Retaining Rotterdam s Elites

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1 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites Urban binding of Rotterdam s educated inhabitants and the role of leisure Final Master thesis Arjan Koster January 2011 Delft University of Technology Faculty of Architecture Department of Real Estate and Housing

2 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites Urban binding of Rotterdam s educated inhabitants and the role of leisure Final Report Author: Arjan Koster Student number: University: Faculty: Department: Graduation lab: Primary mentor: Secondary mentor: External examiner: Arjan_koster86@hotmail.com Delft University of Technology Architecture Real Estate and Housing (REH) Leisure and Retail Dr. ir. D.C. Kooijman Dr. C.J. van Oel Dr. Ir. R.M. Rooij P5 presentation date: 18 January 2011 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster ii

3 Preface This is my final master thesis for the Real Estate and Housing master at the Faculty of Architecture at the Delft University of Technology. As the title of this thesis already states, it is aimed at the city of Rotterdam and its elite class inhabitants. These elites are well educated and professionally trained and have at least a bachelor degree. The objective of this thesis is to provide more insight on the preferences of these elite class inhabitants, to find out which settlement elements are important to them and to find out which role leisure has in their settlement choice. The subject of this thesis came into being after a news article in the Dutch newsletter NRC Handelsblad about Rotterdam and its leisure facilities. In this article, author Marcel Möring made some statements about Rotterdam and its leisure facilities. Möring states that leisure facilities, in particular cultural facilities, are an important element for retaining the elite class inhabitants. His publication has led to a public discussion with politicians and professionals who argued about the importance of cultural leisure facilities and other kinds of settlement elements that would be of importance to retain Rotterdam s elites. The cause of this article and the public discussion is based on the issue of negative selective migration in Rotterdam, which means that on average more well educated people (elite class inhabitants) are leaving the city, rather than coming into the city. This discussion together with the negative selective migration issue have led to this thesis, where insight will be given in the importance of several settlement elements and preferences of the elite class in habitants of Rotterdam. The report is divided in four parts and contains eight chapters. The first three chapters are about the research framework, the chapters four, five and six contain literature studies about the history and performance of Rotterdam and leisure time and activities. Chapter seven describes the results of the practical research and the final chapter contains the final conclusions and recommendations. I would like to thank both my supervisors from the Delft University of Technology, Dr. Ir. D. Kooijman and Dr. C. van Oel for their support and guidance through the research process and I would like to thank my examiner Dr. Ir. R. M. Rooij (Delft University of Technology) for commissioning the process. My gratitude also goes out to Wim van der Zanden and Vera van den Maagdenberg (COS Rotterdam) for their feedback and assistance with during the practical part of the research. Finally I would like to thank all those people who were willing to help and have participated in the internet survey. Delft, January 2011 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster iii

4 Contents Preface... iii Contents... iv Nederlandse samenvatting (Dutch summary)... vi 1. Introduction Background Discussion and criticism Theoretical framework An attractive city Overview of elements Research framework Problem description Problem statement Research questions Demarcations Research methodology Read instructions Development of Rotterdam History of Rotterdam Rotterdam in the 19th century The World Sea Port Rotterdam Consequences of the WOII Reconstruction after WOII Changed role of the (inner) city Rotterdam in the 21th century Conclusion Current performance of Rotterdam Overall performance of Rotterdam Economy of Rotterdam Population of Rotterdam The labour force of Rotterdam Safety of Rotterdam Facilities in Rotterdam The housing market of Rotterdam Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster iv

5 5.8 The quality of the environment in Rotterdam The accessibility of Rotterdam Conclusion Leisure time and consumption behaviour The economical importance of leisure Available leisure time Leisure activities Conclusion Settlement and leisure preferences of elites Response analyses Settlement elements of the elite class Priorities Importance of accessibility Facilities in the immediate environment Exploring leisure Other analysis Conclusions and recommendations Conclusions Recommendations for further research Afterword Bibliography Appendixes A: Accompanying letter for the respondents B: Questionnaire of the survey C: Ranking model for the TOP5 priorities D: Composite variables (cronbach s alpha) E: Overview of logistic regression models Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster v

6 Nederlandse samenvatting (Dutch summary) Aanleiding en onderzoeksvraag Rotterdam heeft zich door de geschiedenis heen ontwikkeld tot een wereldhavenstad met een sterke industriële sector. De werkgelegenheid in de industriële sector is in de laatste decennia echter sterk afgenomen. Industrie en haven gerelateerde werkzaamheden zijn geautomatiseerd en met de globalisering van de economie gedeeltelijk verplaatst vanuit het Westen naar Azië of andere gebieden. Steeds meer mensen zijn nu werkzaam in de kennisintensieve, creatieve en dienstverlenende sectoren van de economie. Voor deze nieuwe economische sectoren is een kundige en hoog opgeleide beroepsbevolking van groot belang, zij zijn immers het productiemiddel geworden. Rotterdam heeft de ambitie om deel te nemen in deze creatieve en kennis economie, de beschikking over een hoog opgeleide beroepsbevolking is daarom ook voor deze stad van groot belang. Net als in veel andere grote steden bestaat er echter in Rotterdam een spanningsveld tussen de roltrapfunctie van de stad voor mensen aan het begin van hun maatschappelijke levensloop en het effect daarvan op de migratiebalans van de stad. Jongeren komen hier naartoe voor een opleiding aan hogeschool of universiteit, vinden hier hun eerste baan en woonruimte en vaak ook een partner. Stijging op de roltrap brengt andere wensen met zich mee, waardoor een deel van de hoog opgeleide stijgers de stad weer inruilt voor een minder stedelijke woonomgeving. Dit leidt tot een selectieve migratie met een vertrek van veelal hoger opgeleiden met een hoger inkomen en een vestiging van mensen onderaan de maatschappelijke ladder met een lager inkomen. Deze ontwikkeling is door de gemeente Rotterdam opgemerkt en er is een toekomstvisie ontwikkeld en een strategisch plan opgesteld die het tij moeten keren. Een doelstelling is geformuleerd om de economie te versterken en daarnaast een aantrekkelijke woonstad te worden waar iedereen zich in thuis voelt. Vrijetijdsvoorzieningen (Leisure) hebben tot op heden hierbij een belangrijke rol gespeeld. In het centrum van de stad zijn diverse voorzieningen aangebracht om de aantrekkelijkheid van de stad te vergroten. Ook thema s gericht op winkelen, cultuur, moderne architectuur, sport, enz. en diverse evenementen zijn gebruikt om de stad aantrekkelijk te maken. Zo won Rotterdam in 2005 voor de 2 e keer een nationale titel voor beste evenementen stad en is Rotterdam in 2010 zelfs uitgeroepen tot werelds beste festival stad in de categorie tot 1 miljoen inwoners, door de International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) uit de Verenigde Staten. De voorzieningen zorgen voor omzet en veel bezoekers. Het is echter de vraag of deze voorzieningen ook bijdragen aan het behouden van de hoger opgeleide Rotterdammer (Rotterdams Elite). De discussie die ontstaan is na de publicatie van de schrijver Marcel Möring geeft een beeld van de verdeeldheid die heerst. In september 2009 heeft de schrijver Marcel Möring een artikel gepubliceerd in het NRC handelsblad. In dit artikel heeft hij de stelling ingenomen dat een kwalitatief aanbod van cultuur van groot belang is voor het aantrekken en behouden van de elite in Rotterdam. Het huidige aanbod zou te oppervlakkig zijn. Naar aanleiding van deze publicatie is een debat gehouden, waarbij naast de schrijver zelf ook politici en diverse professionals aanwezig waren. Tijdens deze discussie werd Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster vi

