Housing segregation greatest in The Hague

Housing segregation between the poor and rich in the Netherlands was largest in The Hague and Utrecht, according to a critical report by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving). The report also examined the demographics of The Hague’s neighborhoods.

The agency examined the incomes of people who relocated to newly-built houses between 1999 and 2005 in six large cities in the Netherlands, including The Hague. This included the 25 poorest Dutch neighborhoods, including six from The Hague, and the 25 richest areas, including 11 from The Hague and Wassenaar.

It was found that many of The Hague’s higher income, white residents were moving to the newly-built Vinex neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, such as Leidschenveen, Ypenburg and Wateringse Veld. In the older city neighborhoods, such as Transvaal and the Stationsbuurt, the poorer non-white residents remained behind, creating a greater gulf between rich and poor.

Public housing

Poor and rich residents tend to live more closely together in cities where public housing is being fixed up and turned into owner-occupied homes. Neighbourhoods with a lot of public housing on average have residents with lower incomes. The construction of owner-occupied homes tends to attract people with higher incomes.

The Hague is building new owner-occupied homes close to the city’s borders rather than in the city centre.

PBL

The PBL is the national institute for strategic policy analysis in the field of environment, nature and spatial planning.