Buitenveldert

Buitenveldert
Neighbourhood of Amsterdam
Christelijke Scholengemeenschap Buitenveldert, completed in 1963, with its rooftop observatory
Christelijke Scholengemeenschap Buitenveldert, completed in 1963, with its rooftop observatory
Flag of Buitenveldert
Flag
Interactive map of Buitenveldert
Coordinates: 52°19′48″N 4°52′27″E / 52.33000°N 4.87417°E / 52.33000; 4.87417
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceNorth Holland
MunicipalityAmsterdam
BoroughZuid
Area
[1]
 • Total
5.25 km2 (2.03 sq mi)
Population
 (1 January 2026)[1]
 • Total
22,758
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
1081–1083

Buitenveldert is a post-war garden suburb in the borough of Zuid in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Under the city's current statistical division, the residential neighbourhood consists principally of the districts Buitenveldert-West and Buitenveldert-Oost. Areas around the Vrije Universiteit and the Zuidas that were historically associated with Buitenveldert now form part of the separate Zuidas district.[2]

The neighbourhood had 22,758 inhabitants on 1 January 2026.[1] It has substantial Jewish and Japanese communities as well as an international population.[3][4]

Geography and administration

Buitenveldert takes its name from the Binnendijkse Buitenvelderse Polder, shown as the Buijtenveldse polder on this 18th-century map of Nieuwer-Amstel.

Buitenveldert-West and Buitenveldert-Oost adjoin the Zuidas district to the north and the municipality of Amstelveen along the Kalfjeslaan to the south. The Amstel forms the eastern edge of the area, while Amstelpark occupies the eastern part of Buitenveldert-Oost; the Amstelveenseweg and Amsterdamse Bos are on the western side. In Amsterdam's statistical division, Amstelpark forms a separate neighbourhood within Buitenveldert-Oost.[5] Because parts of Zuidas extend south of the A10 ring road, the present boundary between the two neighbourhoods does not everywhere follow the motorway.[2][6]

Most of Amsterdamse Bos is geographically within Amstelveen, while only a small northern part lies within the municipality of Amsterdam. The entire forest is nevertheless owned and managed by the Municipality of Amsterdam. In Amsterdam's statistical division, the part within the city boundary is included in Buitenveldert-West.[7][2] The Vrije Universiteit and Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, often associated with Buitenveldert, are immediately to the north in the VU-kwartier of Zuidas.[2]

The name Buitenveldert derives from an older hamlet on the Amstelveenseweg and from the Binnendijkse Buitenvelderse Polder, which lay between the Amstel and the Amstelveenseweg. The Buitendijkse Buitenvelderse Polder was situated west of that road.[8]

History

The General Expansion Plan, including the proposed Buitenveldert garden suburb.
The first stone is laid in 1958.

The Binnendijkse Buitenvelderse Polder formed part of the rural Amstelland region and later of the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel. Amsterdam annexed this part of Nieuwer-Amstel in 1921, after which the Kalfjeslaan became the city's southern boundary.[9]

Amsterdam's General Expansion Plan of 1934 provided for a new garden suburb south of the existing city, in addition to the Western Garden Cities. The plan was prepared under Cornelis van Eesteren, with an important contribution by urban planner Jakoba Mulder. Work to prepare the polder for construction began in 1955. M. J. Prinsen, the Queen's Commissioner in North Holland, laid the first stone on 2 June 1958; the first residents moved in less than a year later.[3][9]

Buitenveldert became a borough of Amsterdam in 1987. In 1998 it merged with the Rivierenbuurt borough to form Zuideramstel, which also included parts of Prinses Irenebuurt. Since the borough reorganisation of 2010, Buitenveldert has been part of Amsterdam-Zuid.[10]

From the 1990s, the Zuidas developed on the northern edge of Buitenveldert. It is now a separate district, comprising areas including Zuidas-Noord, RAI, VU-kwartier, Zuidas-Zuid and Vivaldi.[2][6] Development of Zuidas has brought a concentration of international businesses and institutions close to the residential neighbourhood.

Urban design and amenities

Q Residences, a residential complex completed in 2022, includes the 75-metre Quartz tower designed by the Chicago-based firm Studio Gang.

