End of October 2020 Mathias was interviewed for educational purposes at TU Delft in his role as initiator and research director of www.nextcity.nl with the key question how cities like Amsterdam can become home to thriving people, in a thriving place, while respecting the well-being of all people, and the health of the whole planet. Mathias’ input feeds into design and research carried out within the Master Education of Architecture in a studio supervised by Daniel Rosbottom and Mark Pimlott.

Background info:
Amsterdam’s vision to be ‘a thriving, regenerative and inclusive city for all citizens, while respecting the planetary boundaries’ makes the city a pioneer of such systemic transformation. In this spirit, the City of Amsterdam has joined the Thriving Cities Initiative (TCI), a collaboration between C40, Circle Economy, and Doughnut Economics Action Lab, which works with cities pursuing such a transformation.

A key tool of the TCI is a City Portrait based on the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries. It is a holistic snapshot of the city and one that serves as a starting point for big-picture thinking, co-creative innovation, and systemic transformation, rather than as a comprehensive assessment of the city. This document sets out the City Portrait for Amsterdam, known as the Amsterdam City Doughnut. It presents city life and its impacts through four ‘lenses’ – social, ecological, local, and global – which together provide a new perspective on what it means for a city to thrive.

Download the Amsterdam City Portrait here.