intervention strategies for renovation of social housing estates

The research set up Chapter 1
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but are obsolete and muddled. To control the minimum living quality, design and
construction were regulated by strict norms based on requirements of that time.
With respect to housing standards, for example, dwelling size, number of rooms, windows
surfaces and projections (like terraces) were controlled. Over the years, the composition
of the family nucleus, living requirements and use of facilities has been changed. Yet,
regulations on housing standards are not adapted accordingly to these trends.
▫ In a number of cases, low-income residents living in social housing neighborhoods are
marginalized and subjected to ghettoization. The negative reputation of the quarter is
frequently strengthened by the media. In spite of the recent efforts of some local
municipality by means of urban and social renewal programs, the social context is
frequently troublesome.
Squatting and rent arrearage are not seen as a “crime” and the authorities do not have
the legal rights to intervene. In a number of neighborhoods have high number of
unemployed and illegal people, which in turn decrease the general social safety. It is
considered an urgent problem (Pozzo, 2005). In some cases, partially due to multiple
repetitions of identical building layouts, residents do not feel much attached to their
district; vandalism and crimes are frequent. However, some neighborhoods have more
social coherence, especially in the North of the country.
Although being frequently directed by personal interests, social cohesion and participation
might be present. It is not rare that tenants join local networks of inhabitants facing
problems with social housing or cooperate together with the Municipality in developing
plans for renewal of their neighborhood.
▫ On the housing market, the local demand has been changed over the last years and the
housing supply needs to be re-adapted to the new requirements. People in need of
housing are currently not only low-income people but also all of those who can not access
affordable houses such as the disabled, the elderly households, immigrants, young
couples, single parent families and students. This phenomenon is particularly evident in
the biggest cities.
Therefore, there is a need of more dwellings, for a wider target group, with housing
layouts meeting current living requirements and diversified prices in order to increase
chances for affordable dwellings and extend free choice.
This consistent shortage reflects the current housing emergency affecting the city of
Rome and it partly due to another problem in Rome. The local politics, with outdated
regulations (indirectly) allows about 10.000 people with medium-high income living in
social dwellings. Consequently, people in need of social housing are looking for a house in
the private sector. However, since housing prices have been rising in the recent years
(Ball, 2005), this group has substantial difficulties in finding affordable housing, even
within the numerous recent residential expansions.
1.1.3) NATIONAL LEVEL: THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands has a longstanding tradition in social housing, with a large share of social
housing sector on the total housing stock (the highest in Europe). A considerable
transformation of the stock 5 (restructuring of deprived neighborhood) ranks high on the
government’s agenda for the coming years (VROM 2007) requiring large investments by
housing associations 6 (Ouwehand & van Daalen 2002).
Housing associations were introduced in the middle of the nineteenth century (Ouwehand &
van Daalen 2002). They are nowadays the second party involved in construction of new
dwellings in the Netherlands, after private developers.
In 2001, 99% of the not-for-profit housing stock, being 36% of the total housing stock, was
managed by housing associations (almost 2.5 million dwellings) (Ouwehand & van Daalen
2002; Ministry of VROM 2002). This makes the Netherlands one of the countries with the
5 The National Housing Agreement signed by the secretary of the State, Aedes (the Association of the Housing
Associations), the VNG (Association of Netherlands Municipalities) and the Nederlandse Woonbond have been laid down
objective for restructuring and new construction in the period 2001-2005. Demolition of 20.000 dwellings per year,
merging of 16.000 small housing units into 8.000 housing units, improvement of 65.000 social rental dwellings per
year, investments in sustainability and in the quality of residential environment (Ouwehand & van Daalen 2002)
6 In 2000, profits in excess of € 860 million were made from the sale of house property alone against that more than
€360 million has been invested in unprofitable investments (Ouwehand & van Daalen 2002).
4. A
SOCIAL DECAY
HOUSING
EMERGENCY