Most of Buitenveldert was built in the 1960s. Its open planning combines low-, medium- and high-rise housing with green spaces between buildings; the original plan provided for 9,100 homes, including 1,300 single-family houses.[3] The main roads are named after bailiffs of Amstelland and Waterland. Many other streets are named after Dutch provinces and castles, grouped geographically by province.[11]

An unbuilt motorway corridor ran from north to south through the plan. It had been reserved for the proposed Rotterdamseweg, part of a motorway from Amsterdam to Rotterdam via the Groene Hart. After the reservation was abandoned in the 1980s, part of the land was used for housing.[3]

The Gijsbrecht van Aemstelpark.

The Gijsbrecht van Aemstelpark crosses Buitenveldert from west to east and forms a green link between Amsterdamse Bos and Amstelpark. The central section between Buitenveldertselaan and Van Leijenberghlaan, designed by landscape architect Wim Boer, has been a national heritage site since 2015. It comprises three water-surrounded sections: a western section with recreational lawns and woodland planting, the square Ontmoetingseiland ("Meeting Island"), and the geometrically designed Bloemeneiland ("Flower Island") with its pergola. The bridges, benches and retaining walls form part of the protected ensemble.[12] Rope bridges over roads crossing the green corridor are intended to help squirrels and other small mammals move between its sections.[13]

Amstelpark, in the eastern part of Buitenveldert-Oost, was one of the main sites of the 1972 Floriade.[14] Several facilities created for the exhibition remained afterwards, including the Amsteltrein, a narrow-gauge miniature railway through the park, and a miniature golf course.[15] Near the Amstel stand the Riekermolen windmill and a statue of Rembrandt.[16]

Along the western side of Buitenveldert, the Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam operates on part of the former Haarlemmermeer railway lines. The heritage line serves stops at Jollenpad, Koenenkade, Van Nijenrodeweg and Kalfjeslaan before continuing into Amstelveen.[17] It is a seasonal heritage operation rather than part of Amsterdam's regular public-transport network, with Line 30 normally operating on Sundays from early April until late October.[18]

Shopping

The principal shopping centre is Gelderlandplein, an enclosed complex with shops, restaurants and services. Besides Gelderlandplein, Buitenveldert has several smaller shopping streets, including the A.J. Ernststraat, the Rooswijck parade along Buitenveldertselaan, and Kastelenstraat, which also forms the centre of the neighbourhood's Jewish community.[19]

Community amenities and services

OBA Buitenveldert, the local branch of the Amsterdam Public Library, was renovated in 2025 into a "community library" that also houses a municipal neighbourhood support team.[20][21] The neighbourhood has several smaller community centres and, reflecting its relatively high proportion of older residents, a number of residential care facilities for the elderly.[22][23]

Education

Buitenveldert has state, denominational and international schools, including primary and secondary institutions serving the general population and the Jewish community. Since 2022, the South Campus of the Amsterdam International Community School (AICS) has stood on A.J. Ernststraat, offering English-language primary and secondary education under International Baccalaureate programmes.[24]

Sport

A tennis complex on Van der Boechorststraat predates the garden suburb: it was laid out in 1932 by the builder and designer Jan Frans de Mooy, originally under the name Nieuwe Meer. It has fifteen clay courts and eight indoor hard courts, and was acquired in 2024 by property investors who renamed it Amsterdam Racket Club and added padel facilities.[25]

Football club Sportclub Buitenveldert (SC Buitenveldert), formed in 1974 through the merger of two earlier clubs, is one of the largest amateur football clubs in Amsterdam and the country's largest women's football club, with around 1,350 members. It plays at Sportpark Buitenveldert, which administratively lies in the neighbouring Zuidas district.[2][26]

The western edge of Buitenveldert forms part of the Sportas, a cycling and walking corridor running from Amsterdam through Amsterdamse Bos towards Amstelveen, with a concentration of sports facilities along its route.[27] At Koenenkade 8, within the Amsterdamse Bos statistical neighbourhood of Buitenveldert-West, is the Amstelpark racket-sports complex.[28] Amstelpark Tennis School was founded in 1986 and moved to the Koenenkade site in 1996; the complex provides facilities for tennis, squash and padel.[29]

