The struggle of a community: A case study of a community struggling against the effects of gentrification through the use of a CLT

Abstract

Worldwide, cities struggle to provide sufficient affordable housing for their residents. This is also the case in Amsterdam, where a change in demand in combination with the promotion of homeownership led to a strong decline in the social housing stock. This led to gentrification in some neighbourhoods. Every part of the city has its development regarding these processes, but the community of the H-buurt in the southeast of Amsterdam currently experiences the threat of gentrification. Gentrification is a complex phenomenon that is not receptive to a single definition. Many different authors have shed light on the concept and there are different schools of thought on the exact functioning of the process. Distinctive for all gentrification processes is that they revolve around neighbourhood change, whereby affluent people start to move into a neighbourhood which is mainly inhabited by people with lower incomes. The influx of more affluent citizens causes housing prices to rise and eventually leads to displacement pressure or the displacement of people with lower incomes (Boterman & van Gent, 2014; Doucet, 2014; Hamnett, 1991; Zukin et al., 2009). This study aims to explore the potential application of community land trusts in the Netherlands and their impact on gentrification processes. So, what are community land trusts? These are non-profit organisations that hold land for a community. A characteristic of this community is that the members are typically bound through the area they inhabit. A CLT functions as a steward for affordable housing and other forms of community infrastructure in perpetuity, on behalf of and in favour of the community (Center for Community Land Trust Innovation, 2022). Even though there are studies that suggest a moderating effect of CLTs on gentrification, there is not extensive enough research to give a definitive statement about this (Angotti, 2007; Bunce, 2018; Choi et al., 2017; Engelsman, 2016). Therefore, more research is needed in which different contexts are explored. To fulfil the aim of this research, a case study was conducted. The chosen case is the CLT Hbuurt located in the aforementioned southeastern part of Amsterdam. Not only does this case offer an outlook into the emergence of a CLT in a different context, but it is also the first CLT that is set up in the Netherlands. This CLT aims to create affordable housing and community infrastructure, all in favour of the local community. The case was researched through qualitative research during which semi-structured interviews were held with actors in the dynamic of the case study, as well as with experts in the field of CLTs that were not directly involved in the case. The results of these interviews went into the conditions that lead to the emergence of CLTs. The internal governance of CLTs. The governance challenges of CLTs and the potential impact that CLTs could have on communities. These topics were discussed in regard to the case, and the general information gathered from the expert interviews. The results of this study suggest that CLTs often result from the existence of a strong community within a financialised housing system from which the community feels excluded, even though the context in which CLTs are set up varies extensively. Besides these conditions, the model itself has many variations to it. Therefore, it can be applied in many different contexts and can be tailored to different systems. In the CLT H-buurt, this variation was also used as the division of seats on the board is different from most CLTs as it has no public representatives. A further characteristic of CLTs is the dependence on governments. In many cases, governments provide CLTs with funding and/or land. This creates a certain level of dependability which makes CLTs vulnerable to political developments that might change th