EUROPEAN SPATIAL RESEARCH AND POLICY

Volume 21 2014 Number 1

https://doi.org/10.2478/esrp-2014-0008

Ariënne MAK*, Paul STOUTEN*

URBAN REGENERATION IN ROTTERDAM:

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL VALUES

Abstract. Development of economic and social values is regarded as a key factor in urban development
and urban regeneration. With its history of urban renewal and regeneration since the 1970s, Rotterdam
provides an example to assess the profound changes from a socialized mode of housing provision
and urban renewal towards more market-oriented strategies. In this light, new forms of gentrification
are becoming a regular strategy in former urban renewal areas, mainly dominated by social housing.
The paper examines the development of economic and social values in areas of Rotterdam that have
been transformed through the vast urban renewal and subsequent regeneration programs. Mostly these
programs are area-based approaches that got priority in more European countries.
Key words: urban regeneration strategies, economic values, social values, gentrification.

1. INTRODUCTION

In the Netherlands since the 1970s major changes in urban planning, including the
stagnation of land revenue, have been caused by the shift from urban expansion
to city regeneration. Currently, the municipality of Rotterdam, as other Dutch mu-
nicipalities, is looking to prioritize public investments based on economic value
development. An increase in real estate value stimulated by public investments
might encourage private investors to participate in real estate development pro-
jects, making the city more attractive for living and working particularly for mid-
dle and high(er) income groups. Due to the market-led policies, since the 1990s’
gentrification processes might be in conflict with the living conditions of sections
of the urban population that are excluded from ‘regular’ prosperities. And thus

* Ariënne MAK, Paul STOUTEN, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture,

Department of Urbanism, Julianalaan 134, PO Box 5043, 2600 GA Delft, the Netherlands, e-mails:
[email protected]; [email protected]
102 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

increase of economic values might be corresponding with improvement of social-

economic conditions of the current residents of an area but can also lead to dis-
placement of a share of these residents.
According to the Big City policy,1 in Rotterdam, nearly half of the neighbour-
hoods have been designated as low-income area by the government. The ambition
is to counteract the problems in these deprived areas through area-based initiatives
by dealing with physical, social and economic aspects integrated. Most of these
areas were also part of urban regeneration programs in the past (Stouten, 2010).
Between 1975 and 1993, urban renewal and social housing had a major effect on
urban planning in the Netherlands, particularly in its major cities. In this respect
it should be emphasized that the Netherlands has the highest proportion of social
housing in the EU, about 36% of the total housing stock, and for the large Dutch
cities this proportion measured as high as 50% in 2009. In comparison to other
Western European cities, Rotterdam provides an early example of more profound
measures taken to combat decay: a socialised mode of consumption, a welfare
state policy and a high degree of institutionalised forms of tenant participation.
The approach taken prior to 1993 involved more decentralized decision-making
by which local authorities and tenant groups worked in cooperation.
The main question guiding this paper is: how have economic and social values
changed in urban regeneration areas in Rotterdam? An important issue in answer-
ing this question is gentrification versus displacement of current tenants. Besides,
the impact of urban design and planning on the changes in economic and social
values will be evaluated. This is an interesting challenge for creating lasting so-
lutions for urban regeneration and planning e.g. improvement of the residential
environment by completion of pocket parks, modernization of buildings and revi-
talization of riversides.
The research concerns an ex-post evaluation of the constructed quality result-
ing from urban renewal and regeneration initiatives and is focused on two cases
that were addressed by these policies. Research by SteenhuisMeurs (2009) and
Stouten (2004), policy papers, statistics of the municipality and housing associa-
tions provide important information about these areas. In this context, the change

1
The Big City policy covered five fields of activity: work, education, security, quality of life and
health care (Stouten, 2010): (1) Work and education: long-term unemployment, mainly concentrated
in deprived areas, should be appreciably reduced: education should improve the chance of entry to
the labour market; (2) Security: action should be taken to reduce insecurity feelings experienced in
public space by both residents and visitors; (3) Quality of life and health care; real improvement
should be achieved in quality of life in deprived areas and in the city as a whole. An area-based
approach was assumed for the implementation of this policy, and a link was established between
social, spatial and economic factors: (1) Strengthening of small and medium-sized businesses;
(2) Special attention to retailing, commercial services and tourism; (3) Development of new forms
of industrial activity; (4) Deregulation and priority in spatial development; Experimental projects
for creating jobs.
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 103

