Willem R. Boterman

Suburbanisation has been a prevalent process of postwar, capitalist urban growth, leading to the majority of citizens in many advanced capitalist economies currently living in the suburbs. We are also witnessing, however, the reverse movement of the increasing return to the inner-city. This contradiction raises questions regarding contemporary urban growth and the socio-spatial production of the suburbs. This paper draws on the case of new town Almere in the metropolitan region of Amsterdam to cast light upon the changing suburban–urban relationship, by investigating the mobility to and from Almere for two decades through socioeconomic, demographic data between 1990 and 2013. We demonstrate that Almere has developed from a typically suburban family community to a receiver of both international unmarried newcomers and families; its population has also become relatively poorer, yet the levels of upwards income mobility have remained stable. These trends emphasise alternative types of mobilities emerging in concert to the more typical suburban migration. The town's transformation challenges the urban–suburban dichotomy, pointing to alternative explanations of contemporary urban growth and metropolitan integration.

Economic restructuring and changing demographic and migration patterns have significantly altered the population compositions of urban regions. While there is evidence that employees in various sectors of the economy have different residential preferences, much less insight exists into the social geography of various class fractions at the level of urban regions. The aims of this paper are: 1) to describe the spatial orientations of various employment groups in the largest urban regions in the Netherlands, and 2) to understand the extent to which spatial orientations towards various residential urban and suburban milieus can be explained by belonging to a specific class fraction. We draw on individual-level register data for the whole population of urban regions, applying a multidimensional and detailed perspective on social class that takes into account both economic and cultural capital. We demonstrate a strong urban orientation among the cultural classes, who are often working in the 'new economies' – irrespective of their income status – and an overrepresentation in suburban areas of more economically-orientated class fractions. Despite the differences in terms of economic structure of the researched urban regions, these variegated residential orientations are remarkably consistent.

This paper discusses state interventions in a poor former-working-class area in Amsterdam – Van der Pekbuurt. Even though the residents have been successful in resisting redevelopment and renovation plans, state and housing association continue their efforts to change the area through symbolic politics. By introducing and facilitating cultural entrepreneurs and artists in the area - as part of regeneration and gentrification strategies -, the representation of what the neighborhood is, and ought to be, gravitates towards the planners’ future vision. As such, these representations undermine the legitimacy of long-term residents. Interviews with residents reveal that the change in the neighborhood instill a sense of loss of place, exacerbated by cuts in local service provision.

In recent decades, neighbourhood regeneration has often involved social mixing strategies, often through comprehensive renewal. By deconcentrating poverty and giving opportunities for social interaction, remaining residents are believed to benefit from middle class presence. This study looks at a post-war neighbourhood in Amsterdam which has undergone comprehensive renewal. By making use of survey data in combination with GIS techniques, this study shows that perceptions are
structured by physical characteristics, activity patterns and symbolic boundaries. These perceptions are highly dependent on social position. While some residents in renewal areas display inclusionary attitudes, there is also evidence of middle class and lower class disaffiliation. Interestingly, these translate into different mental maps for both groups. The paper ends with a methodological reflection on using GIS-based boundary drawing in neighbourhood surveys to gauge fragmentation and place-based displacement.

This city profile provides a multi-dimensional overview on the most recent social, economic, political and spatial changes in the city of Amsterdam. We map the social-geography of the city, discussing recent housing and spatial development policies as well as city-regional political dynamics. Today, the city of Amsterdam is more diverse than ever, both ethnically and socially. The social geography of Amsterdam shows a growing core–periphery divide that underlines important economic and cultural asymmetries. The tradition of public subsidies and regulated housing currently allows for state-led gentrification within inner city neighborhoods. Public support for homeownership is changing the balance between social, middle and high-end housing segments. Changes in the tradition of large-scale interventions and strong public planning are likewise occurring. In times of austerity, current projects focus on small-scale and piecemeal interventions particularly oriented to stimulate entrepreneurialism in selected urban areas and often relate to creative economies and sustainable development. Finally, underlying these trends is a new political landscape composed of upcoming liberal and progressive parties, which together challenge the political equilibriums in the city region

