This paper examines the effects of gentrification through the lens of the interactions and perceptions which can be found in local, neighbourhood pubs. By interviewing predominantly Dutch, non-gentrifying customers in the rapidly gentrifying Indische Buurt neighbourhood in Amsterdam, we uncovered discourses which are both welcoming to, and cautious of the process. Three themes were examined: changes in the neighbourhood, changes in the role of pubs in daily life and changes in the interactions within pubs. In many respects, the process of gentrification is welcomed because it represents something 'Dutch' coming into the neighbourhood after years of immigration. Divisions between gentrifiers and non-gentrifiers are not experienced as starkly as is often portrayed in the literature; our respondents tended to be much more ambivalent than other non-gentrifying groups portrayed in studies elsewhere. This may be due to the more managed-nature of Dutch gentrification. However, there is a sense that one's pub is impervious to the changes in the rest of the neighbourhood, a discourse which must be taken into account when drawing any long-term conclusions from this study.
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Since 2016, the Amsterdam Dapperbuurt in the East of Amsterdam, has its own Zero Waste Lab (ZWL), a collection and recycle centre for separated household waste. Drawing on the specific case of wood as a waste-stream, the project Circulair Wood for the Neighbourhood supports the ZWL (initiative of the foundation De Gezonde Stad) realizing two of their ambitions: (A) to transition from recycling to up-cycling; (B) to transition from awareness raising to social engagement and shared ownership. The project is a partnership between the ZWL, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Research Group Psychology for Sustainable Cities & Research Group Digital Production) and Verdraaid Goed (a Rotterdam based company up-cycling devalued materials by research and design). The project Circulair Wood for the Neighbourhood contains three components/sub-projects, 1) research on the wood waste stream and possibilities for production; (2) research on design possibilities, and (3) research on stakeholder involvement. This is the final report of the sub-project stakeholder involvement led by the research group Psychology for Sustainable Cities. This sub-project specifically examined the psychology behind the decision making process of residents to hand in (or not) separated household wood waste to the ZWL in the neighbourhood of the Dapperbuurt and proposes possible interventions.
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Neighbourhood interventions are important for creating supportive structures for parents and children and for other community members. Little is known, however, about what works for whom in what situation. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of what works for whom in community interventions in the neighbourhood. Realist synthesis was used as a review methodology to examine community interventions. Six databases were searched for studies published between January 1st, 2000 and May 8th, 2020 and 28 community programs reported in 34 publications were included. Multiple rounds of coding and several discussions with experts and the project team were conducted to analyze these studies and programs, and to understand underlying assumptions of neighbourhood interventions. This resulted in the definition of ten important mechanisms of change in specific contexts. These were found on two levels: on an interpersonal level (e.g. social support) and on a community level (e.g. social norms). Positive mechanisms of change varied from supportive professionals to participants in the intervention, to co-production in developing the intervention. Negative mechanisms were only found on the community level and were related to professionals’ and community members’ skills. Mechanisms of change were found to be related to specific contexts, such as implementation strategies and the type of intervention. Professionals and municipalities can use these mechanisms of change to improve their interventions and neighbourhood practices.
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This chapter discusses the efforts of community workers to obtain consent in local communities as a basis for taking action on issues that are affecting local people’s lives. Crucial here is that community workers resist the initial urge to settle for consensus and as a consequencelimit the possibilities for creativity, exploration and interpersonal development. Drawing on two case studies, one from Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and one from Chelsea (US), the requirements and process of acquiring consent are outlined. Consent in general refers to a form of permission to act or take action. In this chapter we consider it as a sense of approval by neighbourhood community members to engage in a collective course of action. Community workers often play a crucial part in the acquisition of community consent as they support the process of recognition of the diversity of interests, opinions and values that characterises local life. Consent is necessary for creatingsustainable local initiatives, incorporating, instead of eliminating, conflicting positions. This acknowledgement of diversity can be seen as an ethical requirement in community development practice, but also as a strategic issue for community workers. After all, without being able to obtain legitimacy for their engagement with local issues, effective community development work is impossible.This chapter focuses on neighbourhood-based community development work in geographical communities. However, similar principles apply in all forms of community development, including work with communities of interest and identity. We use the term‘community worker’ to refer to someone who takes on a facilitating and coordinating role with members of communities to build community capacity and/or bring about social change. Such workers may be paid and professionally qualified, or unpaid volunteers andactivists. They may live in the communities where they work/are active, or reside outside these areas. These circumstances influence the legitimacy of their interventions, as well as how consent is gained and consensus reached.
