Kirsten Visser

Out of Place? The Effects of Demolition on Youths’ Social Contacts and Leisure Activities—A Case Study in Utrecht, the Netherlands

Most Dutch cities have adopted urban restructuring policies aimed at creating a socially mixed population in deprived neighbourhoods. This entails the demolition of low-cost, social rented housing units, which leads to the displacement of their residents. While researchers have investigated the social effects of displacement on adults, this study is the first to provide insight into the effects on youths. The findings indicate that, although the first months after displacement youths lose some social contacts and stop participating in certain leisure activities, they show high levels of flexibility and soon make new friends and take up leisure activities in their new neighbourhood. No differences were found in friendships and leisure activities between displaced youths and those in a control group of non-displaced youths as reported at the time of the study. This confirms that in the long term the effects of displacement are limited.

Urban Restructuring and Forced Relocations: Housing Opportunities for Youth? A Case Study in Utrecht, the Netherlands

The existence of deprived urban neighbourhoods leads many governments to adopt policies of urban restructuring aimed at changing the socio-physical structure of these areas. Such policies often take form in the demolition of social rented dwellings and the displacement of residents. Although we know quite a lot about the effects of displacement on adults, little attention has been paid to the effects on youth. This paper provides insight into the effects of urban restructuring on the dwelling and neighbourhood conditions of youth between 12 and 21 in Utrecht (the Netherlands). The situation of forced movers over the last 10 years is compared with a control group of other movers. The findings indicate that many youth who were forced to relocate perceive that they moved to better dwellings. However, the improvements were generally small and more than half moved to low-income neighbourhoods similar to those they had left.

‘You shouldn't blame religion … but the person’ – the ethnic boundary work of young second-generation migrants in Rotterdam

In the Netherlands, as in most other western European countries, the desirability and the governability of a multicultural society are topics of debate. In the last decade, this debate has increasingly centred on second-generation migrants, focusing on their high rates of crime and school drop-out. In the Dutch context, however, little scholarly research has paid attention to second-generation migrants’ own experiences. In this paper, I therefore focus on the perceptions of ethnic boundaries held by 12- to 19-year-old second-generation migrants and how they negotiate these boundaries in the low-income, multi-ethnic Feijenoord area of Rotterdam. The study shows that young people are used to living together with many different cultures and see themselves as being on both sides of the ethnic boundary between the Dutch-majority society and the culture of their parents. However, they also encounter prejudice and discrimination in their day-to-day lives, which calls into question the success of multiculturalism.

Hot times, hot places. Youths’ risk perceptions and risk management in Chicago and Rotterdam

ABSTRACT Many young people in low-income neighbourhoods are considered to be at risk of poor social outcomes and of becoming victims of violence and crime. This exploratory study focuses on how young people perceive risk and navigate their environment in two low-income, multi-ethnic neighbourhoods, one in Rotterdam and one in Chicago. We conducted in-depth interviews and mental mapping exercises with young people aged 14–19 in both sites. We found that neighbourhoods matter because they expose young people to certain kinds of risks, but also that their responses were shaped by their perceptions and interpretations of these risks. Moreover, we illustrate the dynamic and interactive nature of these processes of risk perception and management by discussing the ways in which different groups occupy and use, or travel through, public space at different times of the day. We argue that risk in disadvantaged neighbourhoods is not a static dimension in young people’s lives but rather emerges from an ongoing and complex interaction between perception, interpretation and response that can be seen as a kind of boundary work.

Buurten in de Copy Corner

Kopieerwinkel ‘Copy Corner’ in het Rotterdamse Nieuwe Westen is een plek waar verschillende groepen mensen elkaar tegenkomen en vertrouwd met elkaar raken. Hier blijkt de vrouw met hoofddoek een studente bedrijfseconomie, en verandert de Malinese man in een maatschappelijk betrokken fi lmmaker. Dit soort plekken zouden een remedie kunnen zijn voor de steeds groeiende anonimiteit en vervreemding in stadsbuurten. Lichte, regelmatige interacties leiden tot het herkennen van anderen, en daardoor mogelijk tot een beter sociaal klimaat in de buurt. De bijzondere klantenmix van de Copy Corner was voor Joke van der Zwaard zelf verknocht gebruikster van de winkel de aanleiding om een studie te maken van de interacties in deze publieke ruimte. De Copy Corner is een plek waar buurtbewoners, studenten en ondernemers elkaar vanzelfsprekend tegenkomen en daardoor herkenbaar en benaderbaar worden. Kortom, een plek waar ze publieke vertrouwdheid opdoen. Waar auteurs als Claude Fischer en Talja Blokland het belang van publieke vertrouwdheid voor het sociale klimaat in de buurt aantonen, geeft Van der Zwaard een levendig beeld van wat er gebeurt op microniveau. Wat voor interacties vinden plaats in de winkel? Hoe ontstaan ze? En waarom staat in de ene winkel iedereen stil naast elkaar terwijl in de andere winkel een levendige sfeer heerst?

Rechtvaardige stad: Revolutie versus realisme

Het lijkt een wet van Meden en Perzen: in tijden van crisis duikt ook steeds een roep om ingrijpende verandering op. Constante in deze dynamiek is het concept van de rechtvaardige stad. Hoewel al in de jaren zeventig geintroduceerd, is het nog steeds onderdeel van verhit debat. In deze AGORA een historische en theoretische refl ectie en een analyse van rechtvaardigheid in de stedelijke praktijk.