Economic Change, Income Differentiation and Housing: Urban Response in the Netherlands

Abstract

The economic development in the Netherlands and the spatial structure of housing opportunities have led to a concentration of the poor in the large cities. The cities offer a large affordable housing stock, and housing regulations provide the poor with sufficient access to decent housing. There are, however, interesting variations in housing situations among different segments of the poor. It is also characteristic in Dutch cities that the poor find themselves in direct competition with higher-income groups for housing. Recent economic trends, changing housing preferences and deregulation tendencies have increased this competition. The outcome is still uncertain, but may well cast a shadow over the future of the cities.