A Comparative Study on City Rebranding through Gentrification of Red Light District in Lahore, Pakistan versus Project 1012 in Amsterdam, Netherlands

AMSTERDAM CREATIVE CITY:
FinalProject– Critical Essay
“AComparativeStudyon CityRebrandingthroughGentrification
ofRed LightDistrictinLahore,PakistanversusProject1012in
Amsterdam,Netherlands”
Submitted By: Eisha Salim – 11120010
Submission Date: 10th
July, 2015
Submitted to: Professor Miriam Messinar, Judith Naeff & Pedram Dibazar
UvA Summer School – Faculty of Humanities
Project: Critical Essay – Comparative Case Study of Lahore, Pakistan’s Red Light
District Gentrification versus Amsterdam, Netherlands

University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Humanities Amsterdam Creative City
Eisha Salim (11120010), Summer School – UVA July 10, 2015
Abstract
Gentrification has been a worldwide phenomenon for a while and thus there has been much
debate on the meaning of the term, however it can be defined as “the process of renewal and
rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas
that often displaces poorer residents.” (Merriam Websiter , n.d.)
In context to the definitions of gentrifications presented, it is evident that gentrification
critiques refer to this act as handing over of the area to more affluent class in order to rebrand
the district as a more sophisticated, high end area which will attract potential investment and
socio-economic progress. However, in the stance presented by the City Council De Warren
1012 Amsterdam, this handover is much needed.
Amsterdam as a city has built its brand name in the world on the ideals of tolerance, liberty
and freedom. According to most visited travel sites and top tourist to-dos suggested by them,
when coming to Amsterdam, a visit to the Red Light District is recommended by most travel
sites and blogs. However, through the Project 1012, the municipality of Amsterdam plans to
gentrify the area to make it more family friendly and change the overall image of the district
The question here arises, why would Amsterdam, a city universally associated with sexual
tolerance, implement such an adversative policy? The answer lies with the frame used to
legitimatize the transformation. It was then Alderman Lodewijk Asscher of the left-leaning
Social Democrats who managed to ‘sell’ the project.
Comparing the above two, it is evident that while in Lahore’s case, gentrification of the district
has proved to be beneficial for both the municipality and the general public who got a free
public space for entertainment and recreational purposes, the effect of gentrification on
Amsterdam’s Red Light District may bring some positive changes to the district, reducing
criminal activity and allowing the area to be more accessible to families and other tourists.
The idea is not to eradicate the sex and drugs business from the city, but to regulate it on
order to make the city and the De Warren district in order to keep the criminal activity in
control and make the facilities available through legal, regulated means. Project 1012 will not
only enable the city’s image to be more than just legal sex and drugs available zone, but an
area of commerce, culture and progressive thinking which will overall be beneficial to
Amsterdam City’s image via city re-branding.
Keywords: Urban Planning, City Rebranding, Red Light Districts, Public Space Gentrification

Table of Contents
1. The Theory of Gentrification: Introduction ......................................................................4
a. Defining Gentrification & City Re-Branding:...................................................................4
b. The Need for Gentrification & City Re-Branding: ...........................................................4
2. Gentrification According to Critics – Literature Review...................................................5
a. The Rebranding of City Places: An International Comparative Investigation ................5
b. The Journal of Sex Research ...........................................................................................5
c. Amsterdam’s Plan to Save Prostitutes, Shifting Cityscape of Amsterdam.....................5
d. The Problem Statement..................................................................................................6
3. Heera Mandi to Food Street – Gentrification of Red Light District of Lahore, Pakistan: 7
a. About The Project ...........................................................................................................7
b. Significant Elements........................................................................................................7
c. Government & Public Standing.......................................................................................8
4. Project 1012: Gentrifying Red Light District, Amsterdam ................................................9
a. About The Project ...........................................................................................................9
b. Significant Elements........................................................................................................9
c. Government & Public Standing.......................................................................................9
5. Comparative Analysis: Lahore versus Amsterdam – A Case of Red Light District
Gentrification ..........................................................................................................................10
6. Conclusion........................................................................................................................11
7. Bibliography .....................................................................................................................12

