More and more citizens are entering the public domain and taking over tasks that traditionally belong to the government. For example, citizens increasingly run a community centre themselves, maintain the greenery in their neighbourhood and manage the local playground. To some extent, governments also encourage this behaviour and are disposing of social real estate. Against this background, this study examines the rise of citizens' initiatives in the Netherlands and how this takes shape in the context of urban regeneration. The study pays attention to a specific type of citizens’ initiative, namely community enterprises. It applies qualitative research methods, such as semi-structured interviews with representatives of community enterprises and discourse analysis of policy documents. It examines the expectations governments have of active citizens and how this relates to the motivations and capacities of active citizens themselves. The study broadens our understanding of active citizens who utilizes their entrepreneurial skills and mindset to drive positive change, contribute to the well-being of their community, and address pressing societal challenges.@en

Improved liveability in the neighbourhoods Spangen, Tussendijken and Bospolder is desirable. A more socio-economically diverse population partly contributes to this. Gentrification makes wealthier residents move into the neighbourhoods in a short period of time. Yet, it causes a decrease in affordable housing and a chance of the disappearing of physical and social neighbourhood identity. Which means that current, less wealthy residents no longer feel attached to the place and that wealthier population groups want to settle in increasing numbers. This demonstrates unsustainable urban development by creating a re-segregated neighbourhood.

This thesis examines if and how urban design can contribute to a socially sustainable way of urban development for the improvement of liveability and the creation of a stable socio-economically diverse population with a preserved and reinforced neighbourhood identity. By research and design three important phases of the course of gentrification related to urban design are established. The urban approach to these phases forms the starting points for redesign: Stabilise the amount of social housing for socio-economically diverse inhabitants, create vibrant, liveable and stayable public spaces designed for slow traffic and preserve or reinforce the typical economic program of small-scale enterprises with affordable products. These are placed in current, upgraded axes with potential for liveliness and in developable public spaces with a reduced liveability. Fitted into current broken program routes and future urban development in the vicinity creating resilient urban design. The design is a hypothesis for improving social sustainability based on urban design. Because of this focus, much of the problem of (extreme) gentrification is left aside. Policy-making on urban renewal and responding to trends in housing requirements play a major role in these unsustainable urban developments.

Vechtzoom-Zuid in post war neighbourhood Overvecht experiences multiple problems, the modernistic layout does not fit our society, the social cohesion is low and the inhabitants have a lot of social-economical problems. Shopping centre 'De Klop' is located in the centre of this neighbourhood, and experiencing a lot of problems as vacancy, nuisance and neglect. Due to its important location within the neighbourhood, spatially and socially, all the problems of the neighbourhood come together in the centre and, vice versa, the centre has a major impact on these problems. Therefore this research answers the following research question: 'How can modernistic shopping centre de Klop in post-war expansion neighbourhood Overvecht be transformed into an attractive centre that increases the social cohesion of Vechtzoom Zuid, while coping with transitions affecting shopping centres over the next 30 years?'

The research consists of multiple parts. The first part shows how the design of a centre can increase social cohesion in a neighbourhood. This can be done in three ways: Firstly, by making the centre overall more attractive and thereby increasing the use of public facilities. Secondly, by introducing new green spaces, where people can recreate and meet each other. And thirdly, by adding new housing in order to make housing career within the neighbourhood.

The second part shows the original ideas behind the neighbourhood, what changed in current society and what is the core problem within the design. The neighbourhood was built based on the ideas of CIAM, and the ‘Wijkgedachte’, but the changing composition of the population and social idea of top down collective social community caused problems. The collective spaces aren’t used as they are supposed to be, making the area unlively. The barriers caused by the car, and the repetition of buildings make the shopping centre unrecognisable resulting in even less liveliness. Therefore with the transformation of the centre the aim should be to make new, recognisable and accessible collective spaces, that are not yet to be found in the neighbourhood.

Lastly it is researched how a shopping centre should be designed in order to be adaptable to societal changes in the future. The centre should be densified, new slow routing has to be implemented and the transformation should consist out of different vast materialised spaces, functioning as a condition for multiple ways of shopping and commerce where the extremes are fun shopping and run shopping.

The answers of these three parts lead to the objectives and a design goal for the transformation of de Klop: Create new flexible and accessible collective spaces as a condition for a safe and recognisable heart of the neighbourhood where current and future residents can find a motive to visit and meet each other. Resulting in a transformation proposal that creates new flexible central spaces along a slow traffic line, breaking through the zoning of the Modernistic layout.