From one of the ugli­est to the smartest dis­trict of Ams­ter­dam — that’s the ambi­tion of the Knowl­edge Mile busi­ness com­mu­ni­ty and inno­va­tion lab. The area is under­go­ing an aston­ish­ing trans­for­ma­tion, grad­u­al­ly mor­ph­ing from a car-clogged road into a hub of intel­lect and creativity.

Over the last years, the col­lec­tion of office blocks, coun­cil build­ings and high­ris­es that line the road has become a home for glob­al com­pa­nies, tech star­tups, and styl­ish co-work­ing spaces. Part of the mix are also 60,000 stu­dents from insti­tu­tions like the Ams­ter­dam Uni­ver­si­ty of Applied Sci­ences and the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ams­ter­dam. The Knowl­edge Mile busi­ness invest­ment zone acts as a net­work to con­nect these busi­ness­es and insti­tu­tions and stim­u­lates them to work togeth­er to improve their sur­round­ings. The dis­trict has become a real-life test­ing ground for ideas that arise from coop­er­a­tion of the var­i­ous sec­tors. The aim is also to find solu­tions to urban chal­lenges, such as car mobil­i­ty, heat islands and rain­wa­ter management.