Forum - Vereniging voor Volkshuisvesting

Het verslag van deze activiteit is alleen beschikbaar in het Engels.

Some reflections on the differences between Denmark and the Netherlands

Both Denmark and the Netherlands are constitutional monarchies. Both countries are a member of the European Union. Both have a minority cabinet at the moment. Both countries have a similar GDP per capita[1]. Both economies suffer from a crisis which is reflected in an average GDP decline of about 4% and unemployment rates that are around 11 %.

When comparing Denmark and the Netherlands - two different countries - similarities could be so striking, you wonder if it may be a coincidence.

These similarities don't just stop at a bunch of figures and facts. The trip to the capital of Denmark by a group of students of the faculty of Architecture of the Technical University Delft and a couple of Forum members prove that also in the field of housing, both countries have much in common.

In Denmark and the Netherlands, social housing used to be open to everyone, regardless their income level. The stock is maintained and held by housing associations, which are all not-for profit organizations. In Denmark, the social housing stock accounts for about 20 % of the total stock, while in the Netherland the percentage is about 34%.

Both countries have far reaching regulations that deal with allocation of the stock, rent control, size of the stock, allowances and tenant protection.

However, as interesting it may be to find the parallels, the more interesting it is to articulate the differences. Exactly the differences are worthwhile because they take place in a similar context, making them more or less transferrable.

The trip to Copenhagen included site visits to a few projects in which the residential area takes a central place.

On the first day of the trip to Copenhagen, two urban renewal projects were visited: Vejleaparken and Haraldsgadekvarteret. When visiting Vejleaparken, it was noticed that every estate in Denmark has its own board of tenants. This board has a lot of influence in what is going to happen with the estate. All major decisions are made by the tenant council, which includes all tenants living at the estate, by majority vote. However, if the housing association disagrees, it can seek to have the decision overturned by the city council.

Haraldsgadekvarteret is a city's expansion from the second half of the 19^th century. It partly consisted of predominantly industrial zone, which is now becoming mixed use because some residential blocks have been added. The existing residential building blocks of Haraldsgadekvarteret are refurbished. The renewal of the blocks started executed in 2006 and is still continuing. The most remarkable of the refurbishment in Haraldsgadekvarteret was that it was done while the inhabitants still lived in the buildings.

The next day, different new development projects were visited. The most noticeable is the development of Ørestad. Ørestad is a completely new developed area in the city of Copenhagen on the island of Amager. On the south side of the city centre, prestigious residential building blocks are developed, which is helped by the strategic location of the area at the centre of the international Øresund area (the Copenhagen and Malmö conurbation). For the future, it is expected that 20.000 people will live in Ørestad and 80.000 will be employed in the area. Indeed, Ørestad has excellent public transport links to the city centre of Copenhagen and its airport, while there is direct access to the motorway network in and around the city[2].

On the last day, the neighbourhood of Haraldsgade was visited in the area of Nørrebro, to the northwest of the city centre.

The area of Nørrebro is deteriorated over the last few years. The area is designated by the City of Copenhagen and the Ministry of the Interior and Social Affairs to be improved physically. The project is run by a steering committee that includes local residents.

What can be learned from the trip? To which situations are the urban renewal of Vejleaparken and Haraldsgadekvarteret, the development of Ørestad and the neighbourhood of Haraldsgade transferrable? What particular aspects are worth to be mentioned? Multiple similar situations in the Netherlands come to mind when reconsidering the places that were visited in Copenhagen.

Vejleaparken and Haraldsgadekvarteret can be compared with the urban renewal areas of the South-West area of The Hague. The South-West area of The Hague, which consists of four districts developed during the early post-war years, is currently renewed by the housing associations that own the residential building blocks in the area. Some residential building blocks are renewed while tenants are still living in these blocks; others are renewed where tenants are offered a new place to live. Although, housing associations inform their tenants, the tenants do not have a strong vote in decisions like tenants in Denmark have.

Ørestad is similar to the new island of IJburg in Amsterdam. IJburg is also an island, seven artificial islands that is, to the North-East of Amsterdam. The area consists mostly of residential blocks, both owner-occupied and social housing. IJburg is known for its different bridges to the main land. However, the connection to the city centre is still the Achilles heel of IJburg as there is only one major public transport connection, to the Central Station.

Like Nørrebro, the Netherlands have countless neighbourhoods which deteriorated over time. By the coalition agreement, which was the basis of the last Balkenende government, these neighbourhoods are designated to be improved and renovated in the next years. They are sometimes called the 'Vogelaarwijken', after the former minister of Housing in the Netherlands, Mrs. Vogelaar.

Although plans to transform the 'Vogelaarwijken' are directly aimed at the residents in these neighbourhoods, they were not involved in formulating the policy like the steering committee of Nørrebro is going to do.

The trip to Copenhagen shows that aspects from projects from which one might learn something are not necessarily the eye-catching ones. Tenant or resident involvement in the re-development of a city area is something that goes without saying. However, in the Netherlands, resident participation has never become as common as in Denmark. But exactly these aspects can make the difference to make a project successful or not.

Anko Drentje