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A definition of the term `policy' is presented, followed by an analysis of a survey of persons closely involved in housing policy: it appears that party preferences play a role in the judgment of housing policy. Pol'al sci aims at telling what is the actual policy, & not what a policy should be. Gov approval is one of the most important means used in housing policy & this is studied with the help of examples. 'Policy adaptation,' 'expectations,' & 'principles' appear to play an important part in the housing policy of the Netherlands. IPSA.

Results from research on the effects of public policy in the Netherlands are examined & compared with some US findings. Issues examined include educational & housing policy's effects on income distribution, & the effects of suburbanization & participation policies. While in both countries there are limitations to the success of welfare state policy, it appears that some goals are at least partly attained. When pubic policy appears ineffective, it can be explained by several factors: content of policy & the underlying theory, policy process, society, research, & a shortsightedness about the effects of policy. Modified HA.

We analyze the relation between (horizontal) fairness in the local property tax and municipal tax policy in the 308 Flemish municipalities in 2012. The local property tax is levied on the property's assessed rental value, and its unfairness is a by-product of the slow reassessment procedure - such that properties of identical value are being taxed (very) differently. Using data for housing sales, we create an indicator for the unfairness of the local property tax. We find clear evidence that this unfairness affects political decision-making: municipalities in which property taxation is more unfair tend to rely systematically less on this tax as a source of municipal revenue. Instead these local governments tend to generate revenue through local income taxation. Adapted from the source document.

In this 30th edition of the Yearbook on Poverty and Social Exclusion, we look back on 30 years of fighting poverty. How have the poverty figures evolved? We take a closer look at access to justice, education and housing. Next, we are looking for an answer to the question of what constitutes a structural poverty policy. Can the law be of any significance here? This year's theme section is dedicated to the coronapandemic and its link to poverty. Subsequently, a number of civil society organisations are given a chance to express their expertise and findings. In a final section, the Yearbook presents an overview of figures on poverty and social exclusion.

Reviews urban policy in Belgium, particularly Flanders, since 1991. The remarkable success of the extremist right-wing party, Vlaams Blok, in urban areas in both the 1991 & 1994 national elections has increased attention to urban renewal & social housing policies. Today's urban policy consists of two main elements: (1) levying taxes on empty & run-down buildings to promote renovation & reduce speculation & (2) establishing a structural & result-oriented fund that channels significant amounts of money to problem areas. Also, inner-city areas are placed in a regional framework, arguing that administrative city boundaries should include wealthy suburbs, inhabited primarily by people whose livelihood depends on the city, as well as inner-city problem areas. Adapted from the source document.

Dutch socioeconomic concertation has experienced some transformative changes in its modus operandi in recent years, which has given the 'Polder Model' a new lease on life for the time being. Building on an older tradition of sharing political space with civil society organizations, the recent liberal-social democratic government coalition, with Mark Rutte at the helm (2012-2017), has been able to enact a surprisingly successful structural reform agenda in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Governing in times of significant economic, social and political uncertainty, it is no mean feat that the Rutte II administration – de facto a minority government – is the first Dutch coalition to complete its term since the administration under Wim Kok (1994-1998). After the foundational Social Accord (the so-called Mondriaan Akkoord) in April 2013, a series of reform agreements were reached in the policy areas of education, housing, healthcare, industrial and energy policy. For each of these more meso-level accords, a variety of civil society organizations participated that were beyond the traditional social partners of business and labor. Over time these seemingly ad hoc, open and non-hierarchical agreements materialized in a trajectory of cumulatively transformative policy change. The political tactic of the Rutte II government stands out in comparison with the halcyon Dutch miracle era of the Polder Model in the 1980s and 1990. We explain the new modes of Dutch socioeconomic policy concertation and its political tactic as a kind of rallying around existing institutional arrangements to bring the contested political and social center together behind a major adjustment strategy, including retrenchment, compensatory social meas­ures and investments, when reform output and outcomes are fundamentally uncertain. Whether the new Polder Model will prove robust remains an open question. Recently, new multiple party covenants were negotiated in the textile and banking industry. Meanwhile a number of issues concerning regional labor market regulation and work-life balance reconciliation have yet to be resolved.

