In 1996, the former housing corporation WSA- Woningstichting Alphen aan den Rijn- had considerable stock of unpopular apartments. Lettability was dropping at the same speed as the popularity. These uniformly shaped apartments were no longer attractive; the size of the families and the housing requirements of the consumer had changed a lot. In addition, sufficient alternatives were available. These were the facts that WSA was facing early in the nineties. The decreasing popularity is a problem that is also faced by other municipalities.

The long-range project "An Apartment is for the Future too" was set up as a result of the worries about the difficulties of letting apartment buildings.

This research report is partly funded by CEC FP5 City of Tomorrow

The solutions are at district-level and at the level of immediate living-surroundings. Firstly, the public space around the flats, the new functions on ground floor level and reshaping the transit between public and private areas is needed. The specific power of the site of each building needs to be exploited. The added quality in living-surroundings must provide identity, safety and durability.

SUREURO- Sustainable refurbishment Europe
SUREURO secretariat, tel. +46 480 447503

01/08/2001

SUREURO

research

Urban Policy > Housing > Housing policy

Housing market