in the property prices was analyzed, with reference to the improvement of the
residential environment and interventions in the urban and social fabric. The case
studies focus on the changes to the urban fabric, socio-economic features, devel-
opment of economic values and social qualities. The development of economic
values was defined based on values that are used by Dutch local governments
for determination of property tax (so-called ‘WOZ-values’), and aggregated at
the level of a building block. The representative value of the estimate has been
checked through consultation with experts at the municipality. Differences in the
development of values at the local level were based on mapping and matching the
changes in the urban fabric concerning the economic value (particularly property
prices) before and after the regeneration process. Moreover, the value of social
qualities was analyzed by referring to the national monitor of livability (Leefbaa-
rometer) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and two indicators of the municipality
of Rotterdam; the safety index and social index.
For this research the areas Oude Noorden and Spangen were selected accord-
ing to the following criteria: the areas considered had to be part of the urban re-
newal approach according to ‘building for the neighbourhood’ during the period
of 1975 to 1993 and addressed by the following Big City policy, area-based policy
and designation as ‘empowerment areas’. Furthermore, the urban regeneration
scheme had to be completed within the urban fabric such that an evaluation of
value development was possible. Secondly, each area had to be representative
for Rotterdam of differences in economic development based on environmental
features, location and effects of the approach.
The chosen areas have quite different positions in relation to the city centre;
the southern part of the Oude Noorden area is directly adjacent while for Spangen
this is not the case. This means that comparison of both areas provides insight into
the impact of location on value development.
In this paper, we first set out the theoretical foundations and definitions of
economic and social values connected to urban regeneration. After identifying
these issues, we focus on urban regeneration in Rotterdam, particularly in the two
selected areas, and the development of economic and social values.

2. URBAN REGENERATION AND GENTRIFICATION; ECONOMIC

AND SOCIAL VALUES

As in many other European cities, urban regeneration and urban renewal were and
are accompanied by debates about gentrification. Jones and Evans (2009) define
gentrification as ‘the process by which buildings or residential areas are improved
over time, which leads to increasing house prices and an influx of wealthier resi-
104 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

dents who force out the poorer population’. Though gentrification is basically
driven by the private sector, urban regeneration and renewal processes are very
dependent on governmental national and local policies.
In the Netherlands, as e.g. in the UK (see Jones and Evans, 2009) the label
urban renewal with its community-led policies changed to the physical moderni-
zation of infrastructure and large urban projects (e.g. areas around railway sta-
tions, brownfields) which is broadly defined as urban regeneration of cities and
regions (Stouten, 2010). The essential features of urban regeneration were sum-
marized by Roberts (2004: 17) by defining it as: ‘comprehensive and integrated
vision and action aimed at the resolution of urban problems and seeking to bring
about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental
condition of an area that has been subjected to change’. The main components
put forward as relevant to the regeneration of UK cities (as in the Netherlands),
are strategic activities including economic regeneration and funding, physical and
environmental aspects, social and community issues, employment and education
(including training), and housing.
Urban regeneration, as Sassen (1991) already indicated in the 1990s, needs to
respond to changing conditions with new economic concentrations in cities that
are accompanied by new markets for new population groups. Urban regeneration
aims to stimulate this process. In most of the Dutch cities (like the UK, Tallon,
2010, p. 205) national and local policies have encouraged the repopulation of
the city centre exemplified by urban renaissance, brownfield development and
mixed-use development. There is a wide range of strategies from restructuring
and privatization by demolition of the social housing stock to upgrading and mod-
ernization measures involving community-led improvements: physical, social,
economic and cultural.
Some of these strategies are more or less connected to gentrification and ac-
companied by increases in land prices and displacement of people (Porter and
Shaw, 2008). This mostly state sponsored gentrification is a multi-faceted and
heterogeneous process that affects neighbourhoods in and near the city centre
(Tallon, 2010). The process identifies physical, social, economic and cultural
transformation as part of urban regeneration.
This paper focuses on economic transformation with economic ‘reordering’
of modernized property values and social transformation as a process involving
questions about displacement and/or marginalization of a variety of indigenous
residents by ‘invading outsiders’ (Tallon, 2010). That means that the focus is on
spatial-economic issues, addressing the development of the market value of an
area and socio-cultural aspects including upgrading quality of life and safety.
The ratio between these economic and social values is influenced by government
measures. Accordingly, less attention will be paid to a socio-economic approach,
for example issues such as segregation and poverty.
The potential for conflict between social value and market value and the effect
of such conflicts on the new status of urban renewal areas and new and modern-
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 105

ised complexes is back on the agenda. This certainly applies in cases of restructur-
ing. Residents and administrators both find that new interventions and additions
to the housing stock and the urban fabric lead to an increase in value, though this
can differ between owner-occupiers and tenants (Stouten, 2010). The tension in
policy on community renewal between the idea of bottom-up community-led em-
powerment and the ideas of centrally driven priorities remains. Concerning gen-
trification and urban renewal in individual neighbourhoods, this tension is in most
cases a relatively limited process from a temporal as well as spatial perspective.
To understand these perspectives, more insight in the development and changing
context of urban renewal towards urban regeneration is needed.

