Being small, progressive and outward looking hasn’t scared away business from Amsterdam. The city’s bold plans for expansion into former docklands and wastelands – triggered, in part, by innovative technology for building on and under the waterlogged earth – have enhanced its appeal among international businesses looking for a Western European base.
Furthermore, Amsterdam’s high standard of living and ease with English have generated a Brexit Bump. The latest organisation to relocate here from London, the European Medicines Agency, is building vast headquarters in the growing Zuidas business district.
All this activity has had a knock-on effect on infrastructure: hot hotel launches are routine these days, and last year a new North-South metro line began connecting Zuidas with the burgeoning Noord area. §