To make leaps in housing development, city government must focus on areas outside built-up areas. So say experts Studio040 spoke to for the final story of a triptych on the housing challenge.
The first part of this trilogy was about the economic blow that the housing shortage may be about to cause in the city. In part two, we looked at the role commercial parties are playing in Eindhoven’s housing challenge.
Peter Boelhouwer, professor of public housing policy at TU Delft, is not impressed with the Municipality of Eindhoven’s housing policy. He feels that the municipality is not showing the decisiveness needed to solve the great housing shortage. The preference of the city council to want to build mainly within the built-up area, according to him, stands in the way of successful policy.
After all, building in the city centre is complex and requires a relatively large amount of civil service, Boelhouwer explained. “Building in the centre is very complicated. You always have to deal with many owners. And also with objections from local residents, and a complicated spatial task: how will the traffic flow?” No wonder, then, that so far that has resulted in only a limited number of homes.
Not enough
Construction does take place in restructuring areas. Think Stadshart (city heart) Woensel/ WoensXL shopping centre, KnoopXL, Sectie-C, Stadhuisplein and, in the future, Fellenoord. “In those areas municipalities own the land, then there will be construction. But it’s not enough”.
Boelhouwer thinks that with building on the edges of the city, there are actually solutions. “On the edges of the city there are fewer challenges. Municipalities can use the right of first refusal and if necessary expropriate – there are good legal instruments for that. But you have to want to build there”.
Airport
Thom Aussems, housing expert and former top executive of housing corporation Trudo, has another idea about this. “If you look at Eindhoven Airport. That’s a huge area but its contribution to the economy is zero”, Aussems said of the area being the size of a medium-sized village.
“I don’t know any company that takes up so much space and at the same time generates so little economic activity. Moreover, they want to expand at Eindhoven Air Base, but flying F-35s there will be a problem for high-tech companies, so that’s not going to happen. So relocation is the best option for that as well. Finally, it reduces the nitrogen amount”.
Aussems therefore agrees with Boelhouwer’s words that the city government should look more at the edges of the city. “But it does depend on where you end up. If you’re going to build thousands of homes in Eersel, you’re cutting yourself in half because it triggers a huge amount of parking movements. Do you build on the edges of Eindhoven, in Best, Veldhoven and Nuenen? Then it can be successful, but even then you have to keep the mobility issue in mind, you have to make sure the urban area stays within cycling distance”.
Complicated
Still, the city council is making other considerations. The lack of bus routes to Welschap was used precisely to avoid building housing on the undeveloped land along A2. Just as an increase in traffic movements to the “nature reserve” was a reason to shoot down the housing plan of fellow landowner VDL.
The focus thus remains on complex projects within the built-up area. This also becomes clear from the land policy: land was purchased in this administrative period exclusively at large redevelopment locations, namely Fellenoord, Kastelenplein and Woensel shopping centre. The preferential rights acquired by the municipality also relate to these locations.
Nevertheless, the Municipality of Eindhoven announces that it is also looking elsewhere within the city limits for suitable sites for housing. “The entire city is looking for opportunities to build additional housing. The edges of the city are also being examined for opportunities for densification. We will do this carefully and, if necessary, in coordination with the province”.
Next step
But that doesn’t dismiss Boelhouwer’s criticism. “There really will have to be a leap forward, the airport can help but there are more places. There are plenty of legal instruments to get nails in the coffin. You can use the right of first refusal and with expropriation you can also do a lot. But they want to build inner-city at all costs and that’s very complicated”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
