Restructuring large-scale housing estates in european cities : good practices and new visions for sustainable neighbourhoods and cities

This report gives a detailed overview of four large housing estates in the United Kingdom(Bow Hat and Poplar HARCA in London and The Central Estates and Eastern Corridor in Birmingham). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

In this report the following questions are answered for Germany: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place?

This report gives a detailed overview of two large housing estates in France (Les Minguettes in Vénissieux and La Ville Vouvelle in Rillieux)situated in a large metropolitan area (Greater Lyon). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

In this report, similarly to other participating countries, the following questions are answered for Hungary: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place? Our findings support the previous assumption that unlike in many "older" EU countries, in Hungary - presumably like in other CEE countries - policies for the renewal of large-scale housing estates are just beginning. This is true despite the fact that large housing estates constitute a huge segment of the housing market. In Hungary they house approximately 20% of the population. Precisely due to this large share we cannot talk about their crisis in the same sense like in the case of the "older" EU countries: housing estates in Hungary are not marginalized yet, as they present a viable solution to the housing problem of a wide startum from the lower middle class to the middle class. However, they have begun to deteriorate, and serious investments are necessary to impede any further deterioration or the beginning of a slumming process.

The partners have written 15 chapters for the book, and the editors have written an introduction and a conclusion. The contents of the book are based on the reports written for WP2 and the papers written for WP5 and WP6. The topics were chosen on the basis of the topics that came out relevant from these reports and papers. The book contains an introductory section, a section on Ideas and Philosophies and a section on Policy Intervention and their Organisation. We are currently looking for a publisher.

The research material for this book is drawn substantially from the EU-5th Framework programme RESTATE, an acronym for: Restructuring Large-scale Housing Estates in European Cities: Good Practices and New Visions for Sustainable Neighbourhoods and Cities. The primary objective of RESTATE is to deliver evidence-based knowledge drawing on the experience in different European cities in Europe (East and West). The focus is on the circumstances in these large post-WWII estates, on policies to counteract negative trends and on activities that stimulate positive developments.

In this report the following questions are answered for Germany: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place?

In this report the following questions are answered for Italy: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place?

In this report the following questions are answered for the Netherlands: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place?

This report gives a detailed overview of the four large housing estates in the Netherlands (Kanaleneiland and Nieuw-Hoograven in Utrecht and the Bijlmer and New West in Amsterdam). In a comparative analysis between the four estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

This report gives a detailed overview of two large housing estates in Hungary (Havanna in Budapest and Josavaros in Nyiregyhaza). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

In this report the following questions are answered for France: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place?

This report is the first one in a series. It contains the theoretical backgrounds and developments of a European Union project within the 5th Framework Programme: Restructuring Large-scale Housing Estates in European Cities: Good Practices and New Visions for Sustainable Neighbourhoods and Cities (RESTATE). RESTATE focuses on the developments and futures of large housing estates in ten European countries (France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom).

The objective of this report is to find out who profits from the developments and policies and who experiences clear disadvantages in the case study areas in London and Birmingham, United Kingdom. This report contains the following sections: 1. Introduction 2. The estates: a brief overview 3. The survey: methodological issues and some characteristics of respondents and dwellings 4. Positive and negative aspects of the estates 5. Effects of policies 6. The future of the estates 7. Conclusions This structure is similar to the other reports in the series 4 of the project, so the outcomes can be easily compared. The main findings in this report are: A summary (max 2000 words of the report should be provided here by the partners).

The objective of this report is to find out who profits from the developments and policies and who experiences clear disadvantages in the case study areas in Budapest and Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. This report contains the following sections: - Introduction - The estates: a brief overview - The survey: methodological issues and some characteristics of respondents and dwellings - Positive and negative aspects of the estates - Effects of policies - The future of the estates - Conclusions This structure is similar to the other reports in the series 4 of the project, so the outcomes can be easily compared. In general the survey pointed out that in spite of the fact, that experts foresaw a decline in the status of the housing estates, residents do not experience such a tragic trend. Although they also see the deplorable status of public spaces, still, would like to rely on municipal and state interventions mainly in connection with renewing physically their building. The survey added very vital pieces of information to the already well-known characteristics of the estates. It turned out that slowly Jósaváros is becoming the place for families that start their lives , while Havanna is becoming a place for households that do not have a choice but to move there. Accordingly, households in Havanna estate turned out to be more cost sensitive, than those of Jósaváros. We also found that residents of Jósaváros are more attached to their estate than their counterparts in Havanna. Interestingly the first and second most critical problems were the same in both places: dirt on the streets and the condition of building. We also found out that in case of both estates one-fourth of the population moved in during the last four years, which proves that the mobility rate in housing estates is significantly higher than the Hungarian average. The survey made the assumption stronger that there are very few ethnic minorities living in the housing estates. The only ethnic minority, which is visible in both cases, is the Roma population, but they mostly consider themselves Hungarian so they simply did not appear in the questionnaire. The main topic of the survey would have been to analyse the affect of policies that were implied in order to improve the living conditions in the estates. The difficulty here was that there were only few actions implemented in these estates. Even with these few measures it was found out that effect of the few implemented policies were often hardly known by the residents. We were surprised to note that even in case of the most visible projects - such as the instalment of CCTV - half of the people had no idea about its existence. Which implies that for any successful regeneration project better communication skills are necessary from the local governments. Finally, it was interesting to compare the problems that were mentioned with the suggestions people made for the improvement of the estates. This comparison gave hints where future policies should put the emphasis on. In Havanna the renovation of buildings is high on the agenda, which occupies an important place both in the problem and in the suggestion hierarchy of the inhabitants. In Jósaváros, where the social composition is better, the renovation of public spaces is the first priority besides the renewal of the buildings. As a problem the scarce employment possibilities were also mentioned, but as a policy suggestion it turned to be less relevant, as people feel that municipalities have limited influence on employment questions.