Parental support, in both financial and non-financial ways, is important in explaining the residential
trajectories of young people leaving home. For instance, the influence of parental support on the
ability to leave home or enter homeownership is well established. This study adds a dimension by
investigating how inequalities in terms of parental background – particularly assets – are spatially
articulated. More specifically, we study whether parental background influences the types of
neighbourhoods young people leaving home move to. Drawing on the case of Amsterdam, we
show that these ‘fledglings’, despite their generally very modest income, disproportionally move
to gentrification neighbourhoods. Moreover, fledglings with wealthy parents are even more likely
to move to both early gentrifying and expensive mature-gentrification neighbourhoods.
Gentrification research should therefore also take into account the importance of middle class
social reproduction strategies as well as the potential intergenerational transfer of (financial)
resources – rather than merely personal financial situation – in shaping housing outcomes and
spatial inequalities of young people leaving home. Drawing on parental support, young people
may be able to outbid other households and hence exclude them from gentrifying neighbourhoods.
Consequently, parental wealth and other resources can thus contribute to gentrification
and exclusion.

ABSTRACT This paper argues that becoming a parent/carer can be seen as a new field of social relations and suggests how gender is the key mechanism in the reconfiguration of class relations in this field. By conceptualising parenthood as a field, that is a social world with specific stakes and rules, this study suggests that residential decisions and strategies developed by different middle-class households do not solely depend on their class habitus, but also on gendered positions and dispositions in respect to division of labour, child care and school choice. Drawing on interview data from London and Amsterdam, this study re-addresses the issue of middle–class time-space trajectories at a specific period in the life course. We contend that the middle classes are not just differentiated by various orientations of capital (economic versus cultural) but that interaction of class and gender is also key for understanding practices of the middle classes as they enter the field of parenthood. These practices are strongly influenced by labour market and welfare regimes (as the Netherlands/England comparison makes clear). In the new field of parenthood the work of realigning class habitus (through social reproduction) is highly gendered, but to different degrees that are made evident in the different neighbourhood settings. In terms of urban space this points to the significance of the particular neighbourhood structure and opportunities of the city as a whole as well as a more active idea of the role of space in the particular working out of class and gender in specific neighbourhood contexts. Urban space is a situating framework and an active process in trajectories of social reproduction.

Suburbanisation has been a prevalent process of post-war, capitalist urban growth, leading to the majority of citizens in many advanced capitalist economies currently living in the suburbs. We are also witnessing however the reverse movement of the increasing return to the inner-city. This contradiction raises questions regarding the socio-spatial production of current suburbanisation. This paper draws on the case of suburban, new town Almere in the metropolitan region of Amsterdam to cast light upon the changing  suburban-urban relationship, by investigating the mobility to and from Almere for two decades through municipal data. We demonstrate that Almere has developed from a typically suburban family community in the 1980s, to nowadays a receiver of both international unmarried newcomers and families, emphasizing alternative types of mobilities emerging in concert to the more typical suburban migration. The town’s transformation challenges the urban-suburban dichotomy, pointing to alternative explanations of contemporary urban growth and metropolitan integration.

In many western cities housing opportunities of young people are increasingly constrained due to housing market reforms and decreasing affordability as a result of processes of gentrification. Little is known about how young people deal with these constraints and how this differs across class and other boundaries. This paper addresses this question, by showing how young people make use of various forms of capital to gain access to specific sections of the housing market. Connecting concepts of Bourdieu and De Certeau to theories about housing pathways, this paper presents new ideas about how young people follow different pathways as they navigate the housing field. Next to a linear housing pathway, this paper presents two other housing pathway types: young households can either follow a chaotic pathway deliberately and relatively successfully or become trapped in a chaotic pathway. This paper shows the possession of various forms of capital and their utilization has a marked influence on the type of pathway young people follow.

