Dutch landscapes
Flevoland is the youngest province of the Netherlands. It exists because the Dutch decided to drain the Zuiderzee in the 1960’s and build land in its place. Almere, Flevoland's biggest city, was but heaps of sand just 50 years ago and now claims 207.094 inhabitants. Every part of the city was completely designed on a drafting table.
Growing up in Almere, I felt like it was a place unlike any other, like it was completely in between everything. First of all, it's on an island, surrounded by water. In fact, it’s on the world’s biggest artificial island that in a way, shouldn’t even exist. It consist mostly of vinex houses and is super generic, but at the same time, it's one of a kind. Some argue it has its own identity, others say the lack of an identity is its identity. It provides a comfortable living area for a lot of people, but doesn’t offer a thing to do. I constantly questioned what Almere is and should be.
I was never able to identify with anything in Almere and the feeling of being in between became a part of me. It makes me wonder: what does it mean for a place to be seemingly identity-less? And what influence does the city have on the people living there? What is this being in between exactly?
Growing up in Almere, I felt like it was a place unlike any other, like it was completely in between everything. First of all, it's on an island, surrounded by water. In fact, it’s on the world’s biggest artificial island that in a way, shouldn’t even exist. It consist mostly of vinex houses and is super generic, but at the same time, it's one of a kind. Some argue it has its own identity, others say the lack of an identity is its identity. It provides a comfortable living area for a lot of people, but doesn’t offer a thing to do. I constantly questioned what Almere is and should be.
I was never able to identify with anything in Almere and the feeling of being in between became a part of me. It makes me wonder: what does it mean for a place to be seemingly identity-less? And what influence does the city have on the people living there? What is this being in between exactly?