The partners have written 15 chapters for the book, and the editors have written an introduction and a conclusion. The contents of the book are based on the reports written for WP2 and the papers written for WP5 and WP6. The topics were chosen on the basis of the topics that came out relevant from these reports and papers. The book contains an introductory section, a section on Ideas and Philosophies and a section on Policy Intervention and their Organisation. We are currently looking for a publisher.

The rehabilitation of the large scale housing estates in Central-Europe is one of the biggest challenges that lies ahead, as there are no proven models that may be used for such a special case: large share of estates in the housing market; large, privately owned buildings; lack of financial resources; lack of culture of cooperation. This report is aimed at identifying which aspects of policies in the Havanna estate in Budapest, Hungary have been successful and which are seen to have failed in different situations and what explanations are for this. The information for this report is derived from earlier experiences in the project, which has been added to during focus group interviews with policymakers and those responsible for the implementation of the policies. Given the relative novelty of the refurbishment process and the small volume of policies, it is difficult to single out success and failure factors. The most what can be said is that properly identifying public demand is the main success factor. Like in the case of the instalment of the CCTV system, which was the answer for the lack of security in public spaces. Furthermore, the dedication of a few people can become a real asset, an essential factor for success. This can be true on the municipal level - the rehabilitation at the Havanna housing estate is partly pushed by the deputy mayor, who resides there. But it is important on the level of condominiums as well: if a property manager is able to activate the people and able to convince them to invest into the buildings, than the owners became more and more involved in the process, consequently the look and the status of the building begins to improve. The lack of appropriate financing is the number one failure factor.

In this report the following questions are answered for United Kingdom: What is the philosophy behind the different existing policies with regard to large-scale housing estates in different European cities? What are the main aims? What are the main activities included in policies and what is the balance between these activities? How are policies organised? Who participates in the policy and who has decided about this participation? Can the policy be seen as a top-down or as a bottom-up process? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches? Has the policy, the way that it is organised and the way that it is perceived by residents and others changed over the time period that it has been in place?

This report gives a detailed overview of four large housing estates in Sweden (Raslatt and Oxnehaga in Jonkoping and Tensta and Husby in Stockholm). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

The issue of transferability has been for a long period in the centre of the academic activities and political debates, as well. It has evolved into a major topic, useful for researchers, stakeholders and practitioners at all levels. And parallel to the growing role of the European Union, as the process of Europeanization has speeded up, the question, how and what type of knowledge, policies and practices can be transferred, in what case a homogeneous European policy can be enacted, and what circumstances require separate regulations, has become more and more relevant. Narrowing the topic down, we can say that transferability has been very important with regard to the rehabilitation of large housing estates in the European Union. These estates were largely built at the same time in different countries, and have started to show relatively similar problems mainly caused by social problems and physical decay. Sooner or later almost all of them arrive to a pivotal moment, when, in order to hinder the further decay, major refurbishments have to be carried out. Many of them have already been fully or partially renovated; many are undergoing refurbishment currently and even more have reached a point, where the time for some major reconstructions has come. So, as a consequence of the many similarities regarding the causes and the circumstances of physical decay and social problems in these estates, transferability has become a crucial factor in designing the policies of the refurbishment of large housing estates in most old member states of the European Union. Here knowledge, experiences and policies have been exchanged, and with more or less success adapted to the local circumstances. Most likely the importance of transferability will grow in the future, as the new member states begin to plan or to execute their own panel refurbishment programs. Especially, as in the former socialist countries, there is still little expertise regarding the rehabilitation of large-scale housing estates, despite the fact that these estates occupy a large share (between 20-40%) of the housing market in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

This report gives a detailed overview of two large housing estates in Warsaw, Poland (Ursynow and Wrzeciono). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

The partners have written 15 chapters for the book, and the editors have written an introduction and a conclusion. The contents of the book are based on the reports written for WP2 and the papers written for WP5 and WP6. The topics were chosen on the basis of the topics that came out relevant from these reports and papers. The book contains an introductory section, a section on Ideas and Philosophies and a section on Policy Intervention and their Organisation. We are currently looking for a publisher.

This report gives a detailed overview of two large housing estates in Germany (Markisches Viertel and Marzahn/Hellersdorf in Berlin). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

This report gives a detailed overview of fourlarge housing estates in Spain (Orcasitas and Simancas in Madrid and Trinitat Nova and Sant Roc in Barcelona). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

This report gives a detailed overview of two large housing estates in Slovenia (Fuzine in Ljubljana and Koper in Zusterna-Semedela). In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

This report gives a detailed overview of three large housing estates in Sant'Ambrogio, San Siro and Comasina in Milan, Italy. In a comparative analysis between the two estates, the study looks through demographic, social and economic variables to understand the on-going process and also takes into account the local city context and the various policies - at the national level and at the local level as well - which can explain the evolution of the estates.

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