The adjoining shore of the Nieuwe Meer contains several marinas and long-established water-sports clubs. Watersport Vereniging Amsterdam (WVA) was founded in 1918 and has a marina accommodating around 200 boats.[30] Watersportvereniging De Koenen, based at the Jollenpad, was founded in 1933 by sailors seeking to participate in and organise races and has around 500 members.[31] Also at the Jollenpad is Weekeind- en Watersportvereniging De IJssloot, whose small harbour basin is surrounded by 33 wooden weekend houses, most of which pre-date the Second World War.[32]

Demographics and communities

Buitenveldert-West had 14,311 residents and Buitenveldert-Oost 8,447 on 1 January 2026, a combined population of 22,758. Of these, 4,920 were aged 65 or over, or 21.6 per cent, compared with 14.2 per cent across Amsterdam. The population grew by 12.2 per cent between 2015 and 2026, from 20,292 to 22,758. Over the same period the number of residents aged 23–39 rose from 5,475 to 7,040, while the proportion aged 65 or over declined from 27.8 to 21.6 per cent.[1]

In 2026, 36.6 per cent of residents were in the municipality's Netherlands-origin category and 22.9 per cent had origins in another European country. The corresponding shares in 2015 were 54.1 and 17.1 per cent. A further 4,575 residents, or 20.1 per cent of the population, were in the broad category "Other Asia" in 2026, compared with 10.7 per cent across Amsterdam. The corresponding figure in Buitenveldert was approximately 3,100, or 15.3 per cent, in 2015. This category comprises people who were born in an Asian country other than Turkey, or who have at least one parent born in such a country; it describes origin rather than nationality or self-identification. The published neighbourhood data do not subdivide the category by country and therefore cannot establish separate numbers of, for example, Japanese or Korean residents.[1][33]

Since the neighbourhood was built, Buitenveldert has developed a substantial Jewish community. Chief Rabbi Aron Schuster opened the first synagogue in the new suburb in 1965. Jewish schools, synagogues, shops, restaurants and care institutions subsequently opened in and around Kastelenstraat. They include the Rosj Pina, Maimonides and Cheider schools, the Beth Shalom residential care centre and the Immanuel hospice.[3]

Municipal sources also identify a longstanding Japanese community, reflected in specialist shops and restaurants.[4] More broadly, the Asian presence in Buitenveldert and neighbouring Amstelveen is visible in Japanese, Korean, Chinese and other Asian food shops and restaurants.[34] The neighbourhood also has a sizeable international population, influenced in part by its proximity to Zuidas.[3]

Transport

Light-rail line 51 operated through Buitenveldert from 1990 to 2019. The route was converted for tram line 25.
Tram line 25 operating on the Buitenveldertselaan.

Buitenveldert is served directly by Amsterdam tram lines 5 and 25, which run along Buitenveldertselaan. Since 29 March 2026, tram line 6 has supplemented them between Amsterdam Zuid station and Amstelveen Westwijk during weekday peak hours. Line 25 runs from Uithoorn Centrum through Buitenveldert and Amsterdam Zuid towards Amsterdam-Oost.[35]

The train and metro stations Amsterdam Zuid and Amsterdam RAI are north of Buitenveldert in Zuidas. Both are served by Amsterdam Metro lines 50 and 51.[36][37] Zuid is also the southern terminus of line 52.[38] Tram line 24 terminates at De Boelelaan/VU and line 4 at Amsterdam RAI, both within Zuidas.[39][40]

Bus 62 crosses eastern Buitenveldert, linking it with Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam Zuid, Amstel station and Lelylaan station. Its route west of Zuid was changed on 29 March 2026 to run via Parnassusweg rather than Amsterdam UMC and the western part of De Boelelaan.[41] Regional bus services operate along the western side of the neighbourhood.[42] Gelderlandplein also funds three fare-free local shuttle routes, 461, 463 and 464, operated by GVB.[43]

