The knowledge Mile, an innovative collective consisting of 30,000 residents, 60,000 students and about 200 companies, hotels, museums and social and municipal institutions, presented their ambition and approach to improve the living and working climate in the Wibaut street and surrounding area by linking education and research, connecting people and knowledge and exchanging good ideas.
Another collective that presented itself was Plein 40-45. This square is the central square of Tuinstad Slotermeer in Amsterdam New-West. There is a day market on the square that produces a lot of litter, much to the chagrin of local shop holders and residents. They have now joined forces with the municipality and market traders to come up with sustainable solutions for all stakeholders involved.
The presentations and interactions led to some interesting discussions about the sustainability of such initiatives. In particular two questions were raised that were related to the Business Investment Zones (BIZ), the demarcated area (such as a shopping street) where entrepreneurs of the above collectives make joint investments in the quality of their business environment, and for which the municipality charges a fee, which all entrepreneurs in the BIZ have to pay.
The first question about the BIZ was related to the level of formality that is needed to start a BIZ. In order to become a BIZ entrepreneurs need to write a business plan and come up with rules of play. Further, all entrepreneurs/ owners in a BIZ pay a contribution to the municipality. The money collected from this fee is disbursed to the BIZ association or foundation in the form of a subsidy. They will then use it for activities to improve the quality of life, safety, environment or another public interest in the public spaces in the BIZ. For many entrepreneurs, such a yearly contribution is considered a burden and in times of economic crisis can easily demotivate entrepreneurs to continue the BIZ, which needs to be reconsidered every 5 years. Main question that was therefore raised, was if there were other more intermediate ways to make a collective more sustainable?
The second question also concerned the BIZ and the way it was organized. However, now the question was raised by the community manager and street manager, responsible for the daily management of the BIZ. They were sometimes having difficulties to show the members of the BIZ what concrete results were achieved and how money was spent. Stakeholders from the Municipality of Amsterdam, also an active partner in the ABCitiEs project, endorsed these concerns and highlighted that this was also one of the outcomes of a recent study about BIZ in Amsterdam, commissioned by the Municipality. In general, the BIZ managers were very much interested in ways to make their achievements and activities better visible and find ways to monitor results.
In the coming period, the ABCitiEs project team will dive deeper into these matters. They will bring together stakeholders and experts, for example, to come up with alternatives for the BIZ, and/or better monitor BIZ activities and achievements. Please make sure to check our website regularly for updates.
