ROTTERDAM BANS POOR PEOPLE

The Dutch city of Rotterdam wants to keep out deprived people from poor neighbourhoods. When the city council and the minister of housing agree, 20.000 houses will be blocked for people that do not have a job, after the 1 of May 2006. Since the new ‘ Rotterdam law’ is taken on, the city council of Rotterdam has a series of measures to fight the degeneration of some disadvantaged areas.

Apart from keeping poor people out of poor area’s, discounts on taxes will count to promote entrepreneurship and special intervention-teams are active to fight rack-renters. The basis of the new law is the possibility to dictate income demands to newcomers in especially appointed area’s with a high percentage of poor people.

One of the Rotterdam housing corporations has its objection against the ‘ Rotterdam law’. A spokesman compared the law with extinguishing a fire.‘When we want to fight the fire, meaning that we come up with custom-made measures, the city hall is flooding half the city.

Since October last 2004 the new income demand measure was tested and according to the Rotterdam city hall the test was successful. The standard of living went up and the influx of poor people and the outflow of rich people decreased. It is obviously still the question where the poor people do find a house in Rotterdam. It will not be easy to find an affordable house in a rich neighbourhood. more features

February 14, 2006