Amsterdam’s current housing plan literally gives residents a hands-on role in solving the city’s crisis of housing affordability. Literally. While most cities are consulting with residents, 13 sites in Amsterdam have been set aside for residents to build housing1 and to develop multi-unit housing co-operatives2. By 2040, the council wants to add 40,000 co-operatively owned homes to the city’s housing stock.
The City of Amsterdam has invited development proposals from people interested in developing housing co-operatives. The City has also set aside funding to support construction of co-operative housing developments. High level details of the sites and the loan program are available at the City of Amsterdam3: Wooncoöperaties Amsterdam
De Torteltuin is one of the groups in the running to develop a housing co-operative. The idea to build a co-operative took root during the pandemic. Read more about this co-operative’s story at their web page: De Torteltuin and in The Guardian: ‘What If We Built Our Own?’: Young Amsterdammers Fight Housing Crisis With Cooperative Build
Footnotes
- Try: In A Sea Of Costly Housing, Amsterdam Encourages ‘Paddle Your Own Canoe’
- For more on the structures of housing co-operatives, try Housing Co-Operatives: What Are They And What Are They Good For?
- The page is in Dutch and accessible in other languages by using on-line translation services.