2.1. From Urban Renewal to Urban Regeneration

Stimulating gentrification versus combating displacement is, as described above,

strongly related to government policies. At the end of the 1960s, there was grow-
ing dissatisfaction with slum clearance operations and programs stimulated by
central and local government, aimed at displacing residents from these urban areas
to peripheral estates or other poor-quality housing in Rotterdam as in other West-
ern European cities (see also Couch, Fraser and Percy, 2003). An area-based ap-
proach became the basic principle underlying policy at this time (Stouten, 2010).
Urban renewal has always been broadly defined in the Netherlands, considering
not only social housing and spatial planning but also traffic, business, education,
art, services, assistance, employment, unemployment, the environment, manage-
ment etc. These comprehensive strategies demonstrate the wide-ranging nature of
the problems experienced by the residents with respect to their living and housing
conditions. Despite significant modernization of the housing stock, the improve-
ment of the urban fabric according to current standards mostly failed to solve the
high concentration of social problems in these areas, such as low-income groups,
unemployment, high crime rates and school drop-outs (Stouten, 2010; Nether-
lands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2010). A distinction should be made
between changes in conditions for urban renewal brought about through external
developments and those that can be traced back more or less directly to the urban
renewal policy itself, such as the building of social housing for the neighbourhood
population and purchasing housing from private landlords by the local govern-
ment. External developments include the economic recession, unemployment and
changes in the structure of employment, the affordability of housing, changing
ratios of immigrants to natives, social and cultural changes and changing rela-
tionships between central government, municipalities, housing associations and
residential groups. Economic developments in the 1980s, including an economic
recession, had a radical effect on urban renewal. Area-based activities declined in
the wake of these national developments.
106 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

By the end of the 1980s, a market-oriented approach responding to new sets

of challenges had become dominant in much of Europe. An important new issue
was the need to take into account environmental objectives as part of sustainable
development. In the Netherlands, urban renewal became part of an even more
comprehensive form of regeneration of a city or region and became a subject for
design aimed at providing more lasting solutions.
Last decade, due to sharper conflicts shown in the debate on politics to attack
segregation and improvement of livability in urban areas, integration and safety
were added to the economic, social and physical pointers of the urban agenda. It
did fit in the area-based approach that got priority all over Europe. These policies
extended to more areas, also beyond the four main (Big) cities to areas of more
than thirty smaller cities. Main policy changes are the decentralization of budgets
from national government to municipalities and provinces, and the approach being
more tailor made and dependent on the local context. This seems to be adequate,
for research has shown that in Dutch cities social and economic problems arise in
small, dispersed concentrations (Kempen, 2005). Besides, cities become affected
by gentrification and urban regeneration where no longer individual neighbour-
hoods become gentrified, but larger parts, particularly brownfields and inner city
areas, are upgraded e.g. by building luxury apartments.

3. URBAN REGENERATION IN ROTTERDAM

With its history of urban renewal and regeneration since the 1970s, Rotterdam
provides an example to assess the profound changes from a socialised mode of
housing provision and urban renewal towards more market oriented strategies, for
other cities in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Most of the programs of
social renewal, subsequent Big City policies (Grote Stedenbeleid) and neighbour-
hood approaches such as the strategic area-based approach (wijkaanpak) started
in Rotterdam and were later adopted by central government. The objective of the
Big City policy was to combat inner-city deprivation by strengthening and taking
advantage of economic potential at city and area level. The policy was inspired by
concern for the urban labour market, where the demand for the highly educated
no longer bore any relation to the generous supply of unskilled and semi-skilled
workers. The policy covered five fields of activity: work, education, security, qual-
ity of life and health care (Stouten, 2010, p. 126). Though Tallon (2010) criticised
Roberts’ definition, outlined above, stating that the approach in the UK cannot be
considered comprehensive, ‘comprehensive’ is certainly an appropriate descrip-
tion of urban regeneration in Rotterdam since the 1970s.
Partly due to tenants’ protests, the 1970s saw a fundamental change in ap-
proaches to solve problems in pre-war deteriorated areas, mostly around city cen-
tres. The urban renewal policies, launched in 1974 by the new elected local gov-
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 107