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The current Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of urban public spaces in achieving health and social well-being (Dobson, 2021; Poortinga et al., 2021), prompting policymakers and urban planners to rethink their approach to the design of these spaces. They now propagate adapting urban public spaces more directly to human needs (Suurenbroek et al., 2019), often at a neighbourhood level, while also embracing a more-than-human perspective that includes the well-being of the natural ecosystem at large (Maller, 2020; Houston et al., 2018). The latter becomes imperative as other shocks and stressors, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, are impending, straining urban spaces and their residents to show resilience in times of complex challenges. “Learning from Covid-19”, a need emerged for new design approaches for public spaces, contributing both to social and ecological resilience.This paper presents results from the research project "From Prevention to Resilience". It moves beyond merely responding to the pandemic by designing social and physical barriers in public space to prevent the virus from spreading. Instead, it seizes the opportunity to explore how an integrated design approach to public space could contribute to social and ecological resilience (Boon et al., 2021). The project, funded by the Dutch organization for health research and care innovation, is a collaboration between the chairs of Spatial Urban Transformation and Civic Interaction Design (AUAS) and an international partner consortium.This paper builds on our compiled database of design strategies addressing the Covid-crisis, expert sessions with a Community of Practitioners, and interviews with Dutch spatial design firms and municipalities. It first introduces a "Design Framework for Neighbourhood Resilience" and its core concepts. Next, it validates this framework through a research-by-design approach. Spatial and social design agencies applied the framework in real-life design cases in Amsterdam and allowed for its empirical grounding and practice-based development. Ultimately, the paper defines a design framework that builds resilience for the well-being of all urban inhabitants and initiates a dialogue between disciplines to address resilience integrally when designing public spaces and forms of civic engagement.ReferencesBoon, B., Nirschl, M., Gualtieri, G., Suurenbroek, F., & de Waal, M. (2021). Generating and disseminating intermediate-level knowledge on multiple levels of abstraction: An exploratory case in media architecture. Media Architecture Biennale 20, 189–193. https://doi.org/10.1145/3469410.3469430Dobson, J. (2021). Wellbeing and blue‐green space in post‐pandemic cities: Drivers, debates and departures. Geography Compass, 15. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12593Houston, D., Hillier, J., MacCallum, D., Steele, W., & Byrne, J. (2018). Make kin, not cities! Multispecies entanglements and ‘becoming-world’ in planning theory. Planning Theory, 17(2), 190–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095216688042 Maller, C. (2020). Healthy Urban Environments: More-than-Human Theories (1st ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://www.routledge.com/Healthy-Urban-Environments-More-than-Human-Theories/Maller/p/book/9780367459031Poortinga, W., Bird, N., Hallingberg, B., Phillips, R., & Williams, D. (2021). The role of perceived public and private green space in subjective health and wellbeing during and after the first peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. Landscape and Urban Planning, 211, 104092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104092 Suurenbroek, F., Nio, I., & de Waal, M. (2019). Responsive public spaces: exploring the use of interactive technology in the design of public spaces. Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Urban Technology.https://research.hva.nl/en/publications/responsive-public-spaces-exploring-the-use-of-interactive-technol-2
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This document summarizes the main findings of the ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership ‘Community Learning for Local Change (CLLC)’. The CLLC project has been running from September 2018 to August 2021. The project was a cooperation of four universities, three NGOs and various local community partners. Our consortium presents new approach to promote creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and skills for designing innovation in close cooperation with the communities in which our universities are embedded.
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"Objectives: Research on what matters most to people with dementia is crucial for developing tailored interventions and support. This study explored how people with dementia experience their everyday lives, providing insight into what is important to them to live the best they can at home. Methods: Inspired by a phenomenological approach, open interviews were conducted with 15 people with dementia, supplemented by home tours and walking interviews. Data collection included one to three sessions per participant. Data were analysed using descriptive content analysis and followed the phases of open, axial, and selective coding. A co‐researcher group of seven people with dementia was consulted during the analysis to help interpret the emergent findings. Findings: Six dimensions of what matters most in everyday life were identified: 1) Engaging in meaningful activities, which included routines, household chores, leisure, day activities, and volunteering or work; 2) Keeping a sense of connection, in relationships within the home, with family, friends, groups, and the neighbourhood; 3) Having a sense of belonging, which included attachments inside and outside the home, and to cherished objects; 4) Connecting to self, which included the ability to reflect on past experiences, live in the present moment and anticipate the future; 5) Adjusting to ongoing changes, which included alterations in sensory perceptions, perceptions of the physical environment, and navigating shifts in interpersonal dynamics; 6) Being open to help and support, from professionals, community and society. Conclusions: For people with dementia, everyday life is a continuous balancing act between what matters most and what can be achieved daily. This is not only related to dementia but is also embedded in the wider perspective of life history, relational networks, and the physical environment. This study highlights the importance of identifying what matters most to people with dementia to provide person‐centred support."
