International Observatory on Social Housing
Examine the world of social housing from an international perspective.
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... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
1 Year of Learning German, I left for Germany one year ago today. One of my goals outside of my project was learning the German language. I did not know more than 5 German words before coming so I was a complete beginner. One year later, I am still trying to learn German and making... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
We work extremely hard every day trying to not only house those who have the least but trying to improve their physical, psychological and economical prospects. The work is tiring, often thankless and in many instances does not offer much fruit for all of the work and effort put in. A former boss of mine... Continue Reading →
A year into working with social housing professionals in Germany, I can say there is a lot to be learned. I want to focus on something that Germany does extremely well which is training and developing young talent to take on the future responsibilities of running and operating different aspects of an industry. For our... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
The city of Bottrop in Germany is in transition. Located in the Ruhr area of Germany, Bottrop is also located in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. Bottrop is one of the remaining cities in Germany that is actively producing coal. While that is set to change in 2019, the city is still dependant on the... Continue Reading →
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.... Continue Reading →
Woonbond is a large tenants rights organization based in Amsterdam. The company considers itself the voice of renters from throughout the country. More than half of the residents in social housing are somehow connected to Woonbond through its membership and advocacy. That's more than 1.5 million members or 53% of all tenants in Holland. Woonbond’s... Continue Reading →
International Observatory on Social Housing 