Nomades in the Netherlands - Amsterdam West

In the Western Garden Cities, the out own of the original population started in the 1970s. Most of the people leaving the area were big families (mostly catholic) who outgrown the capacity of their dwellings in search of more spacious apartments. At the same time, children of the ‘baby boom’ time left their parent’s home to live on their own. The spread of cars made it possible for others to move from the neighborhood to areas once too far away from the workplace. Finally, some of the original population made housing carrier and moved to other areas (H. Hellinga, 2004). Due to these processes, a substantial amount of cheap social housing became available in a time when immigration from South European and North African countries was in progress. Therefore, immigrants’ house-holds took the place of the original population of the Western Garden Cities. This process was reinforced during the last decades, by the gentrification of many popular neighbourhoods inside the ring of Amsterdam. The 19th and early 20th century belt has grown into an attractive living environment for wealthy newcomers. Due to the process of gentrification in these neighbourhoods, real estate and housing are becoming more and more expensive causing the migration of many poor households towards the outskirt of the city. In the Western Garden Cities, on the contrary, gentrification has become a specific goal of the urban renewal policies.

Nowadays, 40% of the residents are of Dutch origin. Old people represent a high percentage of this group. A larger group is of immigrant origin: 20% Moroccans, 12% Turkish, 28% from other countries. Almost 25% of the households live on minimum wage. The change in the composition of the neighborhood’s population was also visible in the revival of the square, where immigrant’s entrepreneurs opened their small businesses and shops, occupied its benches and used the generous open public areas. However, policy makers initiated a specific urban policies to (dis)solve the social problems: Reducing the number of social rented dwellings from 395 to 106. At the same time, 168 new dwellings of more expensive housing typologies will be constructed. This reduces the total number of dwellings in 121 units. Half of the public green area will be transformed to private gardens. The commercial space will be doubled. On the square 90% of the old business space is renewed. This change will impose a higher rent prices which will make it almost impossible for the immigrant’s small businesses to go back. The plan for mixing is actually a plan of replacing and clearing one more spot in the city map.