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In Europe the groups single adults without children and couples without children are the largest groups of private households by household composition and these groups are increasing. Therefore the question; how to create housing that supports their needs is significant.

Looking more specific to the group of young people starting on the real estate market, it is important to understand that for them the identity of the district, the building and the interior is important. Furthermore the private, collective and public space needs to allow opportunities for social interaction with friends, neighbours and people who share interests. Lastly, its importance to create choice, in the type of house, the surrounding amenities and the mobility.

Currently, due to the high prices at the real estate market and the insufficient regulations concerning alternative ways of living, the cities of Flanders are not attractive for a big part of the groups: single adults without children and couples without children. This is a dangerous situation for these cities because the households with children already have the tendency to move out of the city, unless they have a very positive relation with the city.

Rotterdam Examples.

Youngsters between the age of 15 and 20 are a larger part of the Rotterdam population than they are in any other larger Dutch city. However, youngsters between the age of 20 and 30 are a larger part of the Amsterdam and Utrecht population than they are in Rotterdam. Therefore the Rotterdam municipality, together with housing corporations and developers, are setting up different projects to attract young people to the city.

Rotterdam universities select their best graduates to participate in a contest organised by the municipality, different housing corporations and developers. The winner of the contest can rent an apartment with a discount for the first 2 years. From the 3 year on, (s)he needs to pay the full rent. These apartments are in iconic buildings in the centre of the city, near amenities and public transport.

The other selected, but not winning students also get an interesting offer from the organisation.

2. Starters on the real estate market.

Some years ago, a Rotterdam housing corporation started with a new format to attract starters to live in the inner city of Rotterdam near amenities and public transport.

The principle of the format is that the corporation sells their former rental houses at a price between 80 000 and 120 000 euros, they keep taking care of the external facades, roof and collective spaces, they offer a cheaper insurance for the house and guarantee they will buy the house if the starter would like to sell it again.

If the starter sells the house after 1 year then 50 percent of the added value is for the starter. Every year he stays longer, 10 percent is added until after 6 years, the whole added value is for the starter.

One eighth of the former property of the corporation is sold using this format. With the money received from selling these houses (approximately 50 000 euro a house), the housing corporation reinvests in their property.

3. Young Couples

Succeeding a popular TV Show ‘The Block’ in which several young couples are renovating an apartment in a building block, the Rotterdam municipality together with housing corporation, offered cheap houses in more deprived areas of Rotterdam to be renovated by private initiative. Young individuals or couples have to register at an office who first checks if they meet the requirements and during the renovation process coaches them. After one year the house has to suffice minimal renovation requirements and the new owners have to live there at least 3 years before they can sell the house.

These initiatives are successful and support the strategy to attract young people to live in Rotterdam. However, at the moment these initiatives are still separately organised, isn’t there more to gain with a long-term strategy (supply, financing and regulation)?

The title of the workshop ‘microclimates_ for regional diversity’ intrigued the group. How can something as small as a MICROclimate have an influence on a REGIONAL scale? Working intensively for two weeks on Microclimates, trying to describe or define them and testing this definition on 2 case study locations, the group discovered some recurring principles. By abstracting the design principles used on the different locations, a methodology exposed.

The methodology exists of 3 parts: scouting the area, locating the problem and applying the toolbox.

1. Scouting the area.

Trying to describe microclimates, the group visited the Old West in Rotterdam and put down in words their impressions. With these words the group visited Laakhaven in The Hague and decided that microclimates can be described with the following words; Expressive, Synergy, Democratic, Human and Trigger Your Senses.

Drawings: Valeria Loddo and Ekaterina Yurchenko.

A microclimate is Expressive if there is an iconic expressive building or an ensemble of buildings, if humans express themselves by art (legal or illegal) in or towards the public space.

There is a Synergy in a microclimate if there is a connection with the surrounding quarters, a sequence of different spaces, a space that attracts different people and if the shops show a wide variety.

A microclimate is Democratic if people of all ages can live there or make use of it, if they can come in contact with green spaces, if the area is fit for groups as well as individuals and if there is a clear distinction between vivid and silent spaces.

A microclimate has a Human scale if there is a connection and a clear border between the public and the private atmosphere, horizontal as well as vertical, if there is a hierarchy of spaces and if guests feel welcome in the area.

A microclimate is never in a fixed state, it changes by season, by day, by night, ... These changes Trigger Your Senses and therefore a microclimate is able to surprise you again and again.

The group learned that scouting the area from the perspective of these words makes you aware of different qualities and problems which other urban analysis don’t always show.

2. Locating the problem.

Heatmaps of the areas, one for every word, showed if the microclimates had a good quality and if there was a good relation between the building, the public space and the programme. Problems occur when there was no cooperative relation between these three.

3. Applying the toolbox.

The interventions in the toolbox are ordered by the relation between the building, the public space and the programme they focus on.

Project: Andika Japa Wibisana

The sections of the areas demonstrated a series of different well-chosen interventions. The interventions improved the human scale within the location, made the space more expressive or created more synergy between the area and the surrounding areas. The sections also demonstrated that interventions can work on the scale of the area, as well as on the scale of the city. Comparing the sections from the different locations proved that the interventions were very location specific. This methodology could therefore diverse the microclimates in the region.

Project: Abraham Cohen

The supervisors of the summer school were Duzan Doepel, Rogier van den Berg. The students participating on the summer school were Abraham Cohen, Herve Dawodu, Valeria Loddo, Aanchal Subbaiah, Andika Japa Wibisana, Ekaterina Yurchenko.