Amsterdam Car City

Amsterdam Car City is our year's opening exhibition about cars. Amsterdam is pre-eminently a cycling city and is sometimes called the cycling capital of the world. As a result, it may seem like the car hardly plays a significant role in the city. Nothing could be further from the truth. The car has had a huge impact on the city, and it still has one and will have it many more times in the coming period.

‍

More than 125 years ago, the car made its appearance in the city. It was the symbol of progress and freedom, and over time increasingly determined the design of the city. But with the arrival of major traffic jams, fatal traffic accidents, large-scale parking problems and heavy air pollution, the car became less and less the ultimate vehicle. Since then, many parties, from residents to designers and from companies to the municipality, have been trying to establish a different relationship between the car and the city. This is not easy, because the car remains an important means of transport and a source of income for many.

‍

Amsterdam Car City explores the history of the relationship between the car and the city of Amsterdam over the past 125 years. It shows ideas, sketches, drawings, designs, photos, models and the car itself is not missing either. Will the car ever disappear completely from the city? Amsterdam Auto City invites visitors to think about this from the perspective of history.

‍