Kattenburg, one of Amsterdam’s three Eastern Islands, marked 50 years since the neighborhood was rebuilt in the 1970s after being demolished in the 1960s. The area had been known in the 1950s as a poor working-class district with many cafés and shops and a strong village-like sense of community.

To preserve that solidarity after the redevelopment, residents founded De Poort, also known as Stichting Nieuw Kattenburg, in 1976. The meeting place hosted activities including bingo and dance classes. According to residents and author Marcel van Engelen, the neighborhood’s village feeling has gradually diminished. Kattenburg is now described as a mixed central district with about 70 percent social housing, while homes have become larger, generally measuring 80 to 100 square metres.