Like so many cities around the world, Amsterdam has been gambling on shelter as a means to generating wealth for all. And like many other communities, it is discovering that by churning housing ownership, wealth may well be achieved by speculators, whether individual or corporate. But in the process, those speculators are extracting wealth from growing numbers who are being squeezed towards poverty, even homelessness as they are faced with renting and/or owning housing that is increasingly unaffordable.
Is Amsterdam proposing a magic bullet to solve the problem? Far from it. How about . . . a thousand of them? That’s how many recommendations came out of a joint initiative by the city of Amsterdam, housing corporations, and residents. Those ideas have been distilled into a number of recommendations.
Are any of Amsterdam’s ideas for solving the housing crisis of interest in other jurisdictions? Read more at EURACTIVE: Amsterdam presents new plan to tackle housing crisis