ernment, placed a greater emphasis on rehabilitation and improvement rather than

large scale demolition of existing building stock. Moreover, the approach called
for participation of residents in the planning process and decentralized control.
The fact that priority access to new or modernized housing was given to lower
income groups made the aims, techniques and results of ‘building for the neigh-
bourhood’ (bouwen voor de buurt) unique in the history of social housing. ‘Build-
ing for the neighbourhood’ meant that the current tenants were given priority to
improve their housing and living conditions.
New approaches that were taken in the 1980s, 1990s and in this century, have
led to a higher degree of integration of social, economic and building policies.
Since the 1990s, the aim has been to achieve a population with more variation in
income and household composition whereas during the ‘building for the neigh-
bourhood’ period, priority was given to increasing housing quality through new
social housing and housing improvement. In the 1990s, the provision of more dif-
ferentiated housing was seen as a way to combat the threat of spatial segregation.
The theme that became central in urban renewal was housing in relation to other
more economic functions, in combination with strengthening the housing provi-
sion for higher income groups rather than for economically weaker social groups.
Differentiation of the residential environment became a new objective. Differen-
tiation, sustainability and the designed quality of residential environments were
emphasized, in combination with strategic planning as important elements in giv-
ing shape to the new framework for regeneration. The development of new hous-
ing types and residential environments is seen as a way of matching supply to
changing requirements and demands. The design of public spaces as well as urban
management is necessary to strengthen public spaces as places for informal ac-
tivities, and to ensure that such spaces are not only used as transitional zones for
transport and mobility.
However, many problems, such as unemployment, proved to be stubborn. Hor-
izontal and vertical integration of different policies and problem areas at different
levels of scale, and cooperation between different parties continued to give rise
to conflicts. There has also been much uncertainty regarding the completion of
the plans. Since the mid-1990s housing production in the Netherlands remains far
behind central government forecasts, a situation that has been reinforced by the
economic crisis of 2008: from 30% to 40% not completed before 2008 to about
50% to 60% after 2008.
In 2002, the Minister for Housing, Regional Development and the Environment
launched the Actieprogramma Herstructurering (Action Program of Restructur-
ing) including instruments for the improvement of 56 priority districts (Stouten,
2010). According to this approach, the program was initiated in Rotterdam in five
areas, taking a large-scale and long-term physical approach to battle the complex
problems of quality of life. Once again the areas in question had for years been
included in lists prepared as part of earlier urban renewal policies. Since 2007 the
central government has renamed ‘problem areas’ and ‘priority areas’ as ‘empow-
108 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

erment areas’ (krachtwijken) of which there are 40 throughout the country. The
areas have been selected on 18 criteria referring to English experiences. These
areas are defined by a high representation of residents with hardly any access to
the labour and housing market, including problems of quality of life. Rotterdam
is considered a ‘champion’ on this list, comprising seven of the 40 areas on the
national list. In total, about one third of the Rotterdam population lives in areas
that are assigned as ‘empowerment areas’ with policies on physical and social
issues driving the agenda. Within the Netherlands, both the municipality and the
region of Rotterdam are not very prosperous: 29% and 24% of the households
respectively are considered low income.
While overall measures of livability have improved and unemployment has
decreased at the national scale between 2008 and 2010, the situation in Rotterdam
has been better addressed than in many other cities. There is a large variety in the
development of areas inside Rotterdam. On the one hand, many ‘new’ areas have
developed with problems of livability. On the other hand, because of the positive
results in the same period, there are also many areas that have been improved
substantially. The improvement of the living environment means a more differen-
tiated housing stock, and also decrease of social incivilities and increase of social
safety (RIGO and Atlas for Municipalities, 2011, pp. 27–28). Mainly this situa-
tion is caused by the area-based approach focused on tackling unemployment and
modernization of the housing stock. The public investments of the central and lo-
cal government and housing associations for upgrading these areas of Rotterdam
in the period of 2007 to 2011 were: 60 million euros by the central government
and 212 million euros by the municipality of Rotterdam. Housing associations
will invest another 878 million euros by 2018 (Ministry of Housing, Spatial Plan-
ning and the Environment and the Municipality of Rotterdam, 2008). Moreover,
there are investments by real estate developers, for example new built housing
in the market sector. Subsidies of the national government have acted as trigger
money to multiplied effects: one euro public money did lead to 10 euro private
investments on the urban environment.
Despite the improvement of the living environment in deprived areas, the aim
of the municipality to attract higher and middle income groups seems to be too
ambitious, considering the housing production (Netherlands Environmental As-
sessment Agency, 2010). In the period from 1990 to 2008 there were 54,000 hous-
es built in Rotterdam, which is nearly half of the total regional production. But due
to the demolition of 42,000 houses, the total increase in numbers of the housing
stock is poor. Besides, targeting buildings in urban renewal areas towards middle
and higher incomes has been threatened by building new housing at the edge of the
city (e.g. VINEX locations) because particularly nuclear higher income families
often choose to leave urban areas in favour of moving into fringe developments.
However, the research Settle and Go (Komen en gaan) (Municipality of Rot-
terdam, Office of Statistics (COS), 2010) shows a slight overall increase of these
middle and high-income groups. By replacing the old obsolete rental housing with
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 109