7 duidelijk dat er verschillende meningen zijn over het behouden van de Rotterdamse elite. Sommige geven Marcel Möring gelijk, andere noemen bijvoorbeeld de woningmarkt in Rotterdam als belangrijkste aandachtspunt. Het blijft onduidelijk welke elementen van belang zijn en prioriteit dienen te krijgen in Rotterdam. Dit onderzoek richt zich op deze discussie, op het behoud van Rotterdams elite en de rol van leisure. De onderzoeksvraag waarop in dit onderzoek is geprobeerd een antwoord te geven is de volgende: Welke rol heeft leisure binnen de verschillende vestigingsfactoren voor de elite in Rotterdam, en welke leisure voorzieningen zijn gewenst in de directe omgeving van de woning? Methodologie Voor beantwoording van de hoofdvraag is gebruik gemaakt van literatuuronderzoek en een enquête. Er is eerst literatuur gezocht die ingaat op de aantrekkelijkheid van de stad. Uit deze literatuur zijn diverse variabelen naar voren gekomen die gebruikt zijn als uitgangspunt voor een enquête onder de elite van Rotterdam. Aangezien het onderzoek zich specifiek richt op de stad Rotterdam is literatuur onderzoek verricht naar de historische ontwikkeling van de stad Rotterdam. Daarnaast is onderzoek gedaan naar de huidige prestaties van Rotterdam (op gebied van: economie, bevolking, veiligheid, woonomgeving, bereikbaarheid, etc.) en de huidige vrije tijd en vrijetijdsbestedingen. Dit alles om een compleet beeld te verkrijgen van de context en de problemen die zich in deze stad afspelen en de rol die vrije tijd heeft in het hedendaagse leven. Vervolgens zijn er door middel van 3 gelijkwaardige steekproeven 2250 Rotterdammers benaderd om deel te nemen aan een enquête. De steekproeven zijn gehouden in het centrum (Kop van Zuid), het rustigstedelijk gebied rondom het centrum (Hillegersberg-Zuid en Blijdorp) en het groenstedelijk gebied aan de rand van de stad (Prinsenland en s Gravenland). Daarnaast zijn ook medewerkers benaderd van een viertal organisaties in Rotterdam (met een hoog potentieel aan hoger opgeleiden) en zijn mensen benaderd via het sociale netwerk Linkedin. Met behulp van het programma SPSS zijn vervolgens analyses uitgevoerd en de resultaten verwerkt. Theoretisch kader: De aantrekkelijkheid van de stad In 2002 heeft de Amerikaanse wetenschapper Richard Florida een boek gepubliceerd genaamd The rise of the creative class dat tot veel discussie heeft geleid bij academici en in de beleidskringen. In zijn boek geeft Florida naast zijn theorie over de opkomende creatieve economie ook een beschrijving van de levensstijl en woonvoorkeuren van zijn creatieve klasse. Deze creatieve klasse bestaat uit wetenschappers, ingenieurs, artiesten, muzikanten, ontwerpers en kenniswerkers. Een groep die raakvlak heeft met de te behouden elite in Rotterdam. Volgens Florida let deze groep bij het kiezen van de woonlocatie vooral op de kwaliteit van de locatie. Vroeger vestigden de meeste mensen zich nabij hun werk. Tegenwoordig heeft het werk haar dominante rol verloren in de vestigingskeuze en is de kwaliteit van de locatie bepalend. Deze kwaliteit wordt beschreven als een breed begrip die naast fysieke elementen als de woning en Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster vii

8 woonomgeving ook een aantal andere vestigingselementen bevat. Florida noemt ook sociale interactie met anderen, het opdoen van nieuwe ervaringen en belevingen en de identiteit als belangrijke elementen. Zijn creatieve klasse bestaat uit mensen met een actieve levensstijl die er vaak op uit trekken in hun vrije tijd. Een gevarieerd aanbod van leisure voorzieningen en activiteiten is van belang. Er zijn naast de thesis van Florida uit de USA nog een tweetal andere Nederlandse literatuurbronnen gebruikt, die beide een beschrijving geven van wat een woonlocatie aantrekkelijk maakt. De studies Van den Berg et al. (1999) en van Lia Karsten (2007). Opvallend is dat voorzieningen bij beide bronnen een belangrijke rol hebben. Van den Berg et al. noemen met name de bereikbaarheid van stedelijke voorzieningen van doorslaggevend belang. Lia Karsten, die specifiek onderzoek heeft uitgevoerd in Rotterdam, noemt dat directe nabijheid van voorzieningen gewaardeerd wordt door de inwoners in Rotterdam. Daarnaast noemen Van den Berg et al. net als Florida dat de kwaliteit van een locatie bepalend is voor de vestigingskeuze. Ook geven beide bronnen nog een aantal andere vestigingselementen die van belang zijn voor de aantrekkelijkheid van een stad. Deze vestigingselementen zijn samengevoegd en gebruikt als input voor de enquête. De volgende vestigingselementen (variabelen) zijn naar voren gekomen uit de literatuur: De bereikbaarheid, de woning kwaliteit, de kwaliteit van de omgeving, voorzieningen (leisure, winkels, zorg en educatief), sociale relaties, de bevolking, de veiligheid, het imago, werkgelegenheid. Historische ontwikkeling van de stad Rotterdam De geschiedenis van Rotterdam wordt gekenmerkt door een aantal belangrijke ontwikkelingen. De stad heeft al sinds de middeleeuwen een sterke relatie met scheepvaart, de grootste groei maakte de stad door met de opkomst van de industrialisatie en na de aanleg van de nieuwe waterweg. Vanwege zijn geografische liggen werd Rotterdam al vroeg in de 20 ste eeuw een van de belangrijkste doorvoerhavens van Europa. Echter, tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog is een groot gedeelte van de stad verwoest en zijn veel mensen hun woning kwijt geraakt. De hoge woningnood en de functionele bouwprincipes na de oorlog hebben geleid tot een woningvoorraad die door de huidige woonconsument als kwalitatief matig wordt beschouwd, gebouwd in monotone wijken. De stad werd al snel als grauw en ongezellig ervaren, veel mensen hebben de stad verlaten en zich in de omliggende gemeenten gevestigd. Daarnaast is sinds deze periode ook een toename zichtbaar van het aantal immigranten dat zich in Nederland heeft gevestigd. In de jaren zeventig en tachtig heeft de gemeente diverse acties ondernomen om de kwaliteit van de stad te verbeteren. Diverse voorzieningen zijn aangebracht en ook de buitenruimte is verbeterd in deze periode. De nadruk op de kwaliteit van de stad is groter geworden met opkomst van de ICT, internationalisering en kenniseconomie. Voor deze economische sectoren is een hoog opgeleide beroepsbevolking van groot belang. Veel gemeenten hebben daarom hun beleid gericht op het aantrekken en behouden van deze bevolkingsgroep. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster viii