1. The Theory of Gentrification: Introduction
In order to better understand the actions that were taken under the gentrification projects of
Red Light District in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Lahore, Pakistan; it is crucial to understand
what the term “gentrification” implies.
Gentrification has been a worldwide phenomenon for a while and thus there has been much
debate on the meaning of the term, however it can be defined as “the process of renewal and
rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas
that often displaces poorer residents.” (Merriam Websiter , n.d.)
a. Defining Gentrification & City Re-Branding:
As the definition implies “renewal” and “rebuilding”, most gentrification projects are met with
harsh criticism due to their pro-white resident influx into the gentrified neighborhood.
According to a report published by Williams College Professor Stephen Sheppard, (Stephen
Sheppard, n.d.), “gentrification has been viewed as an unfortunate desecration of interesting
and “authentic” urban neighborhoods, a dilution of vibrant ethnic neighborhoods into
something that is bland and uninteresting.”
Post the World War I & II, most cities in Europe, USA and UK have undergone major
gentrification projects by which certain neighborhoods were transformed due to various
reasons. However what is missing in most of the analysis present in the context of
gentrification projects is its social relationship to the reasons why the gentrification project
was taking place.
M Davidson & L Lee in the Journal of Environment and Planning further discuss the theory of
gentrification as, “early definitions of gentrification by authors such as Smith (1982, page 139)
were closely aligned to Glass's (1964) description: ‘By gentrification I mean the process by
which working class residential neighborhoods are rehabilitated by middle class homebuyers,
landlords and professional developers. I make the theoretical distinction between
gentrification and redevelopment. Redevelopment involves not rehabilitation of old
structures but the construction of new buildings on previously developed land.’” (M Davidson,
2005)
b. The Need for Gentrification & City Re-Branding:
In context to the definitions of gentrifications presented, it is evident that gentrification
critiques refer to this act as handing over of the area to more affluent class in order to rebrand
the district as a more sophisticated, high end area which will attract potential investment and
socio-economic progress. However, in the stance presented by the City Council De Warren
1012 Amsterdam, this handover is much needed and we will further see why.

2. Gentrification According to Critics – Literature Review
Amsterdam as a city has built its brand name in the world on the ideals of tolerance, liberty
and freedom. According to most visited travel sites and top tourist to-dos suggested by them,
when coming to Amsterdam, a visit to the Red Light District is recommended by most travel
sites and blogs. However, through the Project 1012, the municipality of Amsterdam plans to
gentrify the area to make it more family friendly and change the overall image of the district.
a. The Rebranding of City Places: An International
Comparative Investigation
In their paper titled “The Rebranding of City Places: An International Comparative
Investigation”, Roger Bennett and Sharmila Savani argued that rebranding of cities has been
common for many years and can involve to revive the pre-existing but outdated place image
in order to make it up to date and more appealing to tourists, public and government officials.
An increasingly common practice is for a city’s authorities to attach a fresh brand identity to
a particular locality within the city due to increased economic and social deprivation in the
area with high levels of crime and homelessness.
The question here arises, why would Amsterdam, a city universally associated with sexual
tolerance, implement such an adversative policy? The answer lies with the frame used to
legitimatize the transformation. It was then Alderman Lodewijk Asscher of the left-leaning
Social Democrats who managed to ‘sell’ the project.
b. The Journal of Sex Research
According to The Journal of Sex Research (Aalbers, February 2005:), the Red Light District,
more commonly known as De Wallen by local Amsterdamers, unlike other red light districts
is not very different as “it is not visited only by heterosexual men seeking sexual pleasure and
members of groups that are usually seen as "undesirables"—although there are indeed many
of these people—but also by locals there for other purposes.”
c. Amsterdam’s Plan to Save Prostitutes, Shifting Cityscape
of Amsterdam
Aalbers further explains that “the crowd on the street includes local passer bys through the
walkways as well as couples, women, homosexual men, business people, and families with
grandparents and children in tow” (Wonders, 2004). However, gentrification critique and
rouge media scholar, Linda Duits, communicates the concern in “Amsterdam’s Plan to Save
Prostitutes Is a Billion Euro Gentrification Project”, (Linda Duits , Jan 30, 2015) that the Project
1012 had never been about the destiny of sex laborers, but about what urban sociologists

