Zita Pels: “Too many people have to fight to keep their heads above water”
Amsterdam has 9 aldermen, including 6 new faces and 3 old acquaintances. PvdA, D66 and GroenLinks all supply 3 aldermen. Who are they? What do they stand for? Where do they like to go? We introduce them to you here so that you can get to know them a little.
Last week you met Melanie van der Horst. This week it is the turn of Zita Pels, 36 years old, GroenLinks. In her portfolio: Sustainability, Energy Transition and Circular Economy, Public Housing, Animal Welfare, Waste and Cleaning, Food.
What do you want to achieve?
Amsterdam is a beautiful city, but too many people are fighting to keep their heads above water. In addition, the city has a large climate footprint. That has to be different.
Our coalition agreement on global and equal opportunities with a sustainable future and responsible growth of the city. That is essential: solving the housing crisis and fighting climate change goes hand in hand with the progress of social inequality. A good example is the isolation campaign. I immediately picked it up in my first week to see what we can do before winter.
The measures we are taking in public housing, such as building new social and medium-sized rental homes, combating purchase protection and vacancy, are also examples of how we combat social inequality. I want to have taken solid steps on this file for more than 4 years. That calls for concrete plans and their implementation.
What are the 3 main themes in your portfolio?
- Sustainability of the city. As a city, we must do everything we can to reduce CO2 emissions as quickly as possible, from making agreements with the largest emitters to expanding the FIX brigade. We only have 7.5 years until 2030. If we don’t do it now, it will have major consequences. We ensure that the yield of sustainable energy that we produce in Amsterdam also ends up in the hands of Amsterdammers. And in this way we ensure an ambitious climate policy for generations to come.
- Contribute to solutions for the housing crisis. together with my colleague Reini van Dantzig, I will be fully committed to building social housing, stimulating mobility in the housing market and housing vulnerable groups. It is very important that housing becomes a right again, instead of a revenue model for large investors and investors.
- A cleaner and circular city. If we improve the cleaning, collection and processing of waste, the city will become cleaner. In addition, we are working on a more circular city where we can recover raw materials from waste. I think it is important that we focus on where it is dirty in the city and collect waste where the pressure is the most.
How do you describe your working method?
Visions and long-winded stories are not for me. Action past much better with me. Over the years, we have to make the difference to face the climate and housing crisis. We need to get started. So I want our plans to be as concrete as possible and to be implemented quickly.
Where do you like to go?
I like to go to the Farm in Diemen with my daughter. De Boerderij is a residents’ initiative and a combination of a petting zoo and a riding school. Together with other Amsterdammers I stood at the cradle of this project 8 years ago. My daughter has lessons there and I help out as a volunteer with all kinds of odd jobs. After many meetings as an alderman, it is wonderful to grab the broom and clean the living space of the ponies. I also ride a horse myself, but because of the crowds much less than I would like.
What do you think of your neighbourhood?
I was born and raised in Amsterdam and I have been living in Amsterdam Zuidoost for a number of years. The neighborhood is fantastic: the people are friendly, it is great for children and nature is close by. I like to walk with my dogs through the greenery of Zuidoost.