Amsterdam's Nieuwmarkt square goes car-free

From Monday Amsterdam's Nieuwmarkt square will be car-free for three months. The square will be closed off with benches and planters. This for now temporary measure comes at the "ardent desire of residents and businesses", the municipality stated according to Het Parool. Should this three month trial period prove successful, the square will permanently be car-free. This summer the municipality launched a series of experiments to guide Amsterdam's growth and crowds in the right direction. The project is called City in Balance and includes a number of measures, including stricter checks on misbehavior and littering and more control on illegal home renting to tourists. Another part of the City in Balance project was the installation of a beach playground opposite Amsterdam Central Station. According to spokesperson Sebastiaan Meijer, the City in Balance project is not only about spreading crowds. "Its also about looking at your city differently, at the space there is and to use that space."