Slotervaart is a former

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

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 ...

. It had a population of 48,540 inhabitants in 2008 and an area of 11.14 km². As of 2010, Slotervaart is part of the newly formed ''stadsdeel''

Nieuw-West Amsterdam Nieuw-West () is a Boroughs of Amsterdam, borough (Dutch language, Dutch: ''stadsdeel'') comprising the westernmost neighbourhoods of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was created in 2010 after a merger of the former boroughs Osdorp, ...

. Slotervaart has a significant immigrant population; 33% of the inhabitants are from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, 21% are from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, and 5% are from Suriname. In 2007, Slotervaart youngsters burned cars and threw stones at the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

after a stabbing accident at the Allebeplein, where the police killed a Moroccan boy. At the edge of Slotervaart is the Sloterpark, a recreational location popular among young families with children, and also among

men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, regardless of ...

for whom the park is a famous cruising spot. The different clienteles traditionally frequent separate areas of the large park. Sometimes, homosexual

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s (who visit Slotervaart for its famous park) have not been aware of this distinction, and this has led to incidents of

gay bashing Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It includes both violence against LGBT people and LGBT bullying. The term covers vio ...

. In early 2009 signs were erected pointing out the "family" and "cruising" areas. Areas that were part of the borough included the smaller neighborhood of Slotervaart,

Overtoomse Veld Overtoomse Veld is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is named for the '' Overtoomse Sluis'', which was an old portage point dating from the 14th century on a major cargo route to and from Amsterdam at the junction of two waterschap are ...

, and Nieuw Sloten.

External links

Schwule links, Heteros rechts
- German news article about the Sloterpark Amsterdam Nieuw-West Former boroughs of Amsterdam {{NorthHolland-geo-stub