Deconstructing Housing (Policies)

Abstract

This thesis investigates the relationship between displacement and Rotterdam’s housing policies, focusing on their social mixing strategy, which has been integral to the city’s redevelopment of vulnerable neighborhoods. Through the lens of spatial justice, it addresses past displacement issues and evaluates the effectiveness of the new Housing Vision (2023) in counteracting these issues, amidst increasing national housing challenges. The primary aim is to provide practical and actionable design tools that can limit displacement in future redevelopment.

The research seeks to answer: How can Rotterdam’s new housing policy integrate spatial guidelines to address displacement more effectively in the future redevelopment of vulnerable neighborhoods?

Key findings indicate that government-enforced changes in the housing stock and social composition, central to the social mixing strategy, are primary drivers of displacement. Comparing these (direct, financial, social, and cultural) displacement issues to the new policy direction reveals that displacement is a persistent risk, as the new policy pressures the universal right to housing, includes a social mixing strategy that is unjust and insufficiently grounded in research, and lacks opportunities for a localized approach. In response, this thesis proposes objectives to ensure the provision of sufficient housing, develop a fair and inclusive social mixing strategy, and encourage policy adaptability based on local characteristics. Each objective has corresponding spatial guidelines, implemented in the Tweebosbuurt, illustrating how this strategy can help achieve Rotterdam’s broader development goals while mitigating displacement.

Policymakers can utilize these insights to revisit and adapt the new housing policy objectives. Moreover, the design guidelines developed through this study can assist urban planners and architects in structuring developments in a way that minimizes displacement, and ultimately, contribute to a more equitable and socially just resolution to Rotterdam’s housing challenges.