Election Programme 2026

Amsterdam belongs to all of us. Together, we make the city. GroenLinks wants a city where everyone can be themselves, where we look out for one another and where no one is excluded. A city where everyone can live affordably and well. A green city where our children can play in clean outdoor air. A place where everyone seeking a safe haven to build a happy and fulfilling life is welcome, with or without papers. A city where we respect and celebrate our differences and protect each other’s rights. A city where everyone can cycle safely, where our children receive good education, and where no one lives in poverty.

This city is under pressure: housing is too expensive, the climate crisis is becoming increasingly tangible, and inequality is growing. That is why GroenLinks chooses hope, resistance, and change. Hope, because a different kind of city is possible. Resistance, against inequality, discrimination, and the power of big money. And change, by making clear political choices. We have worked toward this in recent years and will continue to do so.

A Just City

GroenLinks wants Amsterdam to once again be a city where people can live, work, and thrive without big money determining everything. The city has become too expensive and too unequal. Homes have become investment objects for property speculators, forcing people onto the streets and pushing families out of the city. Many Amsterdammers struggle to make ends meet because our economy is not built on fair distribution. Tourism drives up prices, causing local grocery shops to disappear while waffle shops remain. GroenLinks continues to fight the power of money and chooses fair distribution, affordable housing, and an economy that strengthens communities instead of displacing them.

Key policy points:

• A home is the foundation of everything. That is why we will continue to invest in building affordable housing (40% social housing and 40% mid-priced rental housing) and ensure that homes are suitable, enabling people to move on within the housing market. Where possible, we will purchase land ourselves, intensify cooperation with housing corporations, and establish an Amsterdam Construction and Housing Collective. We will also close the above-ground Bijenkorf parking garage at Beursplein and build affordable housing there.
• We are building a complete city. Not just homes, but also shops, schools, green spaces, cafés and restaurants, sports facilities, business premises, and community centres in neighbourhoods.
• We will ensure well-insulated, mould-free homes. We will insulate even more homes for people on low incomes by expanding the insulation programme. Together with housing corporations, we will ensure that by 2030 there are no longer any homes with serious mould problems.
• We will provide a fixed number of shelter places for different groups of people experiencing homelessness, ensuring that specific groups such as women, young people, and LGBTIQA+ individuals receive the protection and opportunities they deserve.
• We support local businesses and cooperative enterprises so that money stays in the neighbourhood instead of flowing to distant shareholders.
• We will simplify and automate poverty support schemes where possible, while continuing to provide tailored solutions. We will explicitly make room for lived experience and expertise.
• Overtourism and overcommercialisation is squeezing the life out of Amsterdam. That is why we will significantly increase the tourist tax, prevent the construction of new hotel rooms, and combat monoculture in retail, so that we no longer have endless TikTok queues.

A Sustainable and Green City

Addressing the climate crisis in the coming years is crucial. GroenLinks is committed to a city that is not only prepared for the future but also becomes more beautiful, healthier, and fairer. A city with clean air, green streets, and squares that protect us from extreme weather. We will distribute the costs of the transition fairly and ensure that the strongest shoulders bear the heaviest burdens. Only in this way can the transition to sustainable energy succeed.

Key policy points:

• We commit to the climate targets so that by 2030 Amsterdam will have reduced its CO₂ emissions by 60%. We will continue to invest in wind and solar energy wherever possible.
• Insulation remains a top priority. It lowers energy bills and benefits the climate. That is why we deploy energy coaches and fix brigades throughout the city and support residents and entrepreneurs with collective insulation and sustainability initiatives.
• As a shareholder of Schiphol, we will continue to fight for a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions and particulate matter emissions from the airport.
• We will make the transition away from gas affordable by installing district heating networks and heat pumps. To keep district heating affordable, we will establish a public heat company.
• We want a ban on fossil fuel advertising and on advertising for meat, fast food, and fast fashion.
• We will introduce measures to ensure Amsterdammers can breathe healthy air. For example, we will ban sea cruises from the city and take strong action against the harmful ICL factory.
• We will make streets and squares as green as possible by removing unnecessary parking spaces and paving. We will plant at least 10,000 trees and limit tree felling. We will protect green spaces in inner courtyards and cherish community gardens. Together with residents and green cooperatives, we will continue our fight for a green city.
• By 2034, the first bridge over the IJ will be completed, and we will begin preparations for the West Bridge as soon as possible.
• The A10 West ring road will gradually be transformed from a busy motorway into a green, liveable urban street.
• We will create more space for cyclists and pedestrians. We will expand bicycle streets and ensure accessibility for people using wheelchairs, mobility scooters, or walkers. This means that cars will not have equal priority everywhere: the main canals will be made car-free.
• We will expand public transport, including the introduction of a night metro. Young Amsterdammers will be able to travel for free on public transport. We will take measures to improve safety for women and enhance wheelchair accessibility.
• Within four years, there will no longer be garbage bags or bulky waste left on the streets. We will strengthen enforcement, organize waste collection more efficiently, and invest in more recycling points so that waste is reused wherever possible.

