In dit proefschrift worden de resultaten beschreven van een studie die online wijkplatformen voor thuiswonende ouderen evalueert die werden ontwikkeld op basis van wensen en behoeften van eindgebruikers. Middels deze online wijkplatformen worden ouderen gestimuleerd om maatschappelijk te participeren en wordt gepoogd om in wijken vraag en aanbod van inwoners bij elkaar te brengen. Via deze online platformen kunnen wijkbewoners, zo ook thuiswonende ouderen, verschillende applicaties raadplegen.
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.
In most shopping areas, there are place management partnerships (PMPs) that aim to increase the competitiveness of the area. Collective digital marketing activities, such as the adoption and update of collective websites and social media pages, provide opportunities in this regard. Currently, the extent to which digital marketing activities are being employed varies widely among PMPs. However, studies investigating the factors that influence the uptake of digital marketing activities are lacking. This study applies a resource-based view to fill this gap, using data from an online survey about collective digital marketing activities among 164 official representatives of PMPs in urban shopping areas in the Netherlands. Regression analyses were employed to examine the extent to which the resources of PMPs influence the adoption and update frequency of the two most often used digital marketing channels: websites and social media pages. The results revealed that while the adoption of collective digital marketing channels is strongly influenced by the physical resources that characterize the shopping area itself, the update frequency of these channels is influenced more by the organizational resources of PMPs. In addition, the strategic choice of PMPs to deploy human and financial resources for the benefit of collective digital marketing activities leads to increased use of these activities. This effect is reinforced by the fact that digital marketing skills gained through experience contribute to a higher update frequency of the adopted channels. As such, this study provides empirical evidence on the influence of PMPs shared resources upon their digital marketing activities.
