AMSTERDAM, 14/03/03 - The Amsterdam street scene will get more and more colorful, the Scientific Council for Amsterdam (WRA) concludes. It predicted yesterday that more than half of the Amsterdam population will consist of immigrants of non-Western origin by 2010.

In 1992, less than two-fifths of Amsterdammers were of immigrant origin. Currently, immigrants already account for over half the population in the Bos en Lommer, Geuzeveld/Slotermeer and Zuidoost districts, mostly from Surinam, the Antilles, Turkey and Morocco.

The WRA concludes that there is a trend towards concentration of immigrants in certain districts, which hampers contact with the indigenous Dutch and hence integration. It urges combating vandalism and crime in immigrant districts to ensure the indigenous population want to live there again. Distribution of immigrants over 'white' neighborhoods is not an option "in view of their financial possibilities. "

As well as improvements in the quality of living in immigrant districts, the WRA, whose members include former Mayor Van Thijn, urges a flexible integration policy. "This is currently largely determined nationally, but a large cities translation is demanded," according to the recommendations presented yesterday to Alderman Rob Oudkerk. The report is based on a study carried out by the University of Amsterdam's Institute for the Social Sciences (SISWO).