About Zuidas
Zuidas is a neighbourhood in the City of Amsterdam, within the Zuid city district. Zuidas is characterised by its high-rise buildings, (international) business and the presence of large institutions, including VU Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit), Amsterdam University Medical Centre (UMC) and the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre.
Zuidas is located partly inside and partly outside the A10 (Zuid) orbital ring road, between the Buitenveldert and Oud Zuid districts and between the Nieuwe Meer and Amstel conservation areas. It covers a total surface area of around 245 hectares. At its widest, Zuidas is 1.14 kilometres wide and 750 m at its narrowest. Its total length is 3.5 km.
Housing, employment, study
Approximately 5,300 people live in Zuidas, over 50,000 work there and there are around 32,000 students (figures from 2024). There are around 2,000 companies based in Zuidas. Thanks to its strategic location, close to both Schiphol airport and Amsterdam city centre, combined with the many (public) transport options, the area is attractive to national and international businesses and institutions. At the same time, the number of inhabitants is growing rapidly. Thousands of new homes are in the process of being built. Of these homes, 40% will be social rental housing, 40% mid-market rental and 20% private sector.
As more and more people come to live here, with different needs and backgrounds, Zuidas is becoming increasingly vibrant and the range of amenities is growing all the time. The concentration of public transport passengers, residents, employees and students makes it a very dynamic area. With so much construction work happening, one of the greatest challenges in the years ahead will be to ensure that the neighbourhood remains both liveable and accessible during the work.
Zuidasdok
There are increasing numbers of people travelling from, to and through Zuidas. The A10 Zuid and metro and railway connections run straight through the neighbourhood. At its heart is Amsterdam Zuid station, which is now bursting at the seams. The Zuidasdok programme is working to improve accessibility, not only for Zuidas, but the whole of the northern Randstad. The programme includes the regeneration of Amsterdam Zuid station, creating a hub for (international) trains, metros, trams, buses and bicycles; the widening of the A10 Zuid with two additional lanes for local traffic in both directions; and the diversion of the A10 Zuid into a tunnel at the heart of Zuidas, in order to make the public transport hub possible and improve the quality of Zuidas as an urban area.
Organisation
The municipal Zuidas project organisation is responsible for the development of the Zuidas area. Amsterdam City Council has the task of developing a mixed city district with a unique character. This important task is one of the key elements set down in the 2016 Zuidas Vision (Visie Zuidas 2016) (pdf in Dutch).