IDEAS?

Ideas: Originally I had thrown around some ideas about studying issues of sustainability in Amsterdam. It is known as an innovative city with positive attitudes towards sustaining the environment. People use bikes rather than cars, I had read about the recycling of old abandoned public spaces into hip new clubs in Rotterdam, and other examples of sustainable practices all throughout the country. But how would I tie ideas about sustainability with those of pragmatic tolerance? And exactly how could I go about studying any of it? My main interest is to find some way address and study the issues of sustainability in Amsterdam, and what it says about the Netherlands and the views of people that live there.

Questions: What are the attitudes towards sustainable practices? What are examples of actual sustainable practices? Is it even really all that important to the people of the city? Are the attitudes forced on society by laws/policies? Or are they readily supported by the public, or even pushed by the public? Is there a conflict between trying to conserve the city and trying to implement new urban planning? Do the policies and practices currently implemented even seem to be working? How do they differ from other areas of Europe? Or of with major urban areas in the United States or Canada? Are the attitudes of the public in these areas different?.....

Evidence: I am still pretty unsure about how to go about this kind of study, and exactly where to focus it, or if it is even a valid point to consider. It would require internet/library research about policies in the city, and perhaps more research in comparing policies with other cities in the world, and other research about examples of practices in the city, including likely visiting real sites. Perhaps it would also entail interviews of citizens and policy makers, urban planners, architects, business owners, home owners, college students, recent immigrants etc etc about their attitudes towards the issues.

However this is definitely not my only possible path in research…I also am intrigued by the artists of Amsterdam and what kind of work they produce and whether it is a reflection of their views towards policies or life in Amsterdam. (How do they feel about prostitution, marijuana, euthanasia, etc) Are there trends throughout history? How does it differ from other European art, how is it similar? Has recent immigration had a sharp influence? What does art in the Netherlands say about the people that live there? Is there a pronounced art culture? Is it vastly separated from the rest of society, or integrated? Is art important to the culture of Amsterdam? What is the environment of museums and galleries? Is there distinct art that is political in nature such as Theo van Gogh’s films? Does it actually have any influence on the attitudes of the public? Do the attitudes held by artists represent those of the rest of the public? What about the style of art…is there something distinct about it, is there anything inherently ‘Dutch’ about the art it produces?...

I am particularly interested in visual art….but that could include paintings, drawings, photography, 3D installations……but also other forms of art could be equally if not more telling…music, music culture, literature, theater……

As far as finding evidence this would include looking at a large variety of works of art, visiting galleries, interviewing artists if possible, studying the art history of the Netherlands and of Europe, interviewing the public to study public perceptions, etc.

I feel as though there are so many possibilities for study in this city, and the main problem is going to be narrowing down an idea enough to actually get a good amount of information on it in order to analyze and come up with a good research project and final product. I am definitely open to many other ideas, this is just a starting point, and I feel as though there is so much to consider that I could continue writing pages and pages about possible ideas that I would find equally interesting….