Privatization and liberalization of the housing market are often used as governmental strategies for engineering the social composition of urban neighbourhoods. Drawing on longitudinal register data from the Social Statistical Database (SSB) this study reports findings from the highly-regulated housing context of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. By making use of regression modelling and GIS analyses, it is demonstrated that tenure conversions from rent to owner occupancy are not just bringing about changes in social class composition, but also affect the ethnic and demographic composition of the population. Moreover, it is shown that conversions from rent to owner occupancy have effects that are highly spatially specific. Our evidence suggests that tenure conversions may contribute to processes of gentrification in the inner city of Amsterdam, while tenure conversions in post-war neighbourhoods do not lead to a social upgrading and may even facilitate downgrading. In addition, trends in the converted section of the housing market are not just mirroring income developments but also seem to reflect trends in ethnic segregation, as well as demographic trends such as a renewed interest among families to live in the inner city.

In many western cities housing opportunities of young people are increasingly constrained due to housing market reforms and decreasing affordability as a result of processes of gentrification. Little is known about how young people deal with these constraints and how this differs across class and other boundaries. This paper addresses this question, by showing how young people make use of various forms of capital to gain access to specific sections of the housing market. Connecting concepts of Bourdieu and De Certeau to theories about housing pathways, this paper presents new ideas about how young people follow different pathways as they navigate the housing field. Next to a linear housing pathway, this paper presents two other housing pathway types: young households can either follow a chaotic pathway deliberately and relatively successfully or become trapped in a chaotic pathway. This paper shows the possession of various forms of capital and their utilization has a marked influence on the type of pathway young people follow.

Privatization and liberalization of the housing market are often used as governmental strategies for engineering the social composition of urban neighbourhoods. Drawing on longitudinal register data, this study reports findings from the highly-regulated housing context of Amsterdam. Through regression modelling and GIS-analyses, we demonstrate that tenure conversions from rent to owner-occupancy are not just bringing about changes in social-class composition, but also affect the ethnic and demographic compositions. Moreover, conversions from rent to ownership have highly spatially-specific effects. Our evidence suggests that tenure conversions may contribute to gentrification in the inner-city of Amsterdam, while conversions in post-war neighbourhoods do not lead to a social upgrading and may even facilitate downgrading. Furthermore, trends in the converted section of the housing market are not just mirroring income developments but also seem to reflect trends in ethnic segregation and demographic trends such as a renewed interest among families to live in the inner-city.

Starting in Amsterdam

Amsterdam has significantly increased in popularity the last decade: most of the inner city neighbourhoods are experiencing gentrification and the population has grown steadily – in 2012 the milestone of 800,000 inhabitants was passed. This success relates to the city’s function as an ‘escalator’: many young people move to the city to study or find work. At a later point, they might move out. Partly because housing construction has not kept up with population growth and growing housing market pressures this function is threatened.

Concerns exist that these growing pressures on the housing market disproportionally pose constraints on young households. The in- and through-flow of starters on the housing market has emerged as a growing problem. Furthermore, the structure of the Amsterdam housing market tends to favour other groups: the large social-rented sector is difficult to enter for young households due to long waiting times. Starters also have few opportunities to buy due to high housing prices and – since the crisis – strict mortgage lending criteria. This leaves the private-rented sector, which is both relatively small and expensive.

Research by the University of Amsterdam has studied the position of starters on the Amsterdam housing market. The findings paint a diffuse picture: on the one hand, the number of young households entering the Amsterdam housing market is, somewhat surprisingly, still increasing for starters in various life stages. Apparently, the desire to live in Amsterdam outweighs increasing housing costs.

Furthermore, many young households, despite having low incomes, are still able to move to expensive and gentrifying neighbourhoods.
On the other hand, however, sharper inequalities seem to be emerging. More so than for other generations, the rent quotes (the share of their income spent on housing) of young households significantly increased. Also, inequalities between starters with different backgrounds are growing. These inequalities clearly have a spatial dimension: for example, in spite of their low income, students and starters with wealthy parents are concentrated in the city’s most popular neighbourhoods such as the gentrified neighbourhoods Jordaan and De Pijp. However, starters with, for example, low-income parents, or ethnic backgrounds are increasingly found outside the ring road in the city’s more affordable neighbourhoods. The research hence suggests that better- off starters increasingly push out other starters.

