A unique blend of lush nature, cultural experimentation, and social initiatives
Het Groene Veld in Amsterdam North is a unique blend of lush nature, cultural experimentation, and social initiatives. It is a place for local residents, makers, and curious Amsterdammers who are looking for space to meet, create, and share. In a part of the city where more has been built over the past ten years than anywhere else in Amsterdam, Het Groene Veld offers much-needed breathing space.
Until the end of 2019, the site had been vacant for years - overgrown and inaccessible. At the beginning of 2020, that changed when the ADM community was given a new location on the eastern part of the former wastewater treatment plant, also known as the sludge fields. This relocation followed a forceful eviction elsewhere in the city - a history that left deep marks.
After recovering from the initial shock, the community rolled up its sleeves. With limited resources, basic facilities were built and temporary living spaces created, while uncertainty remained ever-present. How long would they be allowed to stay? And if they had to leave again, where would they go?
Despite this uncertainty, the community proved its value in the years that followed. In 2021, a proposal was submitted to the municipality to also open up the vacant western part of the site and make it accessible as a public space for art, culture, and social entrepreneurship. For the neighborhood. For Amsterdam North. For the city.
This is how Het Groene Veld was born: a piece of untamed urban space where culture is not designed behind desks but emerges through practice. An open place without rigid structures or commercial pressure, where space, time, and land are not claimed by rules or money, but by people. People who create, experiment, fail, learn, and begin again. Everyone is welcome - status, background, or income do not matter.
On the western part of the site, around sixty artists, cultural producers, craftspeople, and social entrepreneurs are now active. This is where festivals and performances take place, workshops and educational programs are organized, neighborhood initiatives take shape, and a free market is held on King’s Day. There are weekly activities for women from diverse cultural backgrounds, and at the Herb School you can learn about the healing power of nature. Two evenings a week (Monday and Friday), you can enjoy honest, delicious vegan meals - donation-based or at a very affordable price. And a beer still costs just €2 here.
By 2026, Het Groene Veld has grown into a vibrant place that attracts more than 40,000 visitors each year. What sets it apart is its unforced atmosphere: punk and pop, nature and culture, noise and silence coexist side by side. So do rules and disruption - the community cooperates where reasonable and pushes back when excessive regulation threatens free space.
For years now, a shadow has also hung over this lively place. Amsterdam is full, and every square meter is under pressure. Although the importance and viability of Het Groene Veld have been proven time and again, the chance to truly take root here seems small. On October 1, 2027, the curtain may fall on Het Groene Veld in its current form.
The struggle for space is an unequal one: large (often commercial) interests versus idealistic initiatives like Het Groene Veld. While Het Groene Veld may appear vulnerable, it is also the place where imagination, perseverance, and the belief that alternatives always exist to seemingly impossible challenges prevail. For now, we are here. And as long as we are, we will continue to create, share, and dream of a sustainable future for Het Groene Veld.
