Hard evidence

Millinxbuurt and Dordtselaan, situated nearby, make up a small neighbourhood of approximately 2000 residences with about 3000 people living there. It consists of seven streets and was built in the 1930’s. In spite of its small size, up until relatively recently the social problems it faced were enormous.

Duco De Bruijn, Project Co-ordinator for the municipality during the time of the development and set-up of the regeneration programme recounted the situation:

‘Fifteen years ago landlords in the area started selling their properties to avoid re-investing as the housing stock was declining. Due to the sale and resale of properties for rent in the neighbourhood a high number of residences ended up in the hands of less respectable landlords. They rented to people with few opportunities and many problems. If one could not rent a dwelling anywhere in Rotterdam, in the Millinxbuurt there was always a possibility’.

The result was an area with a high proportion of people with issues such as drug addiction, debt, criminal records, psychiatric problems etc.

By 1997 the situation was out of hand and the local authorities stepped in. A project office was set-up and two project leaders were given the assignment of developing a proposal to regenerate the area. An integrated approach addressed key areas – housing, the environment, community and security, with the focus of improving the quality of life for residents. Key to the project was to take a long term approach and not to push out the problems from Millixbuurt into the next area. ‘Maak Millinx Mooier’ (Make Millinx Better) was launched as a campaign to involve as many people in the area as possible.

From nightmare to dream

Seven years later the people of Millixbuurt are the centre of a success story. Each of the various key areas the project addressed received substantial investment. Central to the project is the approach to the environment.

As De Bruijn explains, ‘first basic security was improved. This was a priority – until people felt safe in their homes other improvements would have been useless. But solving social problems and leaving the local environment in a bad state, made no sense either. A trigger was needed to attract people to invest in the area. In the case of the Millinxbuurt the new park was key to this’.

Drastic action was taken. 200 houses at the centre of the neighbourhood were demolished to make way for the park. The park was an important element in the success of the programme. It directly stimulated the sale of 300 houses, which had been renovated by the local council. According to local estate agents, green space in the neighbourhood increased the value of property by at least 20 percent. For the local inhabitants, the park was a symbol of the progress made in renewing the neighbourhood. The people were closely involved in the realisation of the park and participated in the design. Once the issue of high crime levels was solved, the development of more areas of green space scored second place on the wish-list of the residents in Millinxbuurt.

This case study reads like a politician’s dream – except it is true.

The current project leader Cees de Hoon, bears out the positive developments: ‘five years ago we had people reporting shoot-outs in the street. Now we get complaints about cycling on the pavement’.