In the video series The Social Science of Amsterdam, six AISSR researchers reflect on ongoing research projects that are deeply embedded in urban life. The videos highlight how social science contributes to understanding and addressing key urban challenges, from social cohesion and inequality to family life, participation and sustainable mobility.

The videos were originally produced for the AISSR Harvest Day 2025 (4 December), where they formed the starting point for interactive workshops between researchers, students and practitioners. They now offer a broader view of how social science research engages with the city of Amsterdam in practice.

In this 4th video in the series, anthropologist Yannick Drijfhout works alongside grassroots organisations such as Red Amsterdam Noord and Verdedig Noord to explore the complexities of activism and social movements in a rapidly transforming district.

Power, Participation, and the City

Through ethnographic engagement with residents, activists and community leaders, the video reflects on questions of representation, power, and participation when neighbourhood voices confront urban development pressures. Participants share their experiences of unequal collaboration with municipal processes, the emotional and political labour of organising, and the everyday realities of advocating for change in their own neighbourhoods.

Rather than offering easy answers, this research emphasises how meaningful engagement between communities, researchers, and institutions requires honesty about power imbalances, ongoing dialogue about priorities, and a willingness to surface tensions that conventional participation processes can obscure. Drijfhout’s work highlights both the frustrations and the hard-won moments of progress that emerge when activists persist in shaping the future of their city.