The field trips take place on the 26th of June 2007 from 14.00 till 18.00 hours

* Full * 1. Middle incomes in the city and innovative concepts in renting and ownership.
One of the central objectives of Rotterdam's housing policy is to increase the number of middle-income households and the number of owner-occupied dwellings. The sale of housing associations' rental housing stock is part of that strategy. Housing associations have developed different concepts to reach these goals. The most remarkable initiatives will be shown this afternoon in a site visit where the innovative concept of flexible tenureship that has been developed by Woonbron housing association will be presented in addition to the concept of 'socially sound ownership' and the successful sale of more than 3,000 rental dwellings by the 'Woningbedrijf Rotterdam' housing association. We will visit one of the renovation projects where smaller older dwellings were turned into larger new ones and then a number of them sold.

* Full * 2. Urban restructuring in post-war areas in progress (Pendrecht). ( Metro and walking tour )
Pendrecht is a famous example of modern urbanism from the fifties. However, the last two decades all kinds of severe problems occurred and the area got a negative image. At present, Pendrecht is one of the national focus areas for urban renewal. De Nieuwe Unie housing association owns most of the stock in Pendrecht. The housing stock is being replaced or renewed, differentiated and adjusted to new target groups. The process at Pendrecht is all the more interesting as it strives to an integrative approach. The goal is to improve the housing situation while offering residents better options in the socio-economic and health fields, as well as ways of providing services for the elderly. We will hear about the physical renewal, the involvement of inhabitants and the organisation, and visit projects for women empowerment, immigrant activation and the revitalisation of the shopping centre.

3. Tension and opportunities between city and urban region (Carnisselande).
The regional housing policy memorandum provides an initial impetus for a regional contribution towards solving the metropolitan problems in the Rotterdam area. An analysis of the regional housing market served as the basis for this impulse. There is often tension between actors in the urban city core and the neighbouring municipalities. These actors include the municipalities, the Stadsregio Rotterdam (the regional authority) and the Maaskoepel (the regional umbrella organisation of housing associations). One of the issues is the building of more affordable housing in neighbouring municipalities. This will be illustrated in one of the recent housing developments - Carnisselande, in the neighbouring municipality of Barendrecht. Professionals, politicians and residents will present their opinion as to whether the policy has been successful or not.

* Full * 4. The issue of integration and multicultural building (Bospolder/Tussendijken).This is a walking tour program
The district of Bospolder/Tussendijken is a good example of a district in which the Com.Wonen housing association is dedicated to revitalising the area and to providing a better mix of housing types taking into account the different groups of residents. The strategy encompasses the demolition of old stock, the building of new homes for rent and for sale, and the purchase of privately-owned rundown properties which are then renovated and offered for sale or rent. Two specific projects serve as remarkable examples of multicultural building. Biz Botuluyuz (Turkish for 'We from Bospolder-Tussendijken') is an initiative of residents to create their own homes as a collective principal, supported by the housing association and others. The second project is Le Medi, a Mediterranean housing project for different types of households. The aim is to achieve interesting diversity in the district.

* Full * 5. The broad interpretation of the tasks of a housing association (Oude Noorden).This is a walking tour program
The field trip will visit the districts of Oude Noorden, Agniesebuurt and Provenierswijk, and focuses on the wide range of tasks in old neighbourhoods like these. PWS is a major housing association in these areas and will illustrate the PWS input in the area, which involves both the building and management of large numbers of affordable rental housing and a number of other activities. PWS operates as one of the participants in a partnership to redevelop old business accommodation and create space in new business accommodation for the creative industry and other services. PWS purchased privately owned rundown properties and redeveloped them as homes and shop premises, and also developed a 'foyer de jeunesse' in the area.

* Full * 6. Transformation of the former harbour areas in the city (CityPorts project).
The city of Rotterdam is facing the significant task of redeveloping a number of old harbour areas. Old industrial areas will have to be replaced by housing areas and other economic activities in order to give them a new function in the city. A visit will be paid to the CityPorts Rotterdam project. The plans for the CityPorts area will be introduced and a tour of the area will serve to illustrate the challenges in the field. The Delft Centre for Sustainable Areas is involved in research related to the project and the urban decision models as developed will be presented.