The former light-rail line 51 ran through Buitenveldert from 1990 until 2019. After the route was converted to tram operation, line 25 opened in December 2020 and was extended from Amstelveen Westwijk to Uithoorn Centrum in July 2024.[44]

Culture

Former prime minister Joop den Uyl lived in Buitenveldert with his family and was sometimes referred to in the Dutch press as "the graduate from Buitenveldert". His immediate neighbours were revue performers Willy Walden and Aase Rasmussen; Cornelis van Eesteren lived a few houses away.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Basisbestand Gebieden Amsterdam (BBGA)" (in Dutch). Research and Statistics, Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gebiedsgerichte Opgaven Sociaal 2025–2030: Stadsdeel Zuid (PDF) (Report) (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. p. 10. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Erfgoed van de Week: 65 jaar Buitenveldert" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Buitenveldert (PDF) (Report) (in Dutch). Monumenten en Archeologie, Municipality of Amsterdam. 18 September 2025. p. 64. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Buurt – Amstelpark (KR04)" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 "About Zuidas". Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Feiten en cijfers Amsterdamse Bos" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Inventaris van het archief van de Binnendijkse Buitenvelderse polder" (in Dutch). Amsterdam City Archives. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 "1934: Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan" (in Dutch). Amsterdam City Archives. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Historisch overzicht Amsterdamse gemeentelijke organisatieonderdelen (PDF) (Report) (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. pp. 52–53. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Learn more". Walks in Buitenveldert. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Amsterdam – bij Van Leijenberghlaan 320 – Gijsbrecht van Aemstelpark" (in Dutch). Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Gijsbrecht van Aemstelpark" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Amstelpark" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "De Floriades van 72 en 82" (in Dutch). Amsterdam City Archives. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Windmill spotting in and around Amsterdam". I amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "De Spoorlijn" (in Dutch). Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Heritage Line – Line 30". Electric Tram Museum Amsterdam. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "De beste winkelgebieden" (in Dutch). I amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Samenwerking met Buurtteam Buitenveldert in vernieuwde OBA-vestiging" (in Dutch). OBA. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Feestelijke opening van OBA Buitenveldert trekt ruim 400 bezoekers" (in Dutch). OBA. September 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Huis van de Wijk Buitenveldert" (in Dutch). Huizen van de Wijk. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Buitenveldert" (in Dutch). Cordaan. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "A.J. Ernststraat transformed by the arrival of AICS". Zuidas, Municipality of Amsterdam. January 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Tennispark Buitenveldert" (in Dutch). A.L.T.C. Buitenveldert. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Buitenveldert viert veertig jarig bestaan" (in Dutch). Het Amsterdamsche Voetbal. June 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Amsterdamse Bos: fiets- en wandelroute Sportas" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  28. ↑ "Adres – Koenenkade 8" (in Dutch). Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "About Amstelpark". Amstelpark Tennis. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "WVA, onze vereniging" (in Dutch). Watersport Vereniging Amsterdam. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  31. ↑ "Algemene informatie" (in Dutch). Watersportvereniging De Koenen. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "WWSV De IJssloot" (in Dutch). Weekeind- en Watersportvereniging De IJssloot. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Nieuwe indeling naar herkomst CBS" (in Dutch). Research and Statistics, Municipality of Amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Restaurants and bars in Amstelveen". I amsterdam. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  35. ↑ "Nieuwe dienstregeling tram vanaf 29 maart 2026" (in Dutch). GVB. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  36. ↑ "Metro 50: route and timetable". GVB. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  37. ↑ "Metro 51: route and timetable". GVB. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Metro 52: route and timetable". GVB. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Tram 24: route and timetable". GVB. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  40. ↑ "Tram 4: route and timetable". GVB. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Nieuwe GVB-dienstregeling vanaf 29 maart" (in Dutch). GVB. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  42. ↑ Lijnennetkaart Amstelland-Meerlanden 2026 (PDF) (Report) (in Dutch). Connexxion. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  43. ↑ "Gelderlandpleinlijn" (in Dutch). Gelderlandplein. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  44. ↑ "Tram 25 rijdt tussen Uithoorn en Amsterdam Zuid" (in Dutch). GVB. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
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