IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v56y2019i8p1647-1663.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of physical restructuring on the socioeconomic status of neighbourhoods: Selective migration and upgrading

Author

Listed:
  • Merle Zwiers

    (Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands)

  • Maarten van Ham

    (Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands; University of St Andrews, UK)

  • Reinout Kleinhans

    (Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands)

Abstract

In the last few decades, many governments have implemented urban restructuring programmes with the main goal of combating a variety of socioeconomic problems in deprived neighbourhoods. The main instrument of restructuring has been housing diversification and tenure mixing. The demolition of low-quality (social) housing and the construction of owner-occupied or private rented dwellings was expected to change the population composition of deprived neighbourhoods through the in-migration of middle- and high-income households. Many studies have been critical with regard to the success of such policies in actually upgrading neighbourhoods. Using data from the 31 largest Dutch cities for the 1999 to 2013 period, this study contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of large-scale demolition and new construction on neighbourhood income developments on a low spatial scale. We use propensity score matching to isolate the direct effects of policy by comparing restructured neighbourhoods with a set of control neighbourhoods with low demolition rates, but with similar socioeconomic characteristics. The results indicate that large-scale demolition leads to socioeconomic upgrading of deprived neighbourhoods as a result of attracting and maintaining middle- and high-income households. We find no evidence of spillover effects to nearby neighbourhoods, suggesting that physical restructuring only has very local effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Merle Zwiers & Maarten van Ham & Reinout Kleinhans, 2019. "The effects of physical restructuring on the socioeconomic status of neighbourhoods: Selective migration and upgrading," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(8), pages 1647-1663, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:56:y:2019:i:8:p:1647-1663
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098018772980
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098018772980
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0042098018772980?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Willem R. Boterman & Wouter P.C. Gent, 2014. "Housing Liberalisation and Gentrification: The Social Effects of Tenure Conversions in Amsterdam," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 140-160, April.
    2. Annalies Teernstra, 2014. "Neighbourhood Change, Mobility and Incumbent Processes: Exploring Income Developments of In-migrants, Out-migrants and Non-migrants of Neighbourhoods," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(5), pages 978-999, April.
    3. Gideon Bolt & Ronald van Kempen & Maarten van Ham, 2008. "Minority Ethnic Groups in the Dutch Housing Market: Spatial Segregation, Relocation Dynamics and Housing Policy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(7), pages 1359-1384, June.
    4. Roger Andersson & Sako Musterd, 2005. "Area‐Based Policies: A Critical Appraisal," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 96(4), pages 377-389, September.
    5. Paul Lawless, 2011. "Understanding the Scale and Nature of Outcome Change in Area-Regeneration Programmes: Evidence from the New Deal for Communities Programme in England," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(3), pages 520-532, June.
    6. William A. V. Clark & Philip S. Morrison, 2012. "Socio-spatial Mobility and Residential Sorting: Evidence from a Large-scale Survey," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(15), pages 3253-3270, November.
    7. Kleinhans, Reinout & van Ham, Maarten, 2013. "Lessons Learned from the Largest Tenure Mix Operation in the World: Right to Buy in the United Kingdom," IZA Discussion Papers 7168, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Ingrid Gould Ellen & Ioan Voicu, 2006. "Nonprofit housing and neighborhood spillovers," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 31-52.
    9. Christian Nygaard & Geoffrey Meen, 2013. "The Distribution of London Residential Property Prices and the Role of Spatial Lock-in," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(12), pages 2535-2552, September.
    10. Roger Andersson, 2006. "'Breaking Segregation'—Rhetorical Construct or Effective Policy? The Case of the Metropolitan Development Initiative in Sweden," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(4), pages 787-799, April.