called gentrification. Its focus has been about possession and character of important land
property in Amsterdam's notable downtown area, which is the primary reason the houses of
ill-repute proprietors needed to leave, in spite of the truth that they were never accused of
genuine law violations. Around eighty million expense Euros have been spent on the district's
land exchange, while private accomplices are fixed to ensure more liquidity for Project 1012.
d. The Problem Statement
But what is the guarantee that the project will be as successful as it was sold to the public?
Amsterdam’s Red Light District (Municipality of Amsterdam, 2015) has been subject to
becoming a problem zone with rising criminal activities, affecting the overall brand image of
the city. The issue is being addressed to by the city council and municipal authorities through
“Project 1012”, however, does the district require gentrification considering the pros and
cons of the gentrification of Lahore’s Red Light District (Leiby, 2012) done by Government of
Pakistan?
The hypothesis of the comparative study is that like Lahore, the Red Light District in
Amsterdam has created a significantly negative brand image for the city and thus the
gentrification of the area will allow the city to rebrand itself on a positive fresh note.
For this purpose we will look at the gentrification project of Heera Mandi, a Red Light District
in the heart of Lahore, a major urban city in Pakistan; which was converted from a street full
of brothels into a family friendly food street preserving the architecture and art of the ancient
red light district for cultural heritage purposes.

3. Heera Mandi to Food Street – Gentrification of Red Light
District of Lahore, Pakistan:
a. About The Project
Heera Mandi, which literally means
the Diamond Market; was the
traditional Red Light Quarter of
Lahore since the time of the Mughals
and British pre-independence of the
Indian Sub-Continent. More recently
however, since the Government of
Pakistan had abolished and
prohibited prostitution on the
grounds that the idea of prostitution
has been forbidden as per the
teachings of Islam and Pakistan being an Islamic Republic cannot allow prostitution to be a
legal business, the Red Light District was gentrified into what is now the very popular “Food
Street” of Lahore, visited by thousands of food and culture lovers in the heart of the city,
alongside of major heritage sites like the Lahore Fort and Minar-e-Pakistan.
The idea of the Red Light District now only lives in the popular mindscape through its stories
of longing, loss and 'mujras' after the Pakistan government clamped down on prostitution in
the 1970s.
b. Significant Elements
Heera Mandi, the popular Red Light District
known better for its sex and sleaze, in
present times is now the place for the rich
and famous to dine on the choicest
delicacies of Pakistani cuisine and pay a
pretty packet for the fare.
The area of Heera Mandi is a V-shaped
offshoot of the road connecting the Mandi
to the Fort opened as Fort Road Food
Street, with 27 buildings which were
acquired by the municipality for the project, opening popular food businesses along with the
restoration of the buildings interiors to serve as museums which had architectural and
cultural significance in the district. The old buildings were renovated, painted and decorated

to supposedly resemble the Mughal architecture of yore, which give the area an old Mughal
look and feel and restored its ancient glory.
c. Government & Public Standing
A French columnist Claudine Le Tourneur d'lson, who as of late discharged her novel called
Heera Mandi in India and Pakistan, slanders the allocation of the structures, and says her 1988
visit there demonstrated how the red-light territory of Lahore was unique in relation to those
of Mumbai or Cairo:
"There can be no comparison. In Mumbai or Cairo all you see is flesh trade. Nothing more,
nothing less. In Heera Mandi you saw color, you saw dance, and you heard music. There was
a culture to it. Sadly, it is no longer there. The girls have mostly gone to the UAE, where they
make more money and where there is no moral police. The ones who have stayed behind
practice their profession in posh localities of Lahore or are at the beck and call of hotel guests."
Maryam Rabi, an architect at the Agha Khan Cultural Service, Pakistan, who worked on the
walled city of Lahore, criticized the makeover in a blog for The Dawn:
"On visiting the Fort Road Food Street, one would expect to be introduced to the true culture
and experience of the walled city – the project, however, rarely brings forth that opportunity
and instead presents a ‘Disneyfied’ version of itself to the public. The words, conservation,
restoration and protection are widely misunderstood in most of Pakistan. What has been
implemented on the Fort Road is merely a superficial facelift and a complete disregard for its
historic context and cultural value."
Traditional expression of music and culture has missed out to the well-known society and film
numbers and the period of "keeps" or "fancy women" finished and powerless sex laborers
developed out of the Mandi, with little insurance and no support. What's more, now their
residence is important land and was up for gets. The new Food Street was a venture by the
Provincial Government and the acknowledgment of Pakistani Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif's fantasy to supplant the Food Street made by his ancestor Pervez Elahi's at Gwalmandi
in President Pervez Musharraf's times.

