scholarly journals The merchant, the priest, and the humble engineer. Observations on the Rotterdam drug scene

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-183
Author(s):  
Juha Partanen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
City Council ◽  
Public Prosecutor ◽  
Drug Problem ◽  
Hard Drug ◽  
Hard Drugs ◽  
The City

The Dutch policy on drugs has often been criticized in other countries. It has been claimed that the Netherlands has given up the fight against drugs and does not fulfill its international responsibilities. The purpose of this article is to show that the drug problem is taken seriously in the Netherlands, and plenty of resources are used to deal with it. The Dutch view on the nature of the problem and appropriate ways to treat drug users, however, is different from what is common elsewhere. The object of the study is the drug scene and the administration of drug-related services in Rotterdam. The focus in this article is on the relationship between drug users and the drug control system. The study draws upon observations and documents, and numerous interviews with civil servants, treatment staff, and drug users during a three-week visit in Rotterdam. In Rotterdam there are separate markets for cannabis and hard drugs. About 150 cafes are permitted to sell cannabis products provided they follow the rules: no sales to minors under 18 years of age, no alcohol, no hard drugs, no advertising. Hard drugs are sold illegally in 300-400 apartments located in the older parts of the city. The number of hard drug users is estimated to be 2500 - 4000, and the majority of them are registered in the Rotterdam Drug Information System (RODIS), which makes them eligible to use the services provided by the city for addicted drug users, gamblers, and alcoholics. No legal sanctions relate to smoking of cannabis or to possession of small amounts, whereas large-scale trade, smuggling, and commercial cultivation are criminal activities. Neither is the use of hard drugs or possession for personal use criminalized. The core of the drug problem is seen to be on the one hand the nuisance caused by those addicted hard-drug users who resort to petty crime and threaten the safety of other people, leading to the deterioration of the urban environment, and on the other hand the threat to the economy and politics of the country created by criminal drug organizations. In dealing with drug-related nuisance the aim is harm reduction. The central idea is the normalization of the drug problem. This means that efforts are made to keep drug users in contact with society, instead of pushing them outside by pursuing repressive policies. The threshold to health and social services and to treatment is kept as low as possible. At the same time addicts are held responsible for their behavior, and they are required to follow the regulations of the institutions providing support and treatment. Decisions concerning drug policies in Rotterdam are made at the top level, by the mayor, the public prosecutor, and the chief of police. They are assisted by the aldermen responsible for health, social affairs, and public order, and by commissions set up by the city council. Two remarkable aspects of the administration of drug-related affairs are a close cooperation between health authorities and the police, and an emphasis on Japanese-style neighborhood policing. The support and treatment services for drug users are run by private foundations that are fully financed by the government and the city. The extent and the variety of available services is impressive, ranging from consultation bureaus and daycare centers to intensive care units and a methadone dispensing program for 1 200 daily customers. The extensive system of municipal services is supplemented by voluntary aid mainly provided by churches and religious organizations. The Dutch way of dealing with the drug problem thus combines tolerance for drug use with a comprehensive network of services for drug users and a strict and carefully designed administration. Such an approach derives from the traditions of governance and political culture in Dutch society. These are crystallized in three character masks: those of the pragmatic and prudent merchant who is more concerned with practical problems than lofty ideals, the charitable and paternalistic priest, and the humble engineer who in his age-long fight against floods has learned that nature can be controlled but never fully tamed.

Merchant, priest and humble engineer: Observations from Rotterdam's drug scenes

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 52-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Partanen
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Drug Problem ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Commercial Cultivation ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Legal Sanctions ◽  
The Government

The object of the study is the drug scene and the administration of drug-related services in Rotterdam. The focus is on the relationship between drug users and the drug control system. The study draws upon observations and documents, and numerous interviews with civil servants, treatment staff, and drug users. The Dutch view on the nature of the problem and appropriate ways to treat drug users is different from what is common elsewhere. No legal sanctions relate to smoking of cannabis or to possession of small amounts, whereas large-scale trade, smuggling, and commercial cultivation are criminal activities. Neither is the use of hard drugs or possession for personal use criminalized. The core of the drug problem is seen to be on one hand the nuisance caused by those addicted hard drug users, and on the other hand the threat to the economy and politics of the country created by criminal drug organizations. In dealing with drug-related nuisance the aim is harm reduction. The central idea is the normalization of the drug problem. This means that efforts are made to keep drug users in contact with society, instead of pushing them outside by pursuing repressive policies. The threshold to health and social services and to treatment is kept as low as possible. At the same time addicts are held responsible for their behavior, and they are required to follow the regulations of the institutions providing support and treatment. Two remarkable aspects of the administration of drug-related affairs are a close co-operation between health authorities and the police, and an emphasis on Japanese-style neighborhood policing. The support and treatment services for drug users are run by private foundations that are fully financed by the government and the city. The extensive system of municipal services is supplemented by voluntary aid mainly provided by the churches and religious organizations. The Dutch way of dealing with the drug problem derives from the traditions of governance and political culture in Dutch society. These are crystallized in three character masks: those of the pragmatic and prudent merchant, more concerned with practical problems than lofty ideals, the charitable and paternalistic priest, and the humble engineer who in his age-long fight against floods has learned that nature can be controlled but never fully tamed.