An Inclusive and Equal City

Amsterdam is a diverse city where everyone must be able to participate. In a time of increasing polarization, we choose inclusion and solidarity. We want everyone to be able to be themselves and live in freedom, safety, and equality. That is why Amsterdam must remain a safe haven for people seeking refuge. We provide shelter for people with or without legal status. We celebrate the diversity that defines Amsterdam—it is what makes our city. We pay attention to the shared history of the many different communities in our city and incorporate untold stories into Amsterdam’s history, for example through art and culture.

Key policy points:

• No human being is illegal. Regardless of decisions made at the national level, 24-hour shelter for undocumented people will remain. We will establish a healthcare fund for undocumented people to cover care outside the basic insurance package. We will also provide a form of identification for undocumented people so they can access services from which they are currently excluded.
• We will support recognized refugees with integration from day one, ensuring they can work and participate as quickly as possible. We will continue to invest in psychosocial support.
• We will continue our various approaches to combating anti-Muslim discrimination, antisemitism, LGBTIQA+ discrimination, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, and discrimination against people with disabilities. We will involve affected communities and people with lived experience and appoint a city-wide coordinator for discrimination and racism.
• We will invest in the establishment and structural funding of the National Slavery Museum in Amsterdam. We will address the ongoing impacts of the history of slavery and establish a fund for the Route to Repair, managed by descendants themselves.
• We will structurally increase funding for arts and culture, expand cultural offerings where they are currently lacking, and invest specifically in the cultural infrastructure of Zuidoost, Noord, and Nieuw-West.
• Preserving creative workspaces is essential for makers in the city. We will invest in property that we rent out at social rates, supporting everything from neighbourhood cultural projects to nightlife culture.
• We will focus on prevention to create a safe city. By investing in accessible meeting places, youth work, and sports facilities, we will prevent vulnerable young people from falling into crime, exploitation, or radicalization.
• We will be cautious with camera surveillance and will not use facial recognition due to the risk of ethnic profiling and discrimination. For the same reason, we will be careful in using algorithms within municipal systems.
• The municipality will become digitally independent from Big Tech. We will also contribute to a public digital infrastructure and new social media platforms.

4. A Caring City

In Amsterdam, we care for one another. GroenLinks wants care, education, and support to be local, accessible, and humane. You will receive the care you need, with attention to prevention, quality, and equal access, regardless of background or income. Everyone, from young to old, must have the opportunity to participate, from education to sports. We will embrace initiatives where residents join forces and listen to people with lived experience.

Key policy points:

• Young people must receive the help they need. We will continue to reduce waiting lists in youth care and ensure that care truly matches young people’s needs. We will make care less fragmented so that young people are not sent from one institution to another, and we will reform the youth care system, listening closely to children and young people with lived experience.
• We will create more places for young people to meet one another. Events, community centres, sports clubs, and cultural projects are places where young people can connect and be themselves.
• We will invest in youth work. Youth workers are close to young people in neighbourhoods, build trust, and identify problems at an early stage.
• Reducing health inequalities between groups of Amsterdammers will be a top priority.
• We will introduce a Wellbeing Action Plan, investing in access to healthy food, social connections, early detection of problems, and the accessibility of wellbeing and care services.
• We will improve domestic care services. Amsterdammers who need household assistance will be able to combine this with ambulatory home care. We will allocate additional resources for training and supporting domestic care workers.
• We will invest in education, directing resources to where they are most needed to increase equality of opportunity. We will address teacher shortages and tackle overdue maintenance of school buildings.
• Each vocational education (MBO) program will have an internship office. This will provide better guidance for students and clarity for employers and serve as a reporting point for internship discrimination.
• Sport must be safe and accessible for everyone. Lack of money should never be a barrier to participation, and we will remove those barriers. We will ensure sufficient space in the city for sports and physical activity and build new sports facilities where needed, without sacrificing nature.

5. How We Want to Govern

GroenLinks believes that change happens when residents and government work together. Restoring trust in local government is crucial, and we will do everything possible to achieve this. We will ensure that the municipality gets the basics right and solves problems effectively. The voices of residents and people with lived experience must be an essential part of policymaking. Governing means daring to make choices but also trusting Amsterdammers and creating space for initiatives from the city.

Key policy points:

• GroenLinks remains unconditionally committed to the National Program Samen Nieuw-West, the Noord Approach, and the Zuidoost Master Plan.
• Amsterdam will be an activist shareholder. In our shareholdings, such as GVB, Schiphol, and the Port of Amsterdam, we will place special emphasis on corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and fair employment practices.
• The municipality will become simpler and more coherent. Too often, residents, organizations, and businesses face contradictory communication from different municipal departments. We will actively combat this siloed approach.
• We will continue to explore ways to enable Amsterdammers to share their views on the city and its developments. We will continue neighbourhood budgets so residents can realize ideas for their communities, maintain citizens’ assemblies, and explore additional ways for administrators, civil servants, and residents to engage in dialogue.