Introduction

Only a decade since the Dutch parliament ratified the legalization of prostitution, the sex-oriented Red Light District, prominent symbol of Amsterdam's ‘progressive’ liberality and permissiveness, has come under heavy fire. The Amsterdam city council has formulated a comprehensive strategy to alter the character of the historic city centre: launched in 2007, Plan 1012 aims to restructure and clean up this inner-city neighbourhood which includes the Wallen, the city's largest redlight district. A strong reduction of window prostitution is one of the spearheads of the restructuring plan. Why have local authorities turned against the red-light district, Amsterdam's great tourist draw, heralded not so long ago as exemplifying a great advancement in the free choice of labour and the long-awaited social acceptance of ‘the world's oldest profession’? As Amsterdam is, and traditionally has been, deeply integrated in the global economy, acting as a prime hub for international flows of people, finance, information, and ideas, this question is here considered within the context of the ever-deepening processes of economic and cultural globalization that profoundly affect Amsterdam's political, economic, and cultural life (Nijman 1999; Taylor 2000; Kratke 2006).

Two significant shifts are taking place against the backdrop of Plan 1012. In local political discourse, window prostitution is increasingly portrayed as a problem, signifying a shift in the way in which the character and (in)appropriate place of prostitution in Amsterdam is imagined by local policymakers and international commentators (Skinner 2008). An increased emphasis on human trafficking, sexual slavery, crime, and violence fuels calls for the drastic curtailment of window prostitution in the district, despite the fact that formal legalization was designed to combat such excesses and that window prostitution can be more successfully regulated than alternative, less visible forms of sex work. Second, the imaginary of Amsterdam itself and its central historic district are shifting. It has been a general trend for some time now that city councils are pressured to promote and brand their cities in a globalizing marketplace. Branding strategies and economic considerations are likely to play a key role in any plan to restructure the centre of a globally well-connected capital (Savitch and Kantor 2002).