Ever since the first cities rose up from the marshes of Mesopotamia, they have been both the breeding and the proving grounds of all humanity’s greatest innovations, from the wheel to the first supercomputers— yet they continue to surprise us today. Pop-Up City’s Joop de Boer, who is hosting an ISHF event on urban ‘flexibilisation’,… Read More The rise of the micrometropolitans? An interview with Joop de Boer
“We need to rethink our cities, so they can better cope with migration. It’s not a temporally situation but a permanent one,” states Michelle Provoost of Crimson Architectural Historians. She is one of the organisers of the ISHF event ‘Migration and Mobility in cities in the West’, on emerging migration and mobility to and in… Read More How cities can cope with migration
The short answer: very bad, according to Lorien Beijaert of Studio LA. Last summer, Amsterdam welcomed 600 temporary asylum seekers in the former Penitentiary Facility Overamstel, also known as the Bijlmerbajes. Beijaert and her companion Arna Mackic decided to make sure the bars would be removed. “Every time the asylum seekers look outside, they are… Read More Asylum seekers in the Bijlmerbajes: How bad is it to live behind bars?
Housing First is an initiative that promotes the idea that affordable, permanent housing, provided with social support, is the key to breaking a cycle of homelessness. It is a model that believes quality of life can exponentially increases from the moment one has a home. The Housing First European Hub is a platform designed for… Read More Housing First in Social Housing – support for making it work
A wonder of technology is its ability to allow us to be everywhere at once. And so it was that today, via Skype, the Amsterdam Tenants’ Union was able to host a discussion in Amsterdam that was simultaneously in Bratislava (Slovakia), Cardiff (Wales), Barcelona (Spain) and Tuzla (Bosnia & Herzegovina). All of them had the… Read More The drama of tenant advocacy
One of the key themes of this festival is migration to cities. How can the city ensure equal and just access to housing? At the conference ‘A right to the city a right to housing’, organized by the Jaap Bakema study center in Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, 6 speakers on 2 panels discussed housing… Read More The right of access to the city
Social housing might not be the most sexy topic. But the topic is hot, according to moderator Eddy Adams during this year’s annual policy conference of Housing Europe. The temperature levels outside matched the enthusiasm on stage. Organized as part of the International Social Housing Festival, set inside one of Amsterdam’s most notorious night clubs,… Read More The (r)evolution of social housing
Co-housing, collective housing, collaborative housing, co-living, cooperative housing. All different names for one growing housing phenomenon; people are starting to live together again— not with their family members, but with relative strangers. Organised by the Italian organizations Fondazione Housing Sociale and Legacoop abitanti the Collaborative Housing workshop deals with this upcoming housing form. How can… Read More The struggle for collaborative housing
Some housing associations do more then just providing a roof above the head. They set up systems that promote the integration of refugees and other immigrants. Six best practices from all over Europe were presented during the event ‘Best practices of inclusiveness, migration and refugee housing’, organised by the network organisations EFL + EurHoNet. They… Read More How housing associations across Europe promote integration
The hot sun beams down on the Westergasfabriek complex, still bustling with families, couples and friends, chatting and drinking, taking in the last of this fine afternoon. But these people are missing out on the main attraction here at the Werkkamer, hinted at only by a banner and a flurry of activity at its front… Read More Getting associations closer to their tenants: an afternoon at Zig’s housing hackathon
Housing Futures 