The report focuses on two post-WWII housing estates in Amsterdam (Bijlmer and New-West) and two in Utrecht (Hoograven and Kanaleneiland). Most people could not identify any positive effects related to their dwelling. Many residents are aware of neighbourhood renewal actions and policies but they do not perceive or define them as such. The local government authority is seen as the principal actor in these policies. The social issues such as drug abuse are considered as most problematic ones. These results suggest a new emphasis on the social dimension, whereas the policy intervention is focussed only on physical actions such as demolition.

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.

In both Bijlmer and New West there is an ethnic-dominated satisfaction factor, that is, the largest ethnic group in the estate tends to be the most satisfied one. In the Bijlmer these are the Surinamese; in the New West, the Moroccans. The appreciation of the garden-city character of the estates is ambivalent: the green areas are cherished but there is discontent about their upkeep; parks are considered unsafe. Older people are more satisfied with their homes.

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

01/01/2005

Manuel Aalbers

research

Urban Policy > Housing

Housing policy