Suchergebnisse

In 1965, in order to remedy an increasingly difficult lack of housing, the Swedish Parliament decided that one million new apartments were to be built within ten years. The program was called 'the million dwellings program' and its goal was bold and politically controversial. Never before had so much been built in such a short time. The million dwellings program had only been in progress for a few years, however, when a critical debate was sparked off. Public criticism was massive and was not only aimed at the physical design of the buildings but also indirectly towards the people who lived in them. Living in one of the program's most identifiable areas became socially stigmatising, and all those who could move away did so. Dissatisfaction with the million dwellings program's large-scale suburban areas was directly reflected in the number of apartment vacancies. This number rose quickly, especially in the municipal, non-profit stock. In 1975, the Government appointed a committee to propose solutions for suburbs with turnover problems (SOU 1979:37). These were the first governmentally initiated and financed pilot projects in the million dwellings program's problem-ridden areas. But they were not to be the last. 20 years later the million dwellings program's large-scale suburban neighbourhoods have once again ended up in focus for community planning. The background is formed by the research and commission of enquiry reports of recent years which show that there is increased polarisation between those estates in the urban landscape which are pleasant to live in and those which are least attractive; this is where the poor of society live, many of them with an immigrant background. Thus, once again strategies for change in the million dwellings program's areas are being lively discussed, along with the experiences that earlier renewal measures have provided (e.g. Olsson Hort, 1992; SOU 1995:142, Öresjö, 1996b; Bohm & Khakee, 1996:1; SOU 1997:118).

All over Europe post-Second World War large-scale housing estates face physical, economic, social and cultural problems. This book presents the key findings of a major EU-funded research programme into the restructuring of twenty-nine large-scale housing estates in Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern Europe. Policy and practice between and within the ten countries studied - UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, and France - is compared. While existing literature focuses on the negative aspects of large-scale housing estates, this book starts from the premise that the estates can be transformed into attractive places to live and focuses on the possibilities of sustainability and renewal through social, physical and policy actions. Specifically, the book explains the origins and nature of contemporary problems on the estates; examines which policy objectives, measures and processes have had the greatest impact; assesses and compares a wide range of local, regional and national initiatives; discusses current ideas and philosophies, such as 'place making' and 'collaborative planning' that are likely to influence future policy and practice and provides good practice guidance for neighbourhood sustainability and renewal. Written by a multi-national team of experts and drawing on original fieldwork, the book provides unique comparative insights into the present and future position of large-scale housing estates in Europe. Restructuring large-scale housing estates in Europe is an invaluable resource for a wide audience of academics, researchers, students and policy makers in the fields of housing, urban studies, community studies, regeneration, planning and social policy