new owner-occupied housing ‘social climbers’ have been more inclined to stay
within the same neighbourhood and also there has been an influx of higher income
households. The same effect is also being achieved by selling old social rental
housing after modernization (see e.g. Spangen and Oude Noorden below).

4. TWO CASE STUDIES OUDE NOORDEN AND SPANGEN

An important aim of the municipality of Rotterdam is to stimulate gentrification

in the areas around the city centre (Municipality of Rotterdam, 2007). As men-
tioned above, this paper focuses on two areas, Oude Noorden and Spangen, that
are representative of the approach to urban renewal developed in Rotterdam since
the 1970s.
Urban renewal in the Oude Noorden area started in 1975 and in Spangen in
1982. According to the strategy of ‘building for the neighbourhood’, a high pro-
duction of new built and modernized social housing was reached. At the end of
the 1990s, old housing had been replaced by new housing in neighbourhoods of
both areas. A mix of social and owner-occupied housing remained, but the social
rental sector still dominated the housing provision. The developments in both ar-
eas show a representative picture of more general trends such as the decrease in
the number of families, the increase of singles and immigrants, and the level of
unemployment in these sorts of areas (see table 1). Since the end of the 1980s,
special programs have been developed, aimed at improving social qualities in the
two areas. The initiatives have been founded on the local governments’ efforts to
create an undivided city. Both areas were chosen because they have serious prob-
lems to solve.
How have economic and social values changed over time in these areas? To
answer this question, referring to gentrification, we will give a more detailed de-
scription of the urban renewal and regeneration approach in these areas, physical
changes and the development of economic and social values and changes in the
division of tenure.

4.1. Oude Noorden

In the period of 1975 to 1993, comprehensive urban renewal occurred, mainly

aimed at the modernization of housing stock and refurbishment of inner courts
through the clearance of old businesses. One of the shortcomings of the area was
and is the lack of public space. Particularly, green spaces were missing in the
neighbourhoods that have tight lot configurations. Sometimes the enlargement
of community space was achieved by adjoining two original building blocks or
through the demolition of an entire block (see figure 1).
110 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

Fig. 1. Changes in the urban fabric as a result of urban renewal

Source: Stouten (2010)

However, these changes caused fragmentation in the neighbourhoods with the

most compact building parcels. In this period the main changes to the urban fabric
and housing stock were 28% new built social housing and 45% modernization,
also in the social sector. Partly due to this approach, the amount of small busi-
nesses and shops decreased by 27%.
Since the 1990s, public investments have been aimed at an integration of
social, physical and economic policies with a focus on reducing long-term un-
employment, enhancing facilities, for example the creation of enterprise areas
(‘breeding grounds’, see figure 2), and further improvements of the building stock
and public space, for example the potential of the river front. Finally, investments
have been focused on stimulating the owner-occupied sector. This enables resi-
dents that would otherwise move away (the so-called social climbers), to improve
their housing conditions within their own neighbourhood. These opportunities for
staying in the neighbourhood support social cohesion. Coordinated investments
of housing associations, the municipality, entrepreneurs from the cultural/crea-
tive sector and an art foundation were made in a shopping area to stimulate small
scale employment. Due to new built housing in the owner-occupied sector, after
demolition of old social housing, and sales of social housing after modernization,
the share of owner-occupied housing rose from 9% in 1999 to 18% of the housing
stock in the area in 2009. As a result of restructuring, the housing density declined.
After already decreasing from 90 dwellings per hectare in 1975 to 83 dwellings
per hectare in 1999, by 2009, the density was 79 dwellings per hectare.
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 111

