Housing
Why Amsterdam May Clamp Down on Weed and Sex Work
Proposals to ban cannabis for tourists and relocate the red-light district would dramatically reshape the city’s anything-goes image.
Could a huge “erotic center” be the future for Amsterdam’s sex industry? Amsterdam City Hall suggested this proposal in a recent letter to the city’s council. But it’s not quite what it sounds like. Rather than double down on the city’s reputation for its open display of sex workers, the proposal would push sex workers in the red-light district out to the suburbs, where they would work in a purpose-built facility with indoor window booths, strip clubs, and a few other amenities like restaurants and bars.
The idea could be part of a radical clean-up for the Dutch capital’s city center, one that would actively retool the city’s anything-goes image in favor of something altogether more orderly.