a village for "inadmissable" families, which was dissolved in 1940. In the centre of Floradorp, the ''Binnenhof'' was conceived. This place was formed by multiple houses with

tented roofs A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak. W. Dean EastmanHometown Handbook: Architecture./ref> Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious architecture, wer ...

, meant for older people. At this time, it was very uncommon that separate homes were built for the

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

. The construction of new homes in Floradorp were often the reason for various strikes and conflicts. An overview from 1930 gives a clear view where the first residents of Floradorp came from: 144 from uninhabitable declared homes, 14 from

expropriated Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

homes, 72 from substandard homes, 202 from overcrowded homes, 123 from ''Obelt'' (same type of village as ''Asterdorp)'', 20 from ''Asterdorp'', 6 from a

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...

, 22 lived with other tenants, 1

newlywed Newlyweds are people who have recently entered into a marriage. The time frame during which a married couple is considered newlywed varies, but for social science research purposes it may be considered as up to six months into the marriage.Rebecca ...

, 1 from outside Amsterdam and 1 public servant.

Renovations

The Municipal Housing Service renovated Floradorp in the mid-1990s. The brick outer walls were given a pastel-coloured

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

coating, which got decorated with tiles. The plaster coating also acts as

external wall insulation An external wall insulation system (or EWIS) is a thermally insulated, protective, decorative exterior cladding procedure involving the use of expanded polystyrene, mineral wool, polyurethane foam or phenolic foam, topped off with a reinforced ce ...

. The small homes at the ''Binnenhof'' were merged, losing their original location. Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam Amsterdam-Noord Content in this edit is translated from the existing Dutch Wikipedia article at :nl:Floradorp; see its history for attribution. {{NorthHolland-geo-stub