Femke Halsema, who in July was elected Amsterdam's first woman mayor, wants to close or at least somehow alter the city's Wallen district where prostitutes have openly plied their trade since the 14th century.

Congestion of the district by drunken tourists - the city drew 18M visitors in 2016 - has led to livability problems for inner-city Amsterdam residents, and Ms. Halsema wants to distribute tourist traffic more evenly over the city, while calling more attention to its cultural aspects.

Also according to Ms. Halsema's official bio, she aspires to "contribute to solving social problems on a more practical level" - in this case, to end the dehumanization and verbal abuse of the Wallen sex workers by leering, photo-snapping tourists.

Will the mayor be able to change 700 years of tradition, make the city more livable for residents, and still maintain profitable levels of tourist traffic?

We'll be watching this.