4. Project 1012: Gentrifying Red Light District, Amsterdam
a. About The Project
According to the official press release
by the City of Amsterdam and the
Urban District Centrum, the agenda for
Project 1012, which takes its name
from the postcode area 1012, De
Warren Amsterdam, is to turn it into a
more beautiful and livable area.
The main reasons for this gentrification
project have been a constant increase
in the organized crime business in the
district. The City of Amsterdam has
been united on the front that the districts free and liberal environment has been harboring
crime whose infrastructure has been maintained by the brothels and coffee shops, which
needs to be addressed to.
b. Significant Elements
The document provided by the municipality of
Amsterdam clearly outlines its 4 pillar agenda through
which the area will be redeveloped and gentrified
providing new exciting opportunities for the district
with a new perspective for the city center and fresh
appeal.
Red Windows are known and marketed as Amsterdam’s
key city branding world over and thus this piece of
culture cannot be eliminated completely. Through the
project 1012, the windows will be preserved by being reduced in number in two key areas.
This would allow about half of the windows to remain, leading to a more effective and
efficient enforcement by police and other regulators.
c. Government & Public Standing
According to the Municipality of Amsterdam, mutual collaborations from all parties will be
done which is crucial for the success of the whole project. The council wishes to preserve the
attractive parts of the city center and improve the experience of the city dwellers. The city’s
metropolitan allure will also be preserved and public spaces redesigned for a more
Amsterdam experience through nine key projects that will refurnish the 1012 area.

5. Comparative Analysis: Lahore versus Amsterdam – A Case
of Red Light District Gentrification
Having seen both the Red Light Districts as a student of the Media, Art and Architecture
program, it is evident that the gentrification projects in most cases particularly with the Red
Light Districts have been a turnaround for the area and its residents.
The similarities between both projects has been quite enlightening to be able to draw a
conclusion for the purpose of this study.
Firstly, both Red Light Districts, Amsterdam and Lahore; have been subject to well-grounded
organized criminal activity that somehow was linked to the prostitution and drug business.
Secondly, the areas were a part of the main city center of the respective cities, close to the
tourist and cultural attractions, and due to the widely open prostitution businesses, the areas
were not family friendly or part of the entertainment zones of the city. Last but not the least,
due to the businesses in these areas of the city, the image of the city had started to become
polluted and widely known for the free liberal thinking which went overboard at some point.
The project of gentrification of the Red Light District of Lahore proved to be extremely
profitable and a turnaround for an area which was known only for the “sex & sleeze”. Not
only has the area risen from the ashes, it has also become the most frequently visited tourist
spot in Lahore, known for the culture and traditional food within the setting of traditional art
and architecture.
The primary difference in both the districts and its projects has been that while Lahore has
cultural heritage and old architecture attached to the old Red Light District area, Amsterdam’s
Red Light District has the city center attached to it.
Also, another key aspect to note is that while prostitution has been prohibited in the
constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as per the Islamic Shariah Laws observed in
the country, this does not apply to Netherlands, where in particularly Amsterdam’s case the
business of prostitution and drugs is legal if not regulated.
While in Lahore’s case, gentrification of the district has proved to be beneficial for both the
municipality and the general public who got a free public space for entertainment and
recreational purposes, the effect of gentrification on Amsterdam’s Red Light District may
harm the influx of the touristic business with the sole purpose of prostitution and drugs for
recreation.
However, it is more important to consider the part that Amsterdam has been subject to 2
prior projects of rebranding the city, “City on Water” and “I Amsterdam” previously, which
communicates the agenda behind the Project 1012 to give the city a fresh, new, family
friendly perspective apart from its liberal free thinking ideals.