    11. Reinout Kleinhans & David Varady, 2011. "Moving Out and Going Down? A Review of Recent Evidence on Negative Spillover Effects of Housing Restructuring Programmes in the United States and the Netherlands," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 155-174.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zwiers, Merle & Bolt, Gideon & van Ham, Maarten & van Kempen, Ronald, 2014. "Neighborhood Decline and the Economic Crisis," IZA Discussion Papers 8749, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Zwiers, Merle & Kleinhans, Reinout & van Ham, Maarten, 2015. "Divided Cities: Increasing Socio-Spatial Polarization within Large Cities in the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 8882, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Aarland, Kristin & Osland, Liv & Gjestland, Arnstein, 2017. "Do area-based intervention programs affect house prices? A quasi-experimental approach," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 67-83.
    4. Sako Musterd & Wouter PC van Gent & Marjolijn Das & Jan Latten, 2016. "Adaptive behaviour in urban space: Residential mobility in response to social distance," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(2), pages 227-246, February.
    5. Sanne Boschman & Maarten van Ham, 2015. "Neighbourhood selection of non-Western ethnic minorities: testing the own-group effects hypothesis using a conditional logit model," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(5), pages 1155-1174, May.
    6. Sarah E. Larson & Deborah A. Carroll, 2023. "Now you're tax‐exempt, now you're not: Property taxation of assisted living facilities," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 3-20, March.
    7. Philipp M. Lersch, 2013. "Place Stratification or Spatial Assimilation? Neighbourhood Quality Changes after Residential Mobility for Migrants in Germany," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(5), pages 1011-1029, April.
    8. Zwiers, Merle & van Ham, Maarten & Manley, David, 2016. "Trajectories of Neighborhood Change: Spatial Patterns of Increasing Ethnic Diversity," IZA Discussion Papers 10216, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Manuel Fernández-García & Clemente J. Navarro & Irene Gómez-Ramirez, 2021. "Evaluating Territorial Targets of European Integrated Urban Policy. The URBAN and URBANA Initiatives in Spain (1994–2013)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Pan Ké Shon, Jean-Louis & Verdugo, Gregory, 2014. "Forty Years of Immigrant Segregation in France, 1968-2007: How Different Is the New Immigration?," IZA Discussion Papers 8062, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Gregory Verdugo & Sorana Toma, 2018. "Can Public Housing Decrease Segregation? Lessons and Challenges From Non-European Immigration in France," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(5), pages 1803-1828, October.
    12. Chunhui Liu & Weixuan Song, 2019. "Perspectives of Socio-Spatial Differentiation from Soaring Housing Prices: A Case Study in Nanjing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, May.
    13. William A. V. Clark & Philip S. Morrison, 2012. "Socio-spatial Mobility and Residential Sorting: Evidence from a Large-scale Survey," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(15), pages 3253-3270, November.
    14. Stonawski, Marcin Jan & Rogne, Adrian F. & Bang, Henrik & Christensen, Henning & Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde, 2019. "Ethnic Segregation and Native Out-Migration in Copenhagen," SocArXiv tx7b6, Center for Open Science.
    15. Linda Bakker & Karien Dekker, 2012. "Social Trust in Urban Neighbourhoods: The Effect of Relative Ethnic Group Position," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(10), pages 2031-2047, August.
    16. Jessie Bakens & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Peter Mulder, 2018. "Ethnic drift and white flight: A gravity model of neighborhood formation," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 921-948, November.
    17. Deborah A. Carroll & Christopher B. Goodman, 2022. "Neighborhood Institutions and Residential Home Sales: Evaluating the Impact of Property Tax Exemptions," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 247-273, February.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/31cfdhnp1f8asp29hjnqv33slt is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Schuetz, Jenny & Spader, Jonathan & Cortes, Alvaro, 2016. "Have distressed neighborhoods recovered? Evidence from the neighborhood stabilization program," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 30-48.
    20. Tal Modai-Snir & Pnina Plaut, 2019. "The analysis of residential sorting trends: Measuring disparities in socio-spatial mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(2), pages 288-300, February.
    21. Sako Musterd & Ronald Van Kempen, 2009. "Segregation And Housing Of Minority Ethnic Groups In Western European Cities," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 100(4), pages 559-566, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    demolition; neighbourhood change; selective migration; urban restructuring;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:56:y:2019:i:8:p:1647-1663. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.