intervention strategies for renovation of social housing estates

A Dutch case study. The Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam Zuidoost. Chapter 5
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According to the second criterion, Wassenberg identified three groups of problems:
unfinished character, liveability problems and demand- supply misfit (see the table in which
the items listed so far are summarized and assessed in terms of scale).
As stated in the previous section, most of the facilities were realized many years after the
beginning of the works. The too optimistic financial previsions delivered by the companies
made substantial cuts of expenses necessary. Some of the spaces for commercial, sports and
recreation facilities were constructed at the end of the ‘70s and the early ‘80s. However, as
soon as the facilities had been realized, most of them turned out to be concentrated only in
some areas making it difficult to reach on foot for those living on the borders..
PROBLEMS
URBAN
LEVEL
BUILDING
LEVEL
MASSIVENESS AND MONOTONY In terms of scale and repetitiveness of the
same layout
X
IDENTICAL HUNDREDS FLATS In terms of repetitiveness of the same
layout
X
EXCESS SEMI-PUBLIC OPEN
SPACES
Lack of social safety
X
SEPARATION OF FUNCTIONS In terms of location and connection of the
functions
X
THE INDIVIDUAL DISAPPEARS In terms of scale relationship between the
building and the human being
X
UNFINISHED CHARACTER Late completion of sport and commercial
facilities;
X
Location of facilities; X
Metro line after 10? years; X
Parking garages over dimensioned; X
LIVEABILITY PROBLEMS Modern neighborhood requires diverse
management strategy;
X X
Attention to public and semi-public spaces; X X
Fragmentized management; X X
DEMAND & SUPPLY Decrease rents for lower income groups; X X
High vacancy rate;
No free choice;
Mobility - less social structure
X X
The second group of problems refers to all of those related to the management of the
neighbourhood. It was clear that high-rise buildings, parking garages and public areas would
have required specific management strategies. Each housing block contains ‘thousand of
square meters of public and semi-public spaces, and elevators and an intercom unlocking
system that require constant management’ (Kwekkeboom 2002, in Wassenberg 2006).
Cleary, the fragmentized management by the sixteen housing associations could not succeed
in such a context. For example, it was often unclear who had to take care of a specific area
or service. The whole management was chaotic till the foundation of the Nieuw Amsterdam
(1983). Still, it was complicated to handle problems like rent-arrearages and evictions. Each
year, more than hundreds of inhabitants did not pay the rent contributing to the ongoing
deficit of the housing association (van Hoogstraten et al, 2002). Actually, the merger did not
stimulate structural shifts and problems continued to increase. In 1992, the debt was 63.5
million euro.
Also, since the very beginning, the supply of dwelling types did not match the demand and
the result was a chronic vacancy. Single family houses with gardens built in the cities around
Amsterdam were preferred against the high-rise buildings. In a way, this seems to be a
paradox considering the housing shortage of that years and the tight housing market of
Amsterdam. Since it was difficult to let the flats in the Bijlmermeer, the rent rates were
considerably decreased and people with less possibilities for a free choice who did not want
to wait long, found their chance there (i.e. immigrants and lower-income people). The
Bijlmermeer became an area where most of the people settled if they could not find a place
elsewhere.
In 2000, despite all the actions undertaken in the former years, the medium abandonment
rate in the Bijlmermeer was still very high, 16% per year (van Hoogstraten et al, 2002). The
persisting vacancy rate, together with the frequent replacement contributed to the
destruction of social structures already compromised by immigration waves. In the ‘90s,
11. E
UNFINISHED
CHARACTER
LIVEABILITY
DEMAND & SUPPLY