Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements & Housing

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Document Type General
Publish Date 19/08/2010
Author Manuel B. Aalbers
Published By Editorial Board of Antipode.
Edited By Saba Bilquis
Uncategorized

THE REVANCHIST RENEWAL OF YESTERDAY’S CITY OF TOMORROW IN AMSTERDAM

Although planned as the “City of Tomorrow”, the Bijlmer district in Amsterdam quickly became the quintessential symbol of urban decline. Today, even with half of the planned renewal of the Bijlmer completed, the alleged success of this urban revitalization program is questionable. Parts of the black middle class did not move out and some are even returning to the Bijlmer; the combination is producing a type of “black gentrification”, which forces the “undesirables” like drug users, and the homeless people, and undocumented immigrants to leave. This revanchist renewal not only benefits the middle and lower-class population of the district but also serves the interests of private developers. European revanchism makes the city safe for corporate investment and aims to restore social order as well as stimulate the development of a strong middle class. This paper demonstrates how hard revanchist policies are demanded not only by private developers but also by the middle and lower classes, and they exist alongside soft “caring” policies, even for the “undesirables”

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