9 Huidige prestaties van Rotterdam Zoals eerder beschreven is er discussie over welke elementen belangrijk zijn en prioriteit dienen te krijgen in Rotterdam. Om hier uitspraak over te kunnen doen is het van belang informatie te hebben over de huidige situatie van deze verschillende elementen. De belangrijkste factoren zijn hieronder beschreven. Economie In economisch opzicht hebben de industrie en haven gerelateerde bedrijvigheid altijd een sterke positie gehad in Rotterdam. Ook tegenwoordig heeft de industrie en haven in Rotterdam (als drukste havenstad van Europa) nog steeds een sterke positie. Statistieken laten echter al enkele jaren zien dat de haven verhoudingsgewijs geen nieuwe banen genereert. De sterkst groeiende sector qua werkgelegenheid is het medische cluster, die ondanks de huidige economische crisis is blijven groeien. Bevolking In vergelijking met andere steden heeft Rotterdam een relatief jonge bevolking. Prognoses laten zien dat waar de Nederlandse bevolking gemiddeld genomen vergrijst, de Rotterdamse bevolking juist vergroent. Net als Amsterdam en Den Haag heeft Rotterdam een hoog percentage aan allochtonen, ongeveer 48% in Daarnaast is de Rotterdamse bevolking in verhouding laag opgeleid, slechts 33% van de bevolking heeft een HBO of Universitair diploma. Ter vergelijking, in Amsterdam is dit percentage 52% en in Utrecht zelfs 59%. In omvang is de populatie hoger opgeleiden vrijwel gelijk aan die van Utrecht en Den Haag. Veiligheid Rotterdam gebruikt een eigen veiligheidsindex die is gebaseerd op misdaadcijfers en op het veiligheidsgevoel van haar inwoners. De index laat zien dat de veiligheid in de afgelopen decennia aanzienlijk is verbeterd. In het centrum stedelijke gebied en in Rotterdam Zuid zijn nog wel enkele veiligheidsproblemen terug te vinden. Voorzieningen Van de vier groten steden in Nederland heeft Amsterdam het hoogste aantal voorzieningen. Rotterdam is qua voorzieningen meer vergelijkbaar met Utrecht en Den Haag. Alleen het aantal theaters per inwoners blijft verhoudingsgewijs aan de lage kant. Daarnaast laten studies van de gemeente nog enkele verbeterpunten zien op het gebied van voorzieningen. Het huidige aanbod is verspreid over de binnenstad en er zijn geen duidelijke looproutes. Voor mensen die niet bekend zijn in deze stad kan het lastig zijn om de voorzieningen terug te vinden. De woningvoorraad Zoals eerder beschreven zijn er na de oorlog veel woningen gebouwd, waarbij een industriële aanpak werd gebruikt om de woningnood zo snel mogelijk te verlichten. De nadruk lag op middelhoge portiek- en galerijflats, die niet meer aan de wensen van de huidige woonconsument voldoen. Daarnaast werd er veel sociale woningbouw gerealiseerd. In de jaren negentig bedroeg het percentage sociale woningbouw in Rotterdam zelfs bijna 60% van de woningvoorraad. Dit percentage Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster ix

10 is momenteel teruggebracht tot onder de 50% procent, echter in 2009 waren er nog steeds 42 wijken met 50% of meer aan sociale woningbouw. Om de woningmarkt in balans te brengen zijn er de laatste jaren vooral duurdere en middeldure woningen gebouwd. Daarnaast is een samenwerkingsverband opgestart tussen Rotterdam en de omliggende gemeenten om de woningmarkt op regionaal niveau te inventariseren en aan te sturen. Kwaliteit van de omgeving Van de vier grote steden zijn Rotterdammers het minst tevreden over hun woonomgeving. Indexcijfers laten zien dat Rotterdam in vergelijking met Amsterdam, Den Haag en Utrecht het hoogst scoort op fysieke achteruitgang. Daarnaast blijkt uit onderzoek van de gemeente dat de kwaliteit van de omgeving het op één na grootste probleem is volgens de bewoners in Rotterdam (na criminaliteit). Bereikbaarheid De reistijd van woon-werkverkeer verschilt in Rotterdam niet veel van de andere vier grote steden. Wel wordt het parkeren door veel mensen als een probleem benoemd in de stad. Vrije tijd en vrijetijdsbestedingen De vrijetijdssector is de laatste jaren snel gegroeid en bevatte in 2008 ongeveer 3% van het bruto binnenlandse product. In stedelijk gebied groeit deze sector aanzienlijk. Tussen 2003 en 2005 is deze economische sector in Rotterdam met 6% gegroeid in vergelijking met 2,6% op nationaal niveau. Hoewel de vrijetijdssector groeit, laten statistieken zien dat gemiddeld genomen de hoeveelheid beschikbare uren aan vrije tijd juist afneemt. Vooral binnen de werkzame bevolking is een duidelijke afname zichtbaar in vergelijking met 30 jaar geleden. De beschikbare vrije tijd is voor diverse groepen afgenomen, maar men overbrugt wel steeds meer afstand voor vrijetijdsvoorzieningen. Ook wordt er gemiddeld genomen meer vrije tijd besteed aan elektronische en digitale media. Vrijetijdsbesteding aan sociale contacten en gedrukte media (bijv. kranten) blijkt juist te zijn afgenomen in de laatste 30 jaar. Van de vrijetijdsactiviteiten buitenshuis zijn funshoppen en buitenrecreatie de belangrijkste activiteiten geworden. Daarnaast laten statistieken zien dat er veel combinatiebezoeken plaatsvinden. Veel mensen combineren bijvoorbeeld winkelen met een lunch of een bezoek aan een terras. Of bijvoorbeeld een bezoek aan een bioscoop gecombineerd met een avondje uit. De meeste bezoeken worden gebracht aan de bioscoop en dans / houseparty s (gemiddeld 7 maal per jaar), gevolgd door bezoeken aan concerten en theater (gemiddeld 3 maal per jaar). Resultaten van het onderzoek Gebaseerd op de variabelen van het theoretische kader is een vragenlijst opgesteld (zie bijlage B) en een internetenquête geconstrueerd. Naast inhoudelijke vragen zijn ook een aantal achtergrondvragen gesteld hoofdzakelijk bestaande uit persoonskenmerken. In totaal hebben er (n=) 482 respondenten deel genomen aan de internetenquête, waarvan er (n=) 372 binnen de doelgroep elite (hoger opgeleiden) vallen. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster x