7. Greenfield Development in the Netherlands: a sustainable approach (Nesselande)
In the beginning of the 1990s, Dutch central government feared a housing shortage in the Netherlands. In the Fourth Report on Spatial Planning Extra (VINEX), the government therefore stated that on a large scale new greenfield development was necessary. To prevent urban sprawl, well-indicated areas were allocated, where houses should be developed, the so-called VINEX-areas. One of these areas – Nesselande near Rotterdam - will be visited. In this fieldtrip, elements of sustainable development will be highlighted: the unique water system in the area (6 meters below sea-level), the special heating system, the use of sustainable building materials and the promotion of sustainable transport facilities. An important part of the trip will be a walk through the area, guided by experts. They will show the most remarkable parts of this exciting project.

8. Alternative forms of housing for the elderly.
As a consequence of the ageing population and other demands currently made by the elderly on the combination of housing and services, alternative forms of housing for the elderly have emerged. There will be a visit to some of these new housing concepts (Age-proof homes) for the elderly in the northern part of Rotterdam. Humanitas is one of the largest providers of housing and home care as well as nursing and treatment. The filosofy of Humanitas is that supply of care is strickly based on the demand. What does the client want? Humanitas looks at the problems of integrated care from the position of the client as a care demander. For Humanitas it is evident that in many cases the client experiences more ‘well being’ from a pet than from a nurse, more from a barkeeper than from a dietist and more from expressions of art than from a strict hygienic regime. We will be visit age-proof homes (Apartments for Live). This dwelling, all more than 75m2, allows all types of care (also hospital-care), to rendered in one’s own home. We also get answers on questions like: ‘Is this amount of individualization and the extra square meters terribly expensive? Or, Can old age pensioners and people on social security afford to live here?

* Full * 9. Ecological and Social Sustainability in the urban restructuring of the district of Duindorp.
Sustainability – i.e. reducing the use of fossil fuels and certain materials – is applied more often nowadays in urban development and the new construction and renovation of housing. This field trip takes a look at how the municipality and housing association deal with sustainable building and management. The district of Duindorp in The Hague will be visited, which is one of the 56 priority neighbourhoods of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. Ambitious restructuring has been combined with the construction of an energy system that will one day ensure that Duindorp will be energy neutral. This project has won several sustainability awards. Sustainability can be seen at work in the windmill, the seawater power station under construction and the special cast concrete construction. The field trip will start with an overall introduction to the neighbourhood (social problems, reasons for sustainable renovation) by the main actors involved, which will then be followed by a trip around Duindorp.

10. Leisure and urban development (Rotterdam waterfront developments). This is a walking tour program
Over the past 25 years the city of Rotterdam has put considerable effort into transforming the waterfront and turning it into a more attractive culture and leisure area. The project began in the 1970s with the Old Harbour, the Maritime Museum etc. Initiatives were later taken up on the other side of the river in the Kop van Zuid programme: the New Luxor Theatre, Hotel New York, water taxi services etc. The latest initiatives are to be found at the Wilhelminapier. What was the policy and how has it been implemented? Although successes have been booked, the area has remained predominantly a living and working area. The policy and projects will first be introduced and later visited in this interesting walking tour past the waterfront projects.

* CANCELLED * 11. Living and industrial areas: the role of disaster management (the district of Heijplaat and the fire brigade).
The city of Rotterdam pays a considerable amount of attention to the potential threat of disaster felt to be ever present because of its extensive port and industrial areas and the neighbouring housing areas. The field trip will visit the neighbourhood of Heijplaat where housing is completely surrounded by heavy industry. The port authority will give listeners an idea of the risks for the area, the measures taken for air quality and safety, and policies for risk prevention. This will be followed by a trip to the fire brigade who will explain the use of geo-information in disaster management.

* CANCELLED * 12. Kadaster / Green land development in metropolitan area
A fieldtrip organized by Kadaster (the Dutch Land Registry Office), which deals with its two legal mandates. We visit a peri-urban land development project, with emphasis on dealing with new infrastructure (high speed rail link) and improving nature just south of Rotterdam. Kadaster is one of the specialist agencies in such a project, dealing among others with the re-arrangement of property rights. We start with a short visit to the regional office, where we will be shortly informed of the main task of the Kadaster (the recording of property rights and transactions in those rights (including mortgaging)), and get introduced to the project. After that we will make site visits in the actual project area.