We interviewed a large number of starters to gain more insight in the way they acquire housing. How is it possible that they move to the ‘best’ neighbourhoods even when they have low incomes? Instead of using financial resources to gain housing through official routes such as housing associations and real-estate agents, many young starter households use their social networks. Also, the high pressures on the housing market make illegal subletting and clandestine behaviour generally accepted. The most successful starters have (and use!) large social networks as well as a throughout knowledge of the city’s housing market. This rearticulates differences between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’.

To conclude, starters may still be able to find housing in Amsterdam, but costs and (inter- generational) inequalities are increasing. To prevent unsustainable and undesirable circumstances, like in London, a range of hard and soft measures are necessary to ensure the in- and through-flow of starters. Next to stimulating the construction of housing, the private rented sector seems to be the key. This sector provides the flexibility starters want. However, the sector is too small and too expensive.

Finally, even when starters can afford the rent, overly restrictive regulations – such as very high income requirements – prevent starters from entering the housing market. Addressing these issues is important if Amsterdam wishes to remain accessible for a high-potential young population as well as for less-advantaged starters. These groups’ enduring presence is essential for the city’s escalator function as well as imperative for its socially just character.

Age is often only implicitly acknowledged in gentrification processes. This contribution, however, places age centre stage to understand how the process has expanded into a major force of urban change. We specifically forward the importance of key transitions in the life course. While gentrification is generally associated with relatively young households, we specifically highlight the growing importance of middle-class families and ageing empty nesters and retirees, arguing for the emergence of gentrification as a multi-generational process with younger generations following in the footsteps of older ones. Inequalities between and within age groups, often related to housing restructuring, are also foregrounded. For young people it has become increasingly difficult to enter homeownership or secure rental housing. In contrast, an ageing generation has often been highly successful in accumulating housing wealth, amplifying their role in driving gentrification processes. A political economy surrounding and pushing these different age-specific forms of gentrification has emerged. The different age-specific forms of gentrification are likely to contribute to different forms of displacement hurting different residential groups.

Gentrification is generally understood as the class-based transformation of urban space, but it is also imagined as being connected to young adulthood, as a spatial expression of the time-space trajectories of particular middle-class fractions. Although gentrification studies often do acknowledge age, we argue that life course should be treated as a key dimension to understand gentrification and segregation, and the inequalities it brings about in people's lives cumulatively. Acknowledging the central role of demographic processes in urban transformations may also help us gain insight into the political economies of life course. In urban development, state and market actors may favour certain groups while excluding others, not only across social class but also between generations and life stages. In many contexts, young adults are struggling on the housing market. This is likely to have spatial implications, as specific groups of young adults may be excluded from privileged areas or cities in general. Likewise, the intergenerational transmission of inequalities through housing wealth has spatial impacts. Age and life course may play a broader, more general, role in forging urban inequalities as well. We call for papers that investigate how life course is implicated in gentrification, urban transformation and urban inequality more generally, focussing on differentiation in age and generation. We seek papers from both the Global North and Global South dealing with the following, or related, topics: • The intersections of class and age in gentrification processes • How intergenerational inequalities and the intergenerational transmission of inequalities unfold in urban space • How urban transformations are changing the geography of demographic transitions • The role of generations in historical and contemporary urban transformations • Young people in gentrification processes as both displacers and the displaced • The cumulative effects of housing and neighbourhood trajectories on life course and (dis)advantage • The politics of life course and age in urban development Please submit your abstract (max 250 words), with name, affiliation and contact details, to Willem Boterman (w.r.boterman@uva.nl) before October 18 th. Accepted applicants will be notified by October 20th and asked to register for the AAG conference by 25 October 2017.