11 Vervolgens zijn een aantal statistische analyses uitgevoerd met behulp van SPSS (zie hoofdstuk 7). De respons uit de verschillende stadszones; centrumstedelijk, rustingstedelijk, groenstedelijk is met elkaar vergeleken. Onderstaande tabel geeft de resultaten weer van de eerste enquêtevraag, gericht op het belang van de verschillende vestigingselementen. In de tabel is het percentage zichtbaar van het aantal mensen dat belang hecht aan een vestigingselement. Hieruit blijkt dat de vestigingselementen: de woonomgeving, het woningtype, de veiligheid en de bereikbaarheid, door meer dan 90% van de respondenten als belangrijk beschouwd worden. Ook de woningprijs en het imago van het gebied zijn voor vrijwel alle respondenten van belang. De bevolking en winkel voorzieningen scoren iets lager en lijken aan de randen van de stad voor iets meer mensen van belang te zijn dan in het centrale gedeelte. Dit verschil is echter niet significant. Voor de vestigingselementen; leisure voorzieningen, zorg voorzieningen en onderwijs voorzieningen zijn significante verschillen gevonden tussen de drie leefgebieden. Leisure voorzieningen zijn in het centrumstedelijke en rustigstedelijk gebied voor meer mensen van belang dan aan de randen van de stad. Zorgvoorzieningen en onderwijs voorzieningen zijn juist aan de randen van de stad belangrijker dan in het centrale gedeelte. Nabijheid van vrienden, familie en kennissen en het aanbod van werkgelegenheid scoren het laagst, niet alle elite vinden dit een belangrijk vestigingselement. Tabel S1: Het belang van de verschillende vestigingselementen. Groenstedelijk Onderzoeksgebied Rustigstedelijk Centrumstedelijk aantal % aantal % Aantal % De woonomgeving % % 77 99% Het woning type 63 97% 82 99% 74 95% De veiligheid van het gebied % 76 92% 73 94% De bereikbaarheid 64 98% 76 92% 72 92% De woningprijs 60 92% 74 89% 75 96% Het imago van het gebied 60 92% 73 88% 68 87% De bevolking (sociale klasse of culturele achtergrond) 57 88% 64 77% 59 76% Winkel voorzieningen 56 86% 66 80% 57 73% Leisure voorzieningen (horeca, restaurants, theaters, * 43 66% 66 80% 65 83% sport, cultuur, etc.) Zorg voorzieningen ** 41 63% 30 36% 31 40% Onderwijs voorzieningen * 33 51% 38 46% 23 29% Nabijheid vrienden familie en kennissen 32 49% 30 36% 24 31% De werkgelegenheid 24 37% 23 28% 32 41% * P<0.05, **P<0.01(Kruskal Wallis) Totaal % % % Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xi

12 Vervolgens is aan de respondent gevraagd om een prioriteitenlijst op te stellen voor de elementen die van belang zijn. Uit deze prioriteitenstelling is een TOP5 samengesteld. Hieruit blijkt dat gemiddeld genomen de elementen woonomgeving en het woningtype de meeste prioriteit krijgt van de respondent. De veiligheid en de woningprijs worden gemiddeld genomen op de derde en vierde plek gezet door de respondent en de bereikbaarheid staat op de vijfde plaats. Leisure komt niet in de TOP5 voor. Hierna is doorgevraagd welke type leisure voorzieningen gewenst zijn in de directe omgeving (op 10 minuten loop of fietsafstand). Voor iedere categorie zijn de 3 belangrijkste weergegeven in onderstaande tabel. Entertainment voorzieningen hebben uiteenlopende percentages. Uit de analyses blijkt dat vooral in het centrumstedelijke gebied en het aangrenzende rustigstedelijk gebied deze voorzieningen door veel mensen gewenst zijn in hun directe omgeving. De genoemde winkelvoorzieningen hebben in vrijwel alle gebieden een vergelijkbaar percentage. Van deze faciliteiten scoort de supermarkt het hoogst. Van de sport voorzieningen heeft het fitness centrum de hoogste percentages. De faciliteit speelplek is het vaakst genoemd in het gebied met de meeste huishoudens met kinderen, en het minst in het gebied met de minste huishoudens met kinderen. Bij de natuur en recreatieve voorzieningen wordt een park door 80% tot 87% van de respondenten benoemd als een gewenste voorziening in de directe omgeving. Ook publiekelijk groen en een recreatieve fietsroute wordt door een grote groep genoemd. Van de kunst en cultuur voorzieningen wordt door 54% tot 58% een bibliotheek benoemd als gewenste voorziening in de directe omgeving. De faciliteiten museum of kunstgalerie en monument of monumentaal gebouw heeft uiteenlopende percentages. Deze zijn in het centrale gedeelte van de stad (centrum en rustigstedelijk) door meer mensen benoemd dan aan de randen van de stad (groenstedelijk). Tabel S2: De drie belangrijkste leisure faciliteiten per categorie. Leisure type Belangrijkste 2e 3e Entertainment voorzieningen Winkel voorzieningen restaurants (46% - 87%) Supermarkt (94% - 99%) Fitness centrum (37% - 50%) cafés (25% - 55%) Apotheek en drogist (78% - 85%) Speelplek (26% - 46%) theaters (11% - 47%) Ambachtswinkels (71% - 72%). zwembad (20% - 43%) Sport voorzieningen Natuur en recreatieve voorzieningen Een park (80% - 87%) Publiekelijk groen (58% - 73%) Recreatieve fietsroute (47% - 57%) Kunst en cultuur voorzieningen Een bibliotheek (54% - 58%) museum of kunstgalerie (17% - 47%) Monument of monumentaal gebouw (12% - 41%) Evenementen Muziek evenementen (68% - 82%) Cultuur evenementen (66% -76%) De wereldhavendagen (59% - 66%) Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xii

13 Bij evenementen is een andere vraagstelling gebruikt. Er is gevraagd of men vindt dat evenementen de woonaantrekkelijkheid van Rotterdam vergroten. De Rotterdamse muziek evenementen hebben het hoogste percentage, zij maken voor veel respondenten de stad als woonplaats aantrekkelijker. Ook cultuur evenementen en de wereldhavendagen worden door een groot gedeelte van de respondenten genoemd. Met behulp van logistische regressie analyses is vervolgens gezocht naar variabelen die het belang van leisure kunnen verklaren. Eerst is met behulp van cronbach s alpha gezocht naar variabelen met een sterke samenhang. Vervolgens zijn de samenhangende variabelen samengevoegd tot een nieuwe samengestelde variabele. De samengestelde variabelen zijn samen met enkele persoonskarakteristieken gebruikt in een model om het belang van leisure te verklaren. Zoals zichtbaar in het model zijn er drie variabelen die een significante relatie hebben met het belang van leisure. Deze variabelen kunnen dus (gedeeltelijk) verklaren of leisure belangrijk gevonden wordt of niet. De variabele type werk heeft een significant positieve relatie met leisure. Ook het woongebied en de samengestelde variabele van consumptie gerelateerde faciliteiten 1 hebben een significante positieve relatie met leisure. Tabel S3: Output van het logistische regressie model. Variabelen in de vergelijking Sig. Exp(B) 95% C.I.for Exp(B) Lower Upper Geslacht,086 2,802,865 9,074 Verhuis [...] jaar geleden,287,957,882 1,038 Type werk,049 2,961* 1,006 8,712 Huishoudsamenstelling,312 1,940,536 7,018 Leeftijd,710 1,013,946 1,084 Inkomen,372,493,104 2,330 Woongebied,076 Rustigstedelijk (1),039 3,895* 1,068 14,210 Centrumstedelijk (2),064 3,651,928 14,367 SOM_overige variabelen,102 1,393,937 2,072 SOM_bereikbaarheid,132 1,574,872 2,839 SOM_natuurvoorzieningen,348,780,465 1,310 SOM_jeugdvoorzieningen,654,885,519 1,510 SOM_consumptie gerelateerde faciliteiten,001 1,509** 1,186 1,919 * P<0.05, ** P<0.001 (Nagelkerke = 0.439) Gelet op de gebruikte codering van de variabelen (zie hoofdstuk 7, tabel 7.23) kunnen we hieruit het volgende opmaken: - Er is een positief significant verband gevonden tussen kennisintensieve werkzaamheden en het belangrijk vinden van leisure voorzieningen. 1 Samengestelde variabele van consumptie gerelateerde faciliteiten bestaat uit: bioscopen, theaters, restaurants, luxe winkels, mode winkels, museums, een plein en de evenementen. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xiii

