By Geert De Pauw – Coordinator, Community Land Trust Brussels
The Bijlmer borough is a modernist, monofunctional high-rise neighbourhood on the south-eastern outskirts of Amsterdam. The City Council and housing cooperatives are thinking about the renewal of this area. Local residents are looking for suitable and affordable housing, and space for their community activities and local businesses as a way to anchor their future in the neighbourhood. And a few young social innovators are looking for a place in Amsterdam to test the Community Land Trust model.
On 29 and 30 August all these groups came together for a "Design Sprint". CLTB was also there. As part of the SHICC project, we wanted to share our Brussels experience with the Amsterdammers. After one and a half days of intense work, we prepared a first sketch of how a CLT could be legally shaped in the Netherlands, how it could be financed and what spatial form CLT projects in the Bijlmer area could take. The workshop ended with the preparation of a roadmap, which sets out the first steps towards the realization of these ideas. The needs are there, the opportunities exist, and a first group of enthusiastic people is ready to take responsibility: all the ingredients to make CLT Bijlmer a success.
More information: https://www.cltbijlmer.nl/