6. Conclusion
Gentrification is not a new phenomenon in the Netherlands. It was started by a few
unforeseen elements, for example, low premium rates, a generally youthful populace, and
business disinvestment in the downtown area. What started as an unconstrained process in
the 1970s, turned into a strategy objective in the 1980s and 'gentrification was held onto as
the lifebuoy'. (Van Gent, W.P.C, 2013).
The hypothesis of the comparative was that like Lahore, the Red Light District in Amsterdam
has created a significantly negative brand image for the city and thus the gentrification of the
area will allow the city to rebrand itself on a positive fresh note.
Comparing the above two pictures, (Left: Lahore Red Light District post Gentrification, Right:
Red Light District as of 8th July 2015); it is evident that while in Lahore’s case, gentrification of
the district has proved to be beneficial for both the municipality and the general public who
got a free public space for entertainment and recreational purposes, the effect of
gentrification on Amsterdam’s Red Light District may bring some positive changes to the
district, reducing criminal activity and allowing the area to be more accessible to families and
other tourists.
The idea is not to eradicate the sex and drugs business from the city, but to regulate it on
order to make the city and the De Warren district in order to keep the criminal activity in
control and make the facilities available through legal, regulated means. Project 1012 will not
only enable the city’s image to be more than just legal sex and drugs available zone, but an
area of commerce, culture and progressive thinking which will overall be beneficial to
Amsterdam City’s image via city re-branding.

7. Bibliography
1. Aalbers, M. B., February 2005:. Big Sister is Watching You! Gender Interaction and the
Unwritten Rules of The Amsterdam Red Light District. The Journal of Sex Research,
Volume 42 (Number 1), pp. 54-62.
2. Anon., 2009. Virtual Tourists. [Online]
Available at: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore-
1310056/Nightlife-Lahore-Red_Light_Area_Heera_Mandi-BR-1.html
3. Anon., 2012. Heera Mandi's New Avatar. [Online]
Available at: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120429/spectrum/main1.htm
4. Anon., 2012. Lahore's Hira Mandi: a love affair. [Online]
Available at: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/225798/lahores-hira-mandi-love-
affair.htm
5. IBN Live, 2012. Lahore's Hira Mandi: a love affair. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/books/lahores-hira-mandi-a-love-affair-
445403.html
6. Javed, H., 2013. The Sex workers of Lahore’s Heera Mandi. [Online]
Available at: http://www.desiblitz.com/content/the-sex-workers-of-lahores-heera-
mandi
7. Leiby, M. L., 2012. The Washington Post - Art & Culture. [Online]
Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistani-artist-
quietly-honors-forbidden-culture/2012/11/18/b05f4af8-3039-11e2-a30e-
5ca76eeec857_story.html
8. Linda Duits , Jan 30, 2015. Amsterdam’s plan to save prostitutes is a billion euro
gentrification project. [Online]
Available at: https://medium.com/@lalalalinder/amsterdams-plan-to-save-prostitutes-
is-a-billion-euro-gentrification-project-375183088650
9. M Davidson, L. L., 2005. New-Build `Gentrification' and London's Riverside Renaissance.
Environment and Planning, Volume 37 , pp. 1165 - 1190.
10. Merriam Websiter , n.d. Gentrification Definition. [Online]
Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentrification
11. Municipality of Amsterdam, 2015 . Heart of Amsterdam, Future Perspective 1012,
Amsterdam, Netherlands : Municipality of Amsterdam.
12. Roger Bennett, S. S., 2003. The Rebranding of City Places: An International Comparative
Investigation. International Public Managament Review, 4(2), pp. 70-87.

13. Sobel, A., 2011. A Hamsterdam in Amsterdam. [Online]
Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-peterson/a-hamsterdam-in-
amsterdam_b_787377.html
14. Soofi, M. A., 2006. A Sudden Visit to Pakistan: Heera Mandi – The Dream House of the
Whores. [Online]
Available at: http://blogcritics.org/a-sudden-visit-to-pakistan-heera/
15. Stephen Sheppard, W. C., n.d. Why is Gentrification a Problem?, Melbourne, Australia :
Centre for Creative Community Development .
16. Tieleman, J., June 2013. The Shifting CityScape of Amsterdam, Amsterdam: University of
Amsterdam.
17. Van Gent, W.P.C, 2013. Neo-liberalization, housing institutions and variegated
gentrification;How the ‘third wave’ broke in Amsterdam. International Journal of Urban
and Regional Research, 32(2), pp. 503-522.

A Comparative Study on City Rebranding through Gentrification of Red Light District in Lahore, Pakistan versus Project 1012 in Amsterdam, Netherlands

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