Form Follows Experience - Notes on the Functionality of Footbridges

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Schreinemachers ◽  
Wiebe Strick
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Highway Bridge ◽  
Or Efficiency ◽  
Pedestrian Bridges ◽  
The City ◽  
Prime Location ◽  
Natural Way

<p>Should a bridge always be functional and accessible? Should it always fulfil its purpose? This seemingly self- evident question is a key question in footbridge design that is oriented towards creating experiences.</p><p>Footbridges are able to successfully enriches our experience of a certain context or landscape, it cannot be functional all the time, under all environmental conditions, weather and seasons. A good example is the Zalige bridge designed as part of the Room for the River, a large-scale national program for inland flood- protection in the Netherlands. Build upon the floodplains within a newly created river-park by the city of Nijmegen, the Zalige bridge’s curved shape stands in direct relationship to the fluctuating water levels of the river. When water levels rise, the bridge partially submerges, becoming only accessible through steppingstones. At peak heights, the bridge disappears completely, becoming a metaphor for our relationship to the water.</p><p>“Building a bridge that fails to fulfil its sole purpose of containing the water; this can only be pulled off in the Netherlands.” – jury Dutch Design Awards about the Zalige bridge.</p><p>The loss of functionality is directly related to the creation of an experience. When the water levels rose in January 2018, the bridge became the prime location to experience the changing landscape. It shows that engineering a bridge is not solely focussed on the most efficient engineering, but for the purpose it fulfils as for society. For most pedestrian bridges where the perception of the user is on a different level as for a highway bridge, functionality provides more than just cost driven or efficiency driven parameters. It is more related to the added value for the community. When design not solemnly derives from the sheer taste and predilection of the designer but is based on the user’s experience, it generates a durable relation with a feeling of ownership of its users. The key is to create this experience in an elegant and natural way and not forced or dictated. It should be people's own unique discovery and should not be imposed.</p>

Cost-effectiveness of targeted screening for hepatitis C in The Netherlands

2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. HELSPER ◽  
B. A. BORKENT-RAVEN ◽  
N. J. DE WIT ◽  
G. A. VAN ESSEN ◽  
M. J. M. BONTEN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Hepatitis C ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Case Finding ◽  
Hard Drug ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Additional Support

SUMMARYOn account of the serious complications of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the improved treatment possibilities, the need to improve HCV awareness and case-finding is increasingly recognized. To optimize a future national campaign with this objective, three pilot campaigns were executed in three regions in The Netherlands. One campaign was aimed at the general population, a second (similar) campaign was extended with a support programme for primary care and a third campaign was specifically aimed at hard-drug users. Data from the pilot campaigns were used to build a mathematical model to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the different campaigns. The campaign aimed at the general public without support for primary care did not improve case-finding and was therefore not cost-effective. The similar campaign accompanied by additional support for primary care and the campaign aimed at hard-drug users emerged as cost-effective interventions for identification of HCV carriers.

scholarly journals Paper Space: High density housing experiments, exploring slope and pathway, in Wellington’s character suburbs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alice Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
City Council ◽  
The Public ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Residual Space ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Steep Terrain ◽  
Design Case Study ◽  
The City

