Abstract
In recent decades, many Dutch municipalities have adopted policies of urban restructuring in deprived neighbourhoods. These policies lead to the forced relocation of the families living in the original social housing. As these families have priority in the housing market, the forced relocation is often seen as an opportunity to move to a better neighbourhood. However, we know little about how such a forced relocation and the new neighbourhood are experienced by the children of these families. Why are some young people satisfied with their new neighbourhood whereas others are not, and does their involvement in the decision-making process play a role in this? In this paper I show that for young people a sense of belonging is an important determinant of neighbourhood choice and satisfaction, more so than neighbourhood socioeconomic status. Moreover, limited perceived choice leads to lower neighbourhood satisfaction, but this is primarily related to actual or perceived obstacles in the housing market rather than the involvement of children in intra-family decision-making.
Highlights
In recent decades, many cities in Europe and the USA have adopted policies of urban restructuring in low-income neighbourhoods
Whereas existing research on forced relocation generally focuses on the average effects on people, and primarily pays attention to objective improvements in terms of neighbourhood socioeconomic status, crime rates or safety, our interviews revealed that neighbourhood satisfaction after their forced relocation differed substantially among the young people
Some had moved within the same neighbourhood or to a deprived neighbourhood, while others had moved to a neighbourhood that scored better on socioeconomic status indicators
Summary
Many cities in Europe and the USA have adopted policies of urban restructuring in low-income neighbourhoods. The demolition of low-quality social housing and the construction of more expensive dwellings is assumed to attract middle-class households and achieve a ‘better’ social mix in the neighbourhood. Such a policy of social mixing is thought to lead to lower concentrations of poverty and fewer negative neighbourhood effects (Galster et al 2010; Uitermark 2003).
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