Urban Renewal: Social Effects in the Netherlands and Great Britain

1
Urban Renewal Social Effects in the Netherlands
and Great Britain
Minna Hagman, Lauri Raittila, Karolina
Szyszkowska

• To what extend urban renewal in the Netherlands
  differs from Great Britain in terms of both
  policies and social effects of mix tenure
  approach?

2
Urban Renewal policies

• Multi-dimensional urban issues arising in cities
  ?? multi-dimensional policies
• Deprived neighbourhoods difficulties in housing
  management social problems
• Solution mixed type of housing with mix tenure
  should lead to social balance and social cohesion

3
Urban Renewal - the Netherlands

• After II World War a radical restructuring of the
  housing stock
• The large scale of the social rental sector
• Setted limits to increases in rents, rent
  protections

4
Urban Renewal - the Netherlands

• Urban Renewal Policy
• 1970s- to improve the physical quality of the
  housing stock
• 1980s social, economic, cultural and
  environmental factors
• at the beginning of the 1990s slow down, the
  market-oriented approach
• 1990-1994 the social renewal policy ?? contacts
• from the 1997 urban restructuring
• National Urban Renewal Policy ?? to increase the
  variation of residential environments, improve
  the attractiveness of the housing stock, and
  strengthen the areas reputation and position in
  the housing market
• 1994 The Big Cities policy

5
Urban Renewal - the Netherlands

• What People Want, Where People Live (2000)
• Give people a greater say in their housing and
  residential environment
• Create opportunities for people in vulnerable
  positions
• Promote housing and care
• Improve the quality of urban housing
• Meet wishes for housing in green areas and
  sustainable construction

6
Urban Renewal Great Britain

• Until 1979 focus on housing stock
• 1979 Conservative government policy
  rolling back the welfare state
• Shift the provision of housing out of public
  sector,
• Low cost home ownership initiatives
• The Right to Buy
• ??Shrinking supply of rented and affordable
  housing
• ??Deprivation of poor neighbourhoods social
  exclusion

7
Urban Renewal Great Britain

• 1997 New Labour Government policy
• Focus on issues that go wider than bricks and
  mortar
• Urban Task Force and Social Exclusion Unit
• Mix tenure should lead to social balance and
  social cohesion
• The White Paper 2000
• Promote local employment and improvement of local
  public space

8
Urban Renewal Great Britain

• The Green Paper 2000 -
• Offer everyone opportunity, choice and a stake in
  their home, whether rented or owned.
• Improve the quality and design of the housing
  stock.
• Deliver modern, efficient, secure,
  customer-focused public services.
• Support vulnerable people and tackle all forms of
  social exclusion, including bad housing,
  homelessness, poverty, crime and poor health.

9
Urban Renewal Social effects

• Many effects result from better physical quality
  of housing stock.
• Security, privacy, environment
• Effects of mixed tenure approach are hard to
  distinguish
• Maintenance question
• No evidence of positive effect Role
  model, dilution,

10
Urban Renewal Does it work?

• Urban regeneration policies - summery
• Housing diversification is core of policies,
• Market-orientated
• Unclear goal and a way to achieve it
• Spatial unit not clearly specified
• Policy tools demolition, improvement, upgrading,
  sale of dwellings
• Rising domination of owner-occupied sector

11
Urban Renewal Does it work?

• Effects
• more or less positive, but quite small, excluding
  physical conditions.
• Long term effects?