<p>Wellington is a city defined by its hills, and the landscape and terrain have played a significant role in shaping urban growth. The steep terrain adds to Wellington’s striking landscape and contributes to ensuring the city remains compact. However, the incline has often been at odds with the city grid. ‘Paper roads’ or unformed legal roads are an outcome of this tension and provide a residual space in some of Wellington’s inner residential suburbs.  The problem of a growing population and lack of housing in Wellington is a well- documented and much discussed issue. Given this continually increasing demand for housing, the desire to conserve character suburbs often comes into conflict with desire to retain Wellington’s compact city form. Wellington City Council is currently undergoing a review of the Urban Growth plan, with the intention of developing strategies for a potential 80,000 new residents in the next 30 years.  This thesis suggests a possible method of further densifying proximate Wellington suburbs by utilising residual space provided by ‘paper streets’. More broadly, this thesis will develop and test a model of higher density housing in the identified residual spaces of existing suburbs. Although Wellington’s paper roads have special characteristics, including the public amenity provided and the close relationship to existing built fabric, they also provide the case studies for residential intensification on steep sites.  Existing practice for hillside projects largely conforms to the strategy of small elements tumbling down the hillside. The research explores an alternative approach, questioning the negative connotations associated with existing large scale projects. An iterative design process identifies and refines a series of design criteria in order to inform the possibility for intensifying development on these hillside sites. Analysis of the work and literature of celebrated Californian firm, MLTW, informs the approach to developing these sites. The consideration of the public pathway and the experience of inhabitation for both residents and members of the public emerges as a central to the design case study, and the resulting criteria.</p>

scholarly journals Intermodal Nodes for the European Metropolis: Amsterdam Zuidas as EURandstad's Gate

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 220-226
Author(s):  
Manuela Triggianese ◽  
Fabrizia Berlingieri
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
Stable Configuration ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
South Axis ◽  
The City

Since more than fifty years, in the Netherlands, the Randstad Holland [1,2] represents a model of reference within the international debate on the sustainable balance between urban areas, infrastructural development and preservation of natural environment. The polycentric urban structure of the country progressively built up a new metropolitan reality of Europe, based on a stable configuration of cities’ spatial relations around the maintenance of the Green Hearth core and on strategic logics of infrastructural developments. However today the double awareness to rebalance growing population of urban areas and to open the region towards North-Central Europe, create fundamental conditions for a renewed expanding vision [3]. The current Dutch metropolitan perspective looks at the densest cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam as main European and international gates, addressing large scale ambitions to clusters of urban developments at the intersection of main roads, railways and local infrastructures. This paper presents an investigative approach and intends to provoke academic discussion on the conflicting and possible relationships between urban policies and design strategies in the construction of a new metropolitan European perspective. Particular emphasis is put on the coordination between contemporary policies with spatial implications in the city of Amsterdam. Exploring its geographical advantages, the City tries to give form to policies’ abstraction of Randstad 2040 vision in the recent structural spatial Agenda, focused on strategic urban and economic cores. The current vision represents the metropolitan ambition of the Netherlands, where the project of Zuidas - literally South Axis - is a prime example of a new model of intermodal urban hub. Throughout the Dutch example, this paper attempts to presentZuidas testing its capability to enhance an innovative approach – in urban policy and spatial implication- to sustainable development.

Personal Drug Use and Attitudes toward Prevention among Youth Living in a High Risk Environment

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Blount ◽  
Richard Dembo
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Peer Groups ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Drug Abuse Prevention ◽  
Risk Environment ◽  
Drug Problem ◽  
Prevention Programming ◽  
Hard Drug

Non-users, users of alcohol, and users of both alcohol and marijuana were identified coexisting in the same neighborhoods. (Sample selection also included a procedure which guaranteed that at least part of each group saw themselves “at risk.”) Separate subcultures for each of the three populations were strongly indicated. Differences were found in terms of behavior, attitudes, peer groups (including a distinct rejection of hard drug users), and significant adults in the environment; especially those felt to possess accurate information about drugs and to whom they would go for help with a drug problem. Almost any activity was seen as appropriate for a drug abuse prevention program, although there were strong differences in terms of desirability. How users can be differentiated from non-users in the same population is discussed along with additional implications for prevention programming.

scholarly journals Urban Vertical Farming as an Example of Nature-Based Solutions Supporting a Healthy Society Living in the Urban Environment

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Anna Zaręba ◽  
Alicja Krzemińska ◽  
Renata Kozik
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Vertical Farming ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The City

The subject of the article concerns vertical urban farms that play an important role in nature-based solutions and ecosystem services for the city. In the face of a changing climate, progressive environmental degradation, and the related loss of agricultural land, vertical farms can be seen as an alternative to traditional agriculture. Woven into the blue-green infrastructure of cities, they may not only constitute a base for food production, but can also create a new valuable ecological, social, and economic hub in contemporary cities, changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this paper is to show whether it is possible to introduce various functions which support ecosystem and social services, and whether they affect measurable benefits for urban residents in a large-scale system of solutions in the field of vertical urban agriculture. This research shows that urban vertical farms can perform many functions and bring diverse benefits to the inhabitants of cities. In a multi-scale system, they allow for the creation of patchwork connections, which stabilise a specific city biome in the vertical space.

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