14 - Er is een positief significant verband gevonden tussen het woongebied rustigstedelijk en het belangrijk vinden van leisure. Het centrumstedelijk gebied heeft geen significante relatie in dit model, echter wanneer de samengestelde variabelen uit de vergelijking worden gehaald (zie hoofdstuk 7, tabel 7.26) blijkt dat ook het centrumstedelijk gebied een positief significante relatie heeft met het belangrijk vinden van leisure. - De consumptie gerelateerde voorzieningen hebben een significant positieve relatie met het belangrijk vinden van leisure. Respondenten die deze voorzieningen als gewenst aangaven vinden leisure belangrijk. - Het model hieronder is in staat om voor ongeveer 44% te verklaren of leisure belangrijk wordt gevonden of niet. Er zijn tijdens de analyses nog een aantal logische relaties naar voren gekomen. Zo is er een relatie gevonden tussen leeftijd en zorgvoorzieningen. Naar mate de leeftijd stijgt worden zorgvoorzieningen vaker belangrijk gevonden. Dit kan een verklaring geven voor het significante verschil uit tabel S1. In het centrum wonen namelijk minder ouderen dan aan de rand van de stad. Daarnaast hechten huishoudens met kinderen meer belang aan educatieve voorzieningen, crèches, speelplaatsen voor kinderen en sportvoorzieningen als hockey of tennis dan huishoudens zonder kinderen. Het is opmerkelijk dat onderwijs voorzieningen in het rustigstedelijk gebied lager scoren dan in het groenstedelijke gebied (tabel S1). In het rustigstedelijk gebied wonen namelijk meer huishoudens met kinderen en minder ouderen (56+). Mensen op oudere leeftijd vinden de werkgelegenheid van minder belang dan jongeren en mensen van middelbare leeftijd. De respondent is ook een aantal stellingen voorgelegd, hieruit komt het volgende naar voren. Men is gevraagd te kiezen tussen de nabijheid van het werk en de kwaliteit van de omgeving, de nabijheid van voorzieningen, de nabijheid van vrienden familie en kennissen. Hierbij geeft 86% tot 96% van de respondenten aan de kwaliteit van de omgeving belangrijker te vinden dan nabijheid van het werk. Tweederde van de respondenten vind ook de nabijheid van voorzieningen belangrijker dan nabijheid van het werk. Nabijheid van vrienden, familie en kennissen tegenover nabijheid van werk is ongeveer gelijk verdeeld. Tabel S4: Tegenstellingen. Als u moet kiezen wat kiest u dan? Onderzoeksgebied Groenstedelijk Rustigstedelijk Centrumstedelijk Aantal % Aantal % Aantal % A. Kwaliteit van de omgeving 57 88% 80 96% 67 86% B. Nabijheid van mijn werk 8 12% 3 4% 11 14% A. Nabijheid familie, vrienden, kennissen 35 54% 45 54% 33 42% B. Nabijheid van mijn werk 30 46% 38 46% 45 58% A. Nabijheid van voorzieningen 41 63% 53 64% 52 67% B. Nabijheid van mijn werk 24 37% 30 36% 26 33% Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xiv

15 Respondenten aan de randen van de stad (groenstedelijk gebied) geven vaker dan respondenten in het centrumstedelijke gebied en het aangrenzende rustigstedelijk gebied aan dat zij het belangrijker vinden om in een wijk te wonen met soortgelijke huishoudens. Conclusies De gestelde onderzoeksvraag richt zich op de verschillende vestigingselementen en de rol die leisure hierbinnen heeft. Uit de resultaten van de enquête blijkt dat er vijf vestigingselementen zijn die voor vrijwel alle respondenten van belang zijn. In alle drie de woongebieden van Rotterdam (centrumstedelijk, rustigstedelijk en groenstedelijk) hebben de volgende vestigingselementen de hoogste percentages: de woonomgeving, het woningtype, de veiligheid, de woningprijs en de bereikbaarheid. De percentages liggen rond de 90% of hoger, wat aanzienlijk hoger is dan bijvoorbeeld werkgelegenheid (28% tot 41%) of nabijheid van vrienden, familie en kennissen (31% tot 49%). Daarnaast staan deze vijf elementen in alle drie de woongebieden in de TOP5 prioriteiten lijst. De bevolkingssamenstelling (76% tot 88%) en winkelvoorzieningen (73% tot 86%) worden ook door veel respondenten als belangrijke vestigingselementen genoemd. Zorgvoorzieningen zijn met 63% in het groenstedelijke gebied, 36% in het rustigstedelijk gebied en 40% in het centrumstedelijke gebied voor minder mensen van belang. Analyses wijzen uit dat vooral mensen van oudere leeftijd zorgvoorzieningen vaker als belangrijk noemen. Ook is er een relatie gevonden tussen huishoudens met kinderen en het belang van onderwijsvoorzieningen. Huishoudens met kinderen hechten gemiddeld genomen meer waarde aan onderwijs voorzieningen. De nabijheid van vrienden, familie en kennissen en de werkgelegenheid zijn in verhouding tot de andere vestigingselementen het minst genoemd. Hierbij is het van belang te benadrukken dat deze elementen niet onbelangrijk zijn. De 31% tot 49% die bijvoorbeeld nabijheid van vrienden, familie en kennissen belangrijk vindt is nog steeds een derde tot de helft van de respondenten. Leisure voorzieningen worden het meest genoemd als belangrijk element in het centrumstedelijke gebied (83%) en het daaromheen gelegen rustigstedelijk gebied (80%). In het groenstedelijke gebied aan de rand van de stad noemt 66% leisure als belangrijk vestigingselement, een significant verschil (H(2)=6.351, P<0.05) met de overige gebieden. Het regressiemodel geeft extra informatie over leisure. Het bevestigt dat leisure verschillend gewaardeerd wordt in de verschillende woongebieden groenstedelijk, rustigstedelijk en centrumstedelijk. Het geeft aan dat er een relatie is tussen diverse consumptie gerelateerde voorzieningen en het belangrijk vinden van leisure. Daarnaast is een positief significante relatie gevonden tussen de categorie kennisintensieve werkzaamheden en leisure Exp(B)=2.961, P<0.05 (95%C.I= ). Dit brengt ons terug bij Richard Florida en zijn theorie over de creatieve klasse. Florida schetst het beeld dat leisure voorzieningen belangrijk zijn voor zijn creatieve klasse, een groep die onder andere bestaat uit kenniswerkers. De resultaten van dit onderzoek laten zien dat het belang van leisure gedeeltelijk is te verklaren aan de Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xv