Fig. 2. The ROTABS Style Centre: units for rent to the ‘creative class’ in a former firehouse
Source: photo Paul Stouten

4.2. Spangen

Spangen, in the western part of Rotterdam, was built in the period between 1920
and 1940 as a coherent ensemble (SteenhuisMeurs, 2009), different from the in-
dividual lot developments along main streets that occurred in the Oude Noorden
area a few decades before. Most of these dwellings were constructed as social
housing. As in the Oude Noorden area, there was a lack of public green spaces in
Spangen. A lot of investments have been made to create new public squares and
a new river front along the Schie. Prior to the 1990s urban renewal was mainly
concentrated on the modernization of social housing, meaning that the original
urban fabric was maintained, but the street frontage was changed by adding new
stores and balconies. In the period between 1982 and 1993 about 22% of the total
housing stock of Spangen was newly built and about 34% was modernized.
At the beginning of the 1990s residents experienced severe problems with the
quality of life due to drug-tourism, dealers, prostitution etc. particularly concen-
trated in the private rented sections of the area. In protest, residents cordoned off
the area and controlled car access to prohibit drug-tourists from visiting dealers.
The area was part of the special programs for social and physical upgrading; slum
landlords were targeted by local government policies. The most deteriorated sec-
tion including drugs, crime and social safety issues became one of the largest
restructuring projects located along the canal. This estate of about 450 dwellings,
mixed with a school, community centre and room for small enterprises was con-
structed between 1998 and 2008. As in the Oude Noorden area, changes within the
112 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

urban fabric resulted in more public space in Spangen as well; the current hous-
ing density per hectare is about 65, compared to 95 houses per hectare in 1975.
A remarkable modernization strategy was developed with support of the munic-
ipality concerning self-built housing and co-housing (collectief particulier op-
drachtgeverschap) after delivering the building shell by the local government free
of charge, but with the obligation of investing at least 70,000 euros (for one floor
of 50 m2) to 200,000 euros (for four floors) (see figure 3). Newly built housing and
modernization caused a change in tenure; the share of the owner-occupied sector
increased from 5% in 1999 to 24% in 2009 and the social rental sector declined
from 77% to 64% in the same period.

Fig. 3. Renovation by means of self-built housing and co-housing.

Source: photo Paul Stouten

5. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL VALUATION OF THE URBAN REGENERATION

AREAS

Table 1 shows the scores of the Oude Noorden area and Spangen according to the
various indicators, also in comparison to the average of the city. The economic
and social valuation of the areas is explained successively.
 Table 1. Neighbourhood characteristics of the Oude Noorden area and Spangen

Specification Oude Noorden Spangen Rotterdam

General
sub municipality Noord Delfshaven
building period 1870–1900 1920–1940
surface (hectare) 107 64
initial initial initial
Demography recent recent recent
measurement measurement measurement
number of inhabitants (1999–2009) 18,246 16,895 10,705 9,801 592,597 587,161
age groups (1999–2009)
inhabitants 0–15 years (percentage) 20% 18% 28% 23% 17% 17%
inhabitants 15–65 years (percentage) 72% 74% 67% 71% 67% 69%
inhabitants 65 years and older (percentage) 8% 9% 6% 6% 15% 14%
share of immigrants (percentage) 58% 65% 80% 85% 39% 47%
initial initial initial
Housing stock recent recent recent
measurement measurement measurement
number of dwellings (1999–2009) 8,929 8,434 4,479 4,183 284,227 289,337
dwelling density (dwelling per hectare)
83 79 70 65
(1999–2009)
owner-occupied housing (percentage)
9% 18% 5% 24% 21% 32%
(1999–2009)
Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values

share of social rental housing (percentage)

69% 64% 77% 64% 58% 49%
(1999–2009)
index of the average property tax value of
75 90 65 62 100 100
dwellings per m2 (2000–2008)*
initial initial initial
Socio-economic characteristics recent recent recent
measurement measurement measurement
113
 Table 1 (cont.)
114

