Thursday, April 10

Duindorp


Duindorp is another district of the Hague built between 1915 and 1930 for the fishermen population of Scheveningen. It was a milestone in the social history of the Hague as for the first time some houses were built for fishermen in accordance with the law. It counts around 2.700 houses built in the dunes South of the harbour of Scheveningen . Two thirds of the houses are so-called "social" houses and can offer low rents.

Eight years ago the city house started a renovation plan of this rather low-income neighborhood, with the rebuilding of old and small houses, as well as the construction of 1,000 new houses before 2010. Duindorp was labelled a couple of years ago as being one the problem districts of the city. One of the features is a very closed community, where new residents find it sometimes difficult to integrate.

2 comments:

FĂ©nix - Bostonscapes said...

We have the same problem here in some areas of the city with low-income housing (a.k.a. the projects). Right now some of the old ones are being rebuilt, but the new approach (a mix of subsidized/low-income and market-rate rental units) doesn't seem to be working very well as the people who pay $1,600 a month for a one-bedroom apartment resent the people on welfare who get to live in larger units in the same building for less than $300 per month.

I left a reply to your comment about KPMG and here's a view of what would've been your work 'hood had you transfered to Boston in your previous life ;D.

Lezard said...

Thanks Fenix for your comment and the nice photo of the KPMG building. You're right something does not look right in the system you describe above. But it is very difficult to find the right mix between market rates and subsidized rents, as you would not want to create ghettos with only subsidized units.