16 hand van het type werk. Er is immers een positieve relatie gevonden tussen kennisintensief werk en het belang van leisure. Deze resultaten geven dus onderbouwing aan Florida zijn stelling. Alhoewel het regressiemodel bevestigt dat er een relatie is tussen mensen met kennisintensief werk en leisure, betekent dit niet dat leisure voor al deze mensen het belangrijkste is. Aangezien leisure voorzieningen niet in de TOP5 prioriteitstelling voorkomen kan geconcludeerd worden dat een groot gedeelte van de respondenten leisure als een secundair vestigingselement beschouwt. Florida geeft in zijn boek aan dat zijn creatieve klasse, die onder andere bestaat uit kenniswerkers, behoefte heeft aan kleinschalige leisure voorzieningen waar interactie plaatsvindt en waar nieuwe belevingen kunnen worden opgedaan. Als voorbeeld noemt hij cafés, boekwinkels, barretjes, etc. en ook culturele voorzieningen waar mensen hun creativiteit kwijt kunnen. In het centrumstedelijke gebied zijn er significant meer mensen met een behoefte aan entertainment en cultuurvoorzieningen in de directe omgeving. Zo worden in het centrum bijvoorbeeld restaurants door 87% van de elite genoemd als gewenste voorziening in de omgeving en vindt ongeveer 50% een bioscoop, een café of museum belangrijk. In het groenstedelijke gebied worden restaurants door 46% van de elite als gewenst genoemd, een bioscoop door 9%, een café door 25% en een museum door 17% van de elite. In het groenstedelijk gebied geeft zelfs 40% van de respondenten aan entertainment voorzieningen onbelangrijk te vinden in de directe omgeving. Daarnaast worden voorzieningen als landelijk groen en bossen aan de rand van de stad significant vaker genoemd dan in het centrum. De levensstijl die Florida schetst geldt klaarblijkelijk niet voor alle kenniswerkers of elite in Rotterdam. Vooral aan de randen van de stad, in het groenstedelijk gebied, is namelijk een minder grote behoefte aan entertainment en culturele voorzieningen. Daarnaast is er onderbouwing gevonden voor de stellingen van Florida en Van den Berg et al. over de rol die werk heeft binnen de samenleving. Zij beweren dat de kwaliteit van de locatie de dominante rol van het werk heeft overgenomen in de vestigingskeuze. De woning en woonomgeving zijn door de meeste respondenten als belangrijk genoemd en hebben de hoogste percentages (tabel S1). Werkgelegenheid heeft de laagste percentages en is voor een grote groep van de elite geen belangrijk vestigingselement. Ook de tegenstellingen tussen de kwaliteit van de omgeving en de nabijheid van werk (tabel S4) laten zien dat de locatie belangrijker is dan het werk. Tussen de 86% en 96% (afhankelijk van het woongebied) verkiest de kwaliteit van de omgeving boven de nabijheid van het werk. Met de resultaten van de enquête is duidelijker geworden welke vestigingselementen belangrijk zijn en welke rol leisure heeft. Ook is de ontwikkeling van Rotterdam beschreven en een overzicht gegeven van de huidige prestaties van de stad. Dit maakt het mogelijk om terug te komen op de discussie die gevoerd is naar aanleiding van de publicatie van Marcel Möring. Marcel Möring beweert dat leisure (met name cultuur voorzieningen) van groot belang is voor het behoud van de elite in Rotterdam. Anderen beweren juist dat de woningen en woonomgeving prioriteit dienen te krijgen en dat leisure voorzieningen minder belangrijk zijn. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xvi

17 Veel hoog opgeleiden noemen leisure voorzieningen als een belangrijk vestigingselement, vooral in het centrumstedelijke en aangrenzende rustigstedelijk gebied. Daarnaast blijkt uit onderzoek van het Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS) dat 15% van de midden en hoge inkomens die zich vestigden in Rotterdam de aanwezigheid van horeca, musea, theaters en bioscopen als vestigingsmotief noemt. Ongeveer 8% geeft aan naar de stad verhuisd te zijn, omdat de voorzieningen op deze plek aansluiten bij hun levensstijl. Van de mensen die de stad verlaten hebben geeft het grootste gedeelte aan vertrokken te zijn vanwege woninggerelateerde factoren. Zo noemt 20% van de vertrekkers dat zij niet de gewenste woning konden vinden, 12% geeft aan de woningen te duur te vinden en 11% geeft aan de wachttijden te lang te vinden. Er zijn ook mensen van midden of hoog inkomen die binnen Rotterdam verhuisd zijn. Van deze groep geeft 22% aan in de stad te blijven wonen vanwege de voorzieningen of de match met hun levensstijl. 2 Dit wijst erop dat Marcel Möring en zijn tegenstanders beiden argumenten hebben voor hun stellingen. Om een reflectie te geven op deze discussie is het van belang de huidige prestaties van Rotterdam mee te nemen in de overweging. De statistieken, beschreven in hoofdstuk 5 over de prestaties van Rotterdam, laten zien dat Rotterdam een vergelijkbaar aanbod van voorzieningen heeft (kwantitatief en naar ratio) als de steden Den Haag en Utrecht. Alleen het toeristische Amsterdam heeft een hoger aanbod in voorzieningen. Wel laten analyses van de gemeente Rotterdam zien dat de voorzieningen verspreid zijn over de binnenstad, dat er onduidelijke looproutes zijn en de vormgeving verbeterd kan worden. De statistieken van de woningmarkt ( 5.7) en kwaliteit van de omgeving ( 5.8) geven een slechtere situatie weer. Vervuiling van de omgeving wordt door veel Rotterdammers als belangrijk probleem benoemd en daarnaast heeft de stad nog steeds veel wijken met een hoog percentage aan sociale woningbouw. Zo waren er in 2009 nog 42 wijken met meer dan 50% aan sociale woningbouw. Ook zijn er nog steeds gebieden in de stad met een lage score op de veiligheidsindex, vooral in het centrum en in Rotterdam Zuid. Aangezien deze elementen door ongeveer 90% van de elite als belangrijk genoemd worden, ze consequent zijn terug te vinden in de TOP5 prioriteitenstelling en nog veel ruimte voor verbetering hebben, dienen deze elementen prioriteit te krijgen. De beslissing van de gemeente Rotterdam om entertainment, cultuur en consumptie gerelateerde voorzieningen meer te clusteren in het centrum van de stad lijkt een goede strategie. De elite in het centrumstedelijke gebied noemt deze voorzieningen significant vaker als belangrijk in de directe omgeving van de woning. Het is de vraag in hoeverre de gemeente Rotterdam de bevolkingsstroom kan sturen of beïnvloeden. De beslissing om ergens te gaan wonen is immers afhankelijk van diverse factoren en verhuismotieven. 2 Zanden, W.v.d., Dujardin, M (2010) Komen en gaan, selectieve migratie in Rotterdam in 2009, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS),p.55 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xvii