Specification Oude Noorden Spangen Rotterdam

share of low incomes (percentage)
62% 65% 75% 66% 52% 51%
(2002–2008)
unemployment (percentage)** (2000–2010) 10% 6% 11% 6% 6% 4%
share of social security recipients
12% 9% 12% 8% 8% 6%
(percentage) (2000–2010)
fairly
Livability (1998–2008)*** negative mediocre very negative negative mediocre
positive
threatened
Safety Index (2001–2009) unsafe (3.8) unsafe (2.5) attention (6.3) threatened (5.6) safe (7.3)
(5.6)
share of inhabitants that is satisfied with
47% 64% 31% 66% 68% 73%
their area (percentage) (2002–2009)
vulnerable vulnerable vulnerable
Social Index (2010)
(5.3) (5.1) (5.8)

Source: http://rotterdam.buurtmonitor.nl, unless indicated otherwise: * Indexed to the Rotterdam average (€ / m2) of respectively 2000 and 2009.
Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

Based on: Braun et al. (2011). ** Percentage of the potential labour force, unemployed for more than a year. *** Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs
Livability Monitor (Leefbaarometer), www.leefbaarometer.nl
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 115

The economic value of the Oude Noorden area greatly increased during the
period of 2000 to 2008. The average house value per square meter in the area
increased by 136%, compared to an average increase in Rotterdam of 97% in this
period (see table 1 and figure 4). There were only four areas in Rotterdam where
the economic value increased more during this period (Braun et al., 2011).

Fig. 4. Relative increase of property tax values per square meter of Rotterdam neighbourhoods
between 2000 and 2008 (%)
Source: based on Braun et al. (2011)

It should be noted that the focus is on increase of economic value. The level of
the average home value in the Oude Noorden area in 2008 was comparable to the
average of Rotterdam. On the other hand the increase of economic value in Span-
gen between 2000 and 2008 remains behind the average of the city (an increase
of 89% in Spangen, compared to 97% in Rotterdam). The average home value in
Spangen in 2008 was actually the lowest in Rotterdam (Braun et al., 2011).
What factors can explain the above-average increase of economic value in
the Oude Noorden area? The location of the area, adjacent to the city centre,
is expected to be an important factor. The positive impact of proximity to the
city centre on the increase of economic values was found in studies by Visser
and van Dam (2006), Schuurman (2010) and Braun et al. (2011). The first study
116 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

Fig. 5. Relative increase of WOZ values per square meter per block (with a minimum of ten dwell-
ings) in the Oude Noorden area in the period 2000–2008

Source: based on Municipality Rotterdam, dS+V (2009) (addition of accents by authors, photo 1
by Hans Krüse, photos 2–4 by Paul Stouten)

mentioned includes a national comparison. Schuurman (2010) compared the in-

crease of economic value of areas in Amsterdam and Braun et al. did so for areas
in Rotterdam. The relatively high concentration of facilities (see figure 6) is a pos-
sible explanatory factor for the increase of economic value. The positive impact
of the presence of facilities was also found in a study by de Groot et al. (2010).
Furthermore, the creative sector is strongly represented in the Oude Noorden area.
A study by Brouwer (2009, p. 15) shows that the presence of this sector positively
impacts the economic value of an area. Brouwer notes that this effect is particu-
larly found in deprived areas.
Beside these functional characteristics, there are physical characteristics that
explain a high increase of economic values. The area has a high share of buildings
dating from before 1906; the share of these buildings in the housing stock (mostly
modernized) is 33%, compared to an average of 6% in Rotterdam (COS, 2011).
Visser and van Dam (2006) concluded from their study Price of the Location (De
prijs van de plek) that housing dating from before 1905 is an explanation for dif-
ferences in home values. The increase of economic value of the neighbourhoods
that have a compact lot configuration remains lower (see figure 5).
Next to these inherent qualities of the area, the high increase of the economic val-
ue can be explained by large investments. For instance, around a refurbished square
and a new square, the average home value increased by almost 1,700 euros per
square meter in the period of 2000 to 2008. Undoubtedly, the historic buildings and
the location adjacent to the city centre also played a significant role in this valuation.
 Fig. 6. Left: Livability in the Oude Noorden area in 2008 on cluster level.
Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values

Right: Development of the livability in the Oude Noorden area in the period 1998–2008
Source: www.leefbaarometer.nl (translation and addition of accents by authors)
117
 118
Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

Fig. 7. Left: Livability in Spangen in 2008 on cluster level

Right: Development of the livability in Spangen in the period 1998–2008
Source: www.leefbaarometer.nl (translation and addition of accents by authors)
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 119

