Focus on the neighbourhood

Original title: Aandacht voor de wijk.

One of the measures used to improve the quality of life in residential neighbourhoods and make them safer is to demolish existing homes and replace them with new ones. Sometimes the aim is to improve housing quality, but in other situations the explicit aim is to combat 'concentrations of disadvantage'. However, little is known about the social impact of this restructuring.
This report looks at the effects of restructuring on the liveability and safety of residential neighbourhoods in 30 large cities in the Netherlands in the period 1995-2006. The study examines whether it is mainly individual residents who determine the liveability and safety of a neighbourhood or whether the neighbourhood as a social context is also relevant. In addition, neighbourhoods where substantial physical restructuring has taken place are compared with (corresponding) neighbourhoods where this has not happened: are there any differences in liveability and safety?