18 In 2009 is door het COS onderzoek gedaan naar de verschillende verhuismotieven onder Rotterdammers; die de stad verlaten hebben, die zich in de stad gevestigd hebben of binnen de gemeentegrenzen verhuisd zijn. Uit deze studie blijkt dat het meest genoemde verhuismotief onder midden en hoge inkomens huwelijk en samenwonen is (30%) of vanwege werk (30%). Ongeveer 25% gaf zonder verdere toelichting aan uit Rotterdam weg te willen en 20% gaf aan dichter bij familie en vrienden te willen wonen. Ook zijn er een aantal die vanwege studie verhuizen of terug willen naar hun geboortegrond. Allemaal aspecten waar de gemeente niet of nauwelijks invloed op heeft. Er zijn ook een aantal elementen waar de gemeente wel grip op heeft. Er zijn mensen die vanwege gezinsuitbreiding een groter huis zoeken, mensen die graag zelfstandig willen wonen, die verhuizen vanwege ontevredenheid met hun vorige woning of woonomgeving of die hun woning uit moesten. Allemaal elementen die over een fysieke component beschikken en dus beïnvloedbaar zijn. Gezinsuitbreiding (17%), de vorige buurt / omgeving (22%) en de vorige woning (18%) worden door ongeveer een vijfde van de vertrekkers genoemd, daarnaast worden deze verhuismotieven ook vaker genoemd door vertrekkers met midden en hoge inkomens dan door vertrekkers met een laag inkomen. Tabel S5: Totaal genoemde algemene verhuismotieven (Komen en gaan 2009, p.44). Deze percentages laten zien dat er een behoorlijke groep elite is (+/- een vijfde), die Rotterdam verlaat vanwege ontevredenheid met hun woning of woonomgeving. Een groep elite die voor de stad behouden kan worden door het faciliteren van de juiste woningen en omgeving. Daarnaast heeft dit onderzoek aangetoond dat leisurevoorzieningen ook een rol van betekenis spelen, met name voor de hoger opgeleiden die in het centrum van de stad willen wonen. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster xviii

19 1. Introduction 1.1 Background When you visit a large city in the Netherlands, you will find an old (historical) town centre which refers back to its history. Rotterdam is a middle-aged city, however if you would visit this city right now, you would not call it a historical city. There are just a few old buildings left, that remind to its history, like for example the Laurenskerk. This makes the city of Rotterdam an exceptional city in comparison with other middle-aged cities like for example Amsterdam and Utrecht. Rotterdam has struggled with some large scale issues and events, that have had a major impact on its current form. Aspects like the international port function with its industry, the bombardment of the inner city during the second world war (WO2), the period of reconstruction after the WO2 and the rising service and knowledge economy (see also chapter 4). The municipality has played a central role in this process. She managed the city by providing reconstruction plans, making policy and providing a strategy for future developments. Recently, in the year 2007, the municipality of Rotterdam has published a general vision for 2030 called Stadsvisie Rotterdam, which also contains a spatial development strategy. In this vision the following ambition is described by the alderman of housing and spatial planning H. Karakus. Rotterdam mainport: een stad van grote betekenis. Toch is die betekenis niet vanzelfsprekend. Willen we de positie van Rotterdam als mainport behouden en versterken, dan moeten we blijven bouwen aan een sterke economie en een aantrekkelijke woonstad. Samen werken we eraan dat Rotterdam in 2030 op het gebied van kennis en innovatie de belangrijkste havenstad van Europa is. Een aantrekkelijke en geliefde stad, waar jong en oud, student, starter en gezin graag wonen. 3 [Rotterdam mainport: a city of importance. However this importance shouldn t be taken for granted. If we want to keep and strengthen the position of Rotterdam as mainport, than we must keep working on a strong economy and an attractive residential city. Together we can make Rotterdam the most important mainport of Europe in the field of service and innovation in An attractive residential city in which young and old, student, starter and family would like to settle]. 4 In this vision is explicitly mentioned that retaining the inhabitants is very important for the future of Rotterdam, especially the higher educated inhabitants. Karakus mentions Een hoogopgeleide beroepsbevolking met veel kenniswerkers is essentieel. Kenniswerkers zijn nodig om de economie te versterken; de moderne 3 Gemeente Rotterdam (2007) Stadsvisie Rotterdam: ruimtelijke ontwikkelingsstrategie 2030, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p My own translation from Dutch to English, further translations will be shown between square brackets [...] Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 1

20 economie is tenslotte een kenniseconomie. 5 [A highly educated workforce with a lot of knowledge workers is essential. Knowledge workers are needed to strengthen the economy; the modern economy is after all a knowledge economy]. It s clear that the municipality is focussing on retaining higher educated inhabitants, however recent statistics (CBS) show a disturbing trend concerning this aspect. Statistics (CBS, ) are showing an outflow of native Dutch inhabitants from middle and high income. This outflow has mostly been compensated by inflow of foreigners from outside the Netherlands (figure 1.1), which have on average a low income. It becomes clear that the low-income households are moving into the city (mostly lower educated) and that the middle and high income households are moving out of the city 6. This phenomenon is called negative selective migration Total migration balance Native Dutch migration balance (CBS) Migration balance of foreigners (CBS) Figure 1.1: Migration balance in Rotterdam (CBS-bevolkingsstatistiek) Studies on negative selective migration show that the situation has improved in the last years. In comparison with 2006 the selective migration in 2009 of people moving into the city decreased from 3,9% to 3,6%. The selective migration of people leaving the city decreased from 9,7% in towards 7,0% in. 7 Although the situation seems to be improving slowly, there is still a negative selective migration to be expected for the coming years. This phenomenon has also been recognized by the municipality of Rotterdam and been incorporated in the municipal plans. In the future vision the municipality describes as main objective: Samenvattend stellen we dat Rotterdam als onderdeel van de Randstad een strategie moet volgen die zich enerzijds richt op de ontwikkeling van de kennis- en diensteneconomie en anderzijds op een aantrekkelijk woon- en leefklimaat voor hoogopgeleide, creatieve werkers en de midden en hoge inkomens. Deze strategie is nodig om een rol van betekenis te 5 Gemeente Rotterdam (2007) Stadsvisie Rotterdam: ruimtelijke ontwikkelingsstrategie 2030, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p Zanden, W.v.d., Dujardin, M (2008) Komen en gaan, selectieve migratie in Rotterdam in 2006, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS),p.22 7 Zanden, W.v.d., Dujardin, M (2010) Komen en gaan, selectieve migratie in Rotterdam in 2009, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS),p.10 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 2

21 blijven spelen in de internationale concurrentiestrijd tussen de stedelijke regio s 8. [Summarizing we state that Rotterdam as part of the Randstad must follow a strategy that focus on knowledge and services but also on providing a living- and social climate for highly educated-, creative workers and for middle and high incomes. This strategy is necessary to remain a role in the international competition of urban agglomerations] Rotterdam has the ambition to take part in the new (global) economy, and is shifting from a labour/industry focused city towards a cultural city with a strong knowledge, creative and services based economy. To do so, it needs an educated workforce, however as mentioned privileged inhabitants with a higher education or income are leaving the city. The municipality has anticipated on these developments and has made a vision for the future of Rotterdam. A vision with the objective to strengthen the economy and become an attractive residential city. To retain the current (elite) inhabitants. 1.2 Discussion and criticism In their vision for 2030 the municipality mentions several aspects which are important to become an attractive residential city. Not only qualitative houses are needed but also; a pleasant environment, educational facilities, accessibility and a modern inner city with cultural and leisure facilities. These kinds of elements should create an attractive residential city according to the municipality. However there is much discussion and criticism about the implementation of this vision. The municipality has a certain budget to spend on improvements and has to set priorities, especially with the current economic crisis. Which aspects are important to retain the (educated) inhabitants of Rotterdam and which priorities should be set. A difficult question which brings up a lot of discussion. Discussion of Möring At the 19 th of September of 2009 the Dutch author Marcel Möring published an article in the newspaper NRC-Handelsblad, concerning Rotterdam and its qualities. His article pronounced: Veel festivals, maar cultuur komt op de tweede plaats 9. [A lot of festivals, but culture comes secondly]. Möring explains that the elite class inhabitants are leaving the city and the current municipal strategy is not solving this issue. The current cultural and entertaining facilities are too superficial, more quality and content is needed. The current culture and entertainment are focussed on attracting visitors and not adding much value for the inhabitants of Rotterdam. In a debate based on his article Möring argued his statement with professionals and politicians. During this debate became clear that there are different opinions about how to retain the educated and middle/high-income class to Rotterdam. Some gave priority to the housing problems, others argued about the importance of cultural facilities which would be of importance to retain the educated inhabitants. A politician, from a large Rotterdam party called Leefbaar Rotterdam stated that the 8 Gemeente Rotterdam (2007) Stadsvisie Rotterdam: ruimtelijke ontwikkelingsstrategie 2030, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p.43 9 Möring, M. (2009) Veel festivals maar cultuur komt op de tweede plaats. NRC-Handelsblad. 19 Sept. opinie & debat p.2-3 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 3

