Displacement myths : The real and presumed effects of forced relocations resulting from urban renewal

Abstract

In recent decades, the mixing of housing types has been a common practice in American and Western European cities. However, the effectiveness of mixing policies is hotly debated by tenants and their associations, journalists, community activists, policymakers and scholars. In response to this, many scientific studies have examined whether mixing policies indeed have the desired effects in the targeted areas: an alleviation of problems related to concentrations of low-income residents such as physical deterioration, low levels of safety and liveability, and weak social cohesion. Although there are also major concerns about the effects of forcibly relocating residents in order to create more mixed neighbourhoods, far fewer studies have investigated the effects of displacement. Hanneke Posthumus’ dissertation contributes to filling this gap. In examining the validity of these concerns in the Dutch context of social mixing, it shows that the beliefs about the negative effects of the displacement of residents should not be overstated: they are closer to myths than actual facts.