The aim of improving livability of areas in deprivation is in the literature (see

before) connected to gentrification, particularly to the spatial process of social-
economic upgrading. Compared to the increase of the economic value in the Oude
Noorden area that was well above average in Rotterdam, the indicators of socio-
economic development show a moderate picture. The score of the area on the
Livability Monitor (Leefbaarometer) and the Safety Index (Veiligheidsindex) im-
proved from negative to mediocre (see table 1 and figure 6).
The livability of the neighbourhoods that have tight lot configurations remains
behind in this, because the livability of these neighbourhoods is negatively evalu-
ated (see figure 6). This can be explained by the high claims on the use of public
space, due to the high housing density of these neighbourhoods. However, the
situation has improved in the last decade, probably due to additional investments.
For example, a square was added and a building block was restructured. Also in
Spangen, which demonstrates a limited increase of economic value, the livability
and the safety improved (see table 1 and figure 7). The situation is still vulnerable,
but greatly improved compared to the 1980s and 1990s. The improvement of the
livability is visible as well in the satisfaction of the residents with their living con-
ditions: in both areas, about two thirds of the residents are satisfied with their area.
In Spangen, that is a doubling compared to 2002.
The social index score shows that the socio-economic situation in both areas is
vulnerable, ‘sufficient income’ still being the main problem field of the areas: about
two thirds of the residents have a low income. However, unemployment in these
areas decreased between 2000 and 2010, as did the share of residents receiving so-
cial security. The form of gentrification that has been developed last decade means
that not all (former) residents moved out – a large proportion stayed in their area.

6. CONCLUSIONS

Urban regeneration accompanied by a new mode of gentrification has been devel-

oped. Policies aiming at socio-economic and physical upgrading show similarities
with processes that are identified in international literature. In areas of Rotterdam
where investments in urban regeneration have been made, the development of
economic and social values shows a diffuse image. Favourable results of livability
in Rotterdam compared to many other cities in the period of 2008 to 2010 indicate
the consequences of vast investments in deprived areas by the municipality, cen-
tral government and housing associations according to the area-based approach.
Since the 1990s there has been a sharper focus on spatial-economic development
referring to urban regeneration, in other words the future value and position on the
market of an area. This meant a fundamental break with the policies in place prior
to the 1990s that were mainly driving modernization of social rental housing.
120 Ariënne Mak, Paul Stouten

Changing planning conditions such as stagnation of revenue in the case of land

development include a shift from urban extension towards interventions in the ur-
ban fabric. In the 1990s residential differentiation to diminish segregation became
a new aim in urban regeneration. This meant giving more priority to building for
higher and middle class households than economically vulnerable groups. Favour-
able effects might be that so called ‘social climbers’ will remain more permanently
in the neighbourhood alongside a decrease in segregation, particularly of low in-
come and non-western minority ethnic groups. But together with the aim to retain
middle class and higher income groups, problems such as unemployment and the
high share of low income groups remain structural. The two selected case studies
show in depth an emphasis on spatial-economic and social-economic problems. In
the last decade in both areas there was a rise in the economic values particularly in
the property prices, that is partially explained by investments in urban regenera-
tion. Moreover some neighbourhoods show an extra economic value increase. In
the Oude Noorden area the differences between values of housing properties are
larger than in Spangen: for instance value development in the southern part near
the city centre is larger than in other parts of the neighbourhood. That means that
the location issue is more dominant. Housing associations have opportunities to
claim an extra rent increase for a succeeding tenant, for example, after a previous
tenant moves away. Particularly, since the 1990s housing associations and the mu-
nicipality have prioritized economic value development. In the case studies there
are clear examples of the sale of modernised social housing around parks or public
space, created by the demolition of building blocks. Also important are locations
along rivers or canals. In both areas new built and modernized housing result in
a higher share of owner-occupied housing at the expense of the share of social
housing, which are indications of gentrification. However, gentrification in these
areas remains limited to the level of building blocks and state sponsored projects,
like the enterprise areas in the Oude Noorden and co-housing in Spangen. Gentri-
fication in Rotterdam is related to larger developments, like brownfields and inner
city areas, rather than individual neighbourhoods.
Though urban regeneration is accompanied by an improvement of livability
and safety of neighbourhoods, including a decrease in unemployment, the socio-
economic situation still is quite vulnerable. Displacement of economically vulner-
able residents within the city will not bring a fundamental change in the employ-
ment structure and participation in the labour market. Though the development
of social and economic values shows some positive results in Rotterdam, high
priority on both issues is still needed. This requires active cooperation, involving
schools, housing associations and e.g. organizations of local businesses to avoid
a situation that special qualities referring to the social and urban fabric are mod-
ernized or bulldozered away.
 Urban Regeneration in Rotterdam: Economic and Social Values 121

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