22 main priority lies in the imbalanced housing supply and that culture has less priority 10. Discussion of Oosterling et. al. Oosterling has done some public research about Rotterdam and its developments and published a book about Rotterdam and its future, entitled Rotterdam Vakmanstad (English) Rotterdam Skill city. Oosterling describes that based on publications like The Creative City of Charles Landry and The rise of the creative class of Richard Florida the focus in Rotterdam has shifted toward knowledge and creative industries and on attracting people with high education and income. A large part of the current population of Rotterdam is however not part of that group. In the last decades Rotterdam has jumped from a labour/industrial city towards a cultural city and a gap has come into being between the old industrial and new cultural city. According to Oosterling this gap can be closed by the concept of skill city, which stimulates lower educated people to enterprise and use their skills. Concretely speaking Rotterdam Vakmanstad tries to set up locations where local business, youth and artists/designers can come together to exchange knowledge, experience and ideas. This exchange will lead to a form of cultural production that can strengthen the economic position of those involved and make the cultural process of thought creation and realization visible. The discussion of Möring and Oosterling et. al. shows that there is a lot of discussion about the implementation of the vision and also priorities are not always that clear. Does a qualitative supply of cultural facilities indeed have importance for elite class inhabitants as Möring states, or are other aspects like the housing supply more important. Also social oriented aspects mentioned by Oosterling seems to play an important role. The question raises which aspects are important in the choice to settle somewhere and if decisions have to be made, which aspects should get priority within the context of Rotterdam [accessed ] Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 4

23 2. Theoretical framework This chapter contains a theoretical framework. First a description is given of literature about the attractiveness of a city and the important settlement elements for the inhabitants of a city. The theoretical framework is the foundation of the chosen variables for this research and gives input for the conceptual model and empirical part of the thesis. 2.1 An attractive city The objective of the municipality of Rotterdam, to create an attractive residential city and retain the highly educated and creative people, shows similarities with the thesis of Richard Florida. In his thesis Florida explains that the economy is transforming, creativity will be a dominant sector in the economy of the 21 st century. According to Florida a new class, the creative class is becoming the main means of production. A creative class build up out of; scientists, engineers, artists, musicians, designers and knowledge-based professionals 11. Their creativity is the important resource for economic growth and this group of people will be of great importance for cities. Florida states that jobs are not a dominant aspect anymore (as previous was the case), the choice for a place to live has become more complex and is more based on the qualities of the location itself than on carrier opportunities. Ten years ago, people were likely to ask, Where do you work? Today it s Where do you live? With the demise of the company-dominated life, a new kind of pecking order has developed around places. Place is becoming an important source of status. 12 According to Florida people are not following jobs, but jobs follows the people, he says: Places have replaced companies as the key organizing units in our economy. 13 Therefore the focus should be on attracting and retaining the creative class rather than businesses. This creative class wants to live the life and have qualitative experiences in multiple ways. They have several jobs over time, attribute value to so called third places which are neither home nor work but some kind of leisure (venues like coffee shops, bookstores, cafés, etc.). They attribute value to a diverse social climate, with interaction between different kinds of people. Aspects which are summarized by Florida as quality of place, which refers to the unique set of characteristics that define a place and make it attractive. A good quality of place will attract creative people to the area, which on their part will lead to creative and productive activities. Three dimensions are mentioned in relation to quality of space: What s there: the combination of the build environment and the natural environment; a proper setting for pursuit of creative lives. Who s there: the diverse kinds of people, interacting and providing cues that anyone can plug into and make a life in that community. 11 Florida, R. (2002) The rise of the creative class : and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life, New York, NY, Basic Books, p.xiii 12 Idem, p Idem, p.30 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 5

24 What s going on: the vibrancy of street life, café culture, arts, music and people engaging in outdoor activities altogether a lot of active, exciting, creative endeavours. 14 According to Florida a cities need the 3T s of economic development: Technology, Talent and Tolerance. These aspects are crucial to the economic performance of a city. To attract creative people, generate innovation and stimulate economic growth, a place must have all three. 15 Florida uses several indicators to measure these 3T s, like for example the gay-index, the bohemian-index and high-tech index. As Kooijman and Romein (2007) describe, Florida has provoked a very lively debate on the creative city in the Netherlands, as in other countries. A debate that not only takes place among academics, but also among a much broader range of actors, including policy-makers, politicians, private business associations, educational institutes, local artists, and protest groups. In their study about the creative city concept in municipal policies, they describe that Rotterdam focuses on creative production. The vision of Rotterdam has clear economical roots and the consumption-oriented policy clearly reflects an entrepreneurial approach. A strategy that focuses largely on the leisure industry. The Rotterdam Development Corporation (OBR) has made a vision for the leisure and entertainment sector in the city. This vision pronounced De stad als belevenis (English) experiencing the city, and contains different locations with leisure themes (like shopping, architecture, sports, port, culture, etc.). With this vision the OBR tried to persuade entrepreneurs to invest in the city (Gemeente Rotterdam, OBR, 2004). As Kooijman and Romein describe; Like Utrecht, Rotterdam, explicitly aspires to strengthen its leisure economy, and acknowledges the importance of large consumption projects in area development programmes. Indeed, the building, extension, and renovation of sports facilities, multiplex cinemas, theatres and museums have been features of urban policy since the 1970s. Furthermore, Rotterdam places significant emphasis on large-scale, outdoor summer festivals. In 2005, Rotterdam won the National Festival City of the Year award for the second time. More explicitly than Amsterdam, and in a more elaborate manner than Utrecht, Rotterdam has developed a policy that focuses directly on encouraging creative production... Like Utrecht, Rotterdam, explicitly aspires to strengthen its leisure economy, and acknowledges the importance of large consumption projects in area development programmes. Indeed, the building, extension, and renovation of sports facilities, multiplex cinemas, theatres and museums have been features of urban policy since the 1970s. Furthermore, Rotterdam places significant emphasis on large-scale, outdoor summer festivals. In 2005, Rotterdam won the National Festival City of the Year award for the second time Florida, R. (2002) The rise of the creative class : and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life, New York, NY, Basic Books, p Idem, p Kooijman, D., Romein, A. (2007) The limited potential of the creative city concept: policy practices in four Dutch cities, Delft, TUDelft, p.22, [online] Available at: Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 6

25 As Florida describes there are three dimensions of quality of space; what s there, who s there and what s going on. Although some examples are given, it s not so clear which specific elements are needed to strengthen a cities attractiveness. Therefore also the studies of van den Berg et. al. (1999) and Karsten