I visited the city of Mannheim Germany in October to speak with both city officials and social housing staff about affordable housing in this mid-sized German city. I met with Arno Knobel who works for the city of Mannheim. He focuses his attention on strategic issues including urban renewal and long term planning. For instance… Read More Social Housing in the German City of Mannheim
Federal, state and the state capital Stuttgart has promoted for decades the construction of social housing. In return, the owners have committed to comply with certain occupancy and rent restrictions. Basically owners will give tenants cheap apartment for rent with certain conditions. The person so entitled (usually the owner) may only leave a social housing… Read More Social Housing in Stuttgart: Make it Simpler Stupid
Overview The population of Cologne is around 1.016 million. That makes the city around the 4th biggest in the entire country. Population estimates show that Cologne is expected to grow in the upcoming years. I believe the prognoses that are out there now will change dramatically and believing anything right now is dangerous. With the… Read More Cologne Social Housing- Tale of a Growing City
On August 31st, I joined a delegation of housing professionals from Canada, the USA and the Netherlands in Dusseldorf Germany. Dusseldorf lies in the German state of North Rheine Westphalia (NRW). In total, there are 16 different German states. NRW is the largest German state in population and the fourth biggest in sheer size. Four… Read More National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) visits Dusseldorf
Dutch Social Housing Changes : Part II-Fallout for Social Housing Sector: In part one of this series I discussed the history of Dutch social housing and the issues in the late 90’s going into the 2000’s. The end result is the social housing industry must now focus more on helping those with social disadvantages while… Read More Dutch Social Housing-Changes Part II: Fallout
Social housing in the Netherlands enjoys a long and rich tradition. Social housing associations ensure that more than 2.4 million households in the Netherlands have access to adequate and affordable housing. That means almost 40% of all Dutch live in social housing. The history of social housing becomes especially interesting when looking at the housing… Read More Dutch Social Housing-Changes Part I
I visited the German city of Kiel in late July of 2015. I met with Emily Sittel from the department of Housing and Social Help. Attending the meeting from the Ihre Forderbank was Imme Reiben-Mucha a specialist in real estate funding. We discussed the theme of social housing in the city of Kiel and how… Read More Social Housing in the German Port City of Kiel
The city of Leipzig is an interesting case study in rapid population decline, slow steady growth and change/maturation of the housing market. Leipzig as a city is becoming a sexy trend in many magazines and newspapers that claim it is now the place where people should be moving. Many citizens believe the press is nothing… Read More Leipzig or Hypezig?- Housing and Recovery
Background: The Centraal Fonds Volkshuisvesting (CFV) is the regulating body for Dutch Social Housing. I spoke with Daphne Braal-Verhoog the Director and Geraldien Bruin Manager of the Department of Policy and Legal Counsel to discuss both their roles and the future of the housing industry in the Netherlands especially in light of the new rules.… Read More The Regulator’s View: An Interview with the Dutch Housing Regulator
Recently I met with the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations. The discussion revolved around changes in the social housing industry and what roles will change starting July 1st. The department within the Ministry focuses on the entire housing market including owner occupied housing, social housing and the private market. Both Roger and Simone work… Read More A Brief Explanation of Changes in Dutch Social Housing from July 1st 2015
Housing Futures 