Engaged neighbourhoods

Ortiginal title: Betrokken wijken

How do residents, local businesses and professionals in the Dutch government’s designated ‘priority neighbourhoods’ look back on all the efforts that have been made over the last ten to fifteen years to improve the liveability and safety in their neighbourhoods? Where do we find the successes, missed opportunities and challenges for the future? Interviews with stakeholders in four post-war priority neighbourhoods form the backbone to this study of the results of the government’s ‘40-neighbourhoods policy’. They are Nieuwland in Schiedam, Kruiskamp in Amersfoort and Slotervaart and the Bijlmer K-neighbourhood in Amsterdam. A broad spectrum of interventions is discussed in the fields of housing, efforts to keep the neighbourhoods clean, in good repair and safe, the local economy, social advancement of residents, meeting others, integration, sport, culture and support for residents with personal problems. Particular attention is devoted to some of the key elements of the 40-neighbourhoods policy: the integrated approach, the importance of the personal factor and the role of residents, ranging from ‘pristine’ civic initiatives and community enterprises in the neighbourhood to the performance of services at the invitation of professionals. From the perspective of those concerned, we review the procedures that may be useful in the development of local policy.

This publication follows on from earlier studies of the 40-neighbourhoods policy: Wonen, wijken en interventies (‘Housing, neighbourhoods and interventions’, 2011) and Werk aan de wijk (‘Working on the neighbourhood’, 2013).