In the 1970s and '80s residents and architects in Amsterdam worked together to shape the renewal of their neighbourhood. Working outside traditional planning constraints they initiated a process for designing 'neighbourhood plans' that gave priority to affordable housing and minimized disruption to the existing social and urban design structure. Although these neighbourhood plans stood in stark contrast to prevailing political and urban planning ideas, they formed the basis on which urban renewal was realized from the middle of the 1970s. While the focus in the historiography of urban renewal is usually on politics and policy, this article provides insight into the design process itself and the ideas behind urban renewal architecture based on numerous consultation documents generated by the collaboration between local residents and architects. The Dapperbuurt area serves as an exemplary case study. The example of the Dapperbuurt shows that locals and architects formed energetic and effective coalitions. After the residents of the Dapperbuurt had won far-reaching control over the design process, including a say in the choice of architect, they entered into a collaboration with the architects Hans Borkent, Rob Blom van Assendelft and Hein de Haan. During the extensive consultation process the architects acted as equal discussion partners rather than all-knowing experts, while local residents provided creativity and spontaneous initiatives and had the final say. Together they designed with 'direct democracy'. In this article those collaborative arrangements are referred to as 'creative housing coalitions'. This term expresses both their main aim and their greatest strength. It also shows who initiated the urban renewal housing projects and how grass-roots initiatives were ultimately translated into policy. In the course of the design process, local residents and their architects sought creative ways of reconciling the apparent antithesis between the historically evolved city and modern architecture and urban design. Instead of taking a blank slate as their starting point, they proceeded on the basis of the qualities of the existing environment and the interests and wishes of the residents. This resulted in the retention of the existing morphology and functional diversity. However, the housing projects were on a much larger scale than the individual buildings that had previously made up the neighbourhood, because while the local residents were unwilling to give up their familiar living environment, they did want modern home comforts. This study has revealed that the replacement construction was required to combine the best of both worlds. In order to suggest a smaller scale, the external walls were vertically articulated, and their height demarcated by means of balconies, bay windows, hoisting beams, eaves and staggered building lines. So both contrast to and compatibility with the context are relevant criteria for evaluating urban renewal architecture. In addition, it turns out that a key merit of this urban renewal was its function, namely to deliver affordable and comfortable housing on centrally located sites with high land values. The architecture gives expression to that function. ; In de jaren zeventig en tachtig gaven in Amsterdam bewoners en architecten samen vorm aan de vernieuwing van hun buurt. Buiten de reguliere kaders om initieerden zij een proces voor het ontwerpen van zogenaamde 'buurtplannen', waarin prioriteit werd gegeven aan betaalbaar wonen en zo min mogelijk verstoring van de bestaande sociale en stedenbouwkundige structuur. Hoewel deze buurtplannen in schril contrast stonden met de heersende politieke en stedenbouwkundige opvattingen, vormden ze de basis waarop de stadsvernieuwing vanaf midden jaren zeventig werd gerealiseerd. In de historiografie van de stadsvernieuwing ligt de focus op politiek en beleid. Dit artikel geeft daarentegen inzicht in het ontwerpproces en de ideeën achter de stadsvernieuwingsarchitectuur aan de hand van velerlei overlegdocumenten die voortkwamen uit de samenwerking tussen buurtbewoners en architecten. Hierbij dient de Dapperbuurt als exemplarische casestudy.Het voorbeeld van de Dapperbuurt laat zien dat buurtbewoners en architecten daadkrachtige coalities vormden. Nadat bewoners van de Dapperbuurt verregaande controle op het ontwerpproces hadden bevochten, inclusief zeggenschap over de architectenkeuze, gingen zij een samenwerking aan met de architecten Hans Borkent, Rob Blom van Assendelft en Hein de Haan. Deze stelden zich in uitgebreide inspraakprocedures op als gelijkwaardige gesprekspartners in plaats van alwetende experts, terwijl buurtbewoners zorgden voor creativiteit en spontane initiatieven en een doorslaggevende stem hadden. Gezamenlijk ontwierpen zij met 'direkte demokratie'. Deze samenwerkingsverbanden worden in dit artikel geduid als creatieve wooncoalities. Dit idee geeft zowel uitdrukking aan hun belangrijkste doelstelling als aan hun grootste kracht. Daarnaast laat het zien wie de woningbouwprojecten van de stadsvernieuwing initieerden en hoe burgerinitiatieven uiteindelijk werden omgezet in beleid. In het ontwerpproces zochten de Dapperbuurters en hun architecten naar creatieve oplossingen om de schijnbare tegenstelling tussen de historisch gegroeide stad en moderne architectuur en stedenbouw te overbruggen. In plaats van een blanco blad als uitgangspunt te nemen, gingen ze uit van de kwaliteiten van de bestaande omgeving en de belangen en wensen van de bewoners. Dit resulteerde in behoud van de bestaande morfologie en functiemenging. De woningbouwprojecten kregen echter een beduidend grotere schaal dan de individuele panden waaruit de buurt tot dan toe bestond, omdat de buurtbewoners hun vertrouwde leefomgeving niet wilden opgeven maar wel behoefte hadden aan modern wooncomfort. Uit dit onderzoek blijkt dat de nieuwbouw het beste van beide moest combineren. Om toch de suggestie van kleinschaligheid te wekken, werden de gevelwanden verticaal geleed en in hoogte afgebakend door middel van balkons, erkers, hijsbalken, dakoverstekken en verspringende rooilijnen. Zowel contrast met als aansluiting op de context zijn aldus relevante criteria voor de waardering van de stadsvernieuwingsarchitectuur. Bovendien blijkt dat een wezenlijke waarde van de stadsvernieuwing haar functie is, namelijk betaalbaar en comfortabel wonen op centrale locaties met hoge grondwaarden. De architectuur geeft uitdrukking aan die functie.