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Citizen science – the active participation of lay people in research – may yield crucial local knowledge and increase research capacity. Recently, there is growing interest to understand benefits for citizen scientists themselves. We studied the perceived impacts of participation in a public health citizen science project on citizen scientists in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the Netherlands. Local citizen scientists, characterised by low income and low educational level – many of whom were of migrant origin – were trained to interview fellow residents about health-enhancing and health-damaging neighbourhood features. Experiences of these citizen scientists were collected through focus groups and interviews and analysed using a theoretical model of potential citizen science benefits. The results show that the citizen scientists perceived participation in the project as a positive experience. They acquired a broader understanding of health and its determinants and knowledge about healthy lifestyles, and took action to change their own health behaviour. They reported improved self confidence and social skills, and expanded their network across cultural boundaries. Health was perceived as a topic that helped people with different backgrounds to relate to one another. The project also induced joint action to improve the neighbourhood’s health. We conclude that citizen science benefits participants with low educational or literacy level. Moreover, it seems to be a promising approach that can help promote health in underprivileged communities by strengthening personal skills and social capital. However, embedding projects in broader health promotion strategies and long-term engagement of citizen scientists should be pursued to accomplish this.
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Background Eating behaviour of older adults is influenced by a complex interaction of determinants. Understanding the determinants of a specific target group is important when developing targeted health-promoting strategies. The aim of this study was to explore interpersonal determinants of eating behaviours in older adults living independently in a specific neighbourhood in the Netherlands. Methods In the neighbourhood of interest, populated by relatively many older adults, fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with independently living older adults (aged 76.9 ± 6.4y). Interviews were complemented with observations among the target group: three occasions of grocery shopping and three collective eating occasions in the neighbourhood. A thematic approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. Results When we asked the older adults unprompted why they eat what they eat, the influence of interpersonal determinants did not appear directly; respondents rather mentioned individual (e.g. habits) and environmental factors (e.g. food accessibility). Key findings regarding interpersonal factors were: 1) Behaviours are shaped by someone’s context; 2) Living alone influences (determinants of) eating behaviour via multiple ways; 3) There is a salient norm that people do not interfere with others’ eating behaviour; 4) Older adults make limited use of social support (both formal and informal) for grocery shopping and cooking, except for organised eating activities in the neighbourhood. In this particular neighbourhood, many facilities (e.g. shops at walking distance) are present, and events (e.g. dinners) are organised with and for the target group, which likely impact (determinants of) their behaviours. Conclusions The study showed that older adults do not directly think of interpersonal factors influencing their eating behaviour, but rather of individual or environmental factors. However, multiple interpersonal factors did appear in the interviews and observations. Moreover, neighbourhood-specific factors seem to play a role, which underlines the need to understand the specific (social) setting when developing and implementing intervention programmes. Insights from this study can assist in developing health-promoting strategies for older adults, taking into account the context of the specific neighbourhood.
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Ageing of the population in European cities creates fundamental challenges with regard to employment, pensions, health care and other age-related services. Many older people want to live independent lives as long as possible. This aspiration is currently strongly supported by many local governments. A precondition for 'ageing in place' is that older people perceive their neighbourhoods as familiar and safe places. In the Netherlands, many neighbourhoods with an ageing population have been subject to urban restructuring policies. An important question is to what extent such policies affect the housing situation, socioeconomic position and social support networks of older people, as these factors strongly assist their ability to 'age in place'. The paper answers this question through an exploratory analysis of a small but unique panel data set from Hoogvliet, a large urban restructuring area in the city of Rotterdam. The partly counter-intuitive results show that restructuring has enabled 'ageing in place'. Compared to stayers, movers within Hoogvliet often report improved housing quality and positive neighbourhood change. The exploratory analyses did not provide evidence of decreased social support or increased loneliness through restructuring-induced disruptions of social ties. Various 'buffer measures' have been effective in preventing negative restructuring impacts on older residents.
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