Processes of residualization may occur when the outflow of people is connected to middle- and high-incomes, and the resulting influx is mainly connected with low-incomes. This is especially the case when an area consists of housing that is increasingly considered unattractive by many home-seekers. There are two main shifts: from a suppliers’ market to a consumers’ market and from a renters’ market to a buyers’ market. This is further enhanced by the liberalization of the social housing regime and the selling off of social housing.

Large-scale post-war housing estates can be seen as problematic areas in many cities all over Europe. Economic decline leads to physical and social decline in these areas. Similar to other countries in Western Europe, the Netherlands has been confronted with several socio-cultural, demographic, economic and political changes. These changes have affected the number of low- as well as high-income households, their housing and labour market opportunities and their standard of living.

The following important changes can be discerned in the developments of the large housing estates in Dutch cities:

• Economic developments can be seen as an important background causes of changes in the estates.
• Demographic developments can be seen in connection with economic changes. This is especially relevant to former guest workers.
• The demographic developments went hand-in-hand with socio-cultural developments. The estates developed from a mono-cultural Dutch-mini society to a multi-cultural complex society.
• Changes in the physical structure of the cities, starting around the 1980, resulted in the departure of households from the post-war housing estates.

RESTATE
Prof. Dr. Ronald van Kempen, tel. + 31 30 253 2243/1399

01/01/2003

Manuel Aalbers

research

Urban Policy > Housing > Housing policy

Collective housing