Housing Opportunities Instead Of Market Responsiveness
In this paper, author Arend Jonkman discusses the impact of the Dutch housing-policy reforms since 2011 in terms of housing opportunities for middle-income households in Amsterdam.
The paper ends with a call to focus on securing affordable housing opportunities for different groups instead of a focus on market dynamism and responsiveness. While promoting affordable housing options for all income groups will increase freedom and security, the pursuit of labour mobility through market dynamism and responsiveness may also result in measures that harm welfare and well-being.
About the author
Arend Jonkman has a BSc in Urban Planning and a Research MSc in Urban Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD at the same university for his dissertation titled Distributive Justice of Housing in Amsterdam. The PhD-research is about the distributive justice as produced by housing policy and practice. In 2018- 2019 he worked as teacher and researcher Spatial Planning at Wageningen University & Research. The research project Land for housing (Grond voor Wonen) investigated how Dutch municipalities applied different instruments of land policy to achieve (sometimes conflicting) housing objectives. Since 2019 he is affiliated with the 1 Million Homes- initiative of Delft University of Technology, an interdisciplinary research—in collaboration with all four departments of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment— on the current housing crisis and possible solutions. For the Association of European Schools of Planning, he is coordinator of the thematic group on Ethics, Values and Planning.
About the editor
Anna Willman is a Climate Policy Expert at Fores and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from London School of Economics.
About ELF
The European Liberal Forum (ELF) is the official political foundation of the European Liberal Party, the ALDE Party. Together with 46 member organisations, we work all over Europe to bring new ideas into the political debate, to provide a platform for discussion, and to empower citizens to make their voices heard.
ELF was founded in 2007 to strengthen the liberal and democrat movement in Europe. Our work is guided by liberal ideals and a belief in the principle of freedom. We stand for a future-oriented Europe that offers opportunities for every citizen. ELF is engaged on all political levels, from the local to the European.
We bring together a diverse network of national foundations, think tanks and other experts. At the same time, we are also close to, but independent from, the ALDE Party and other Liberal actors in Europe. In this role, our forum serves as a space for an open and informed exchange of views between a wide range of different actors.
About Tankesmedjan Fores
Fores – Forum for reforms, entrepreneurship and sustainability – is the green and liberal think tank based in Sweden. With one foot in academia and the other in the public debate, Fores works every day towards solutions and policies that strengthen the liberal democracy. Through our three work groups we seek scientifically based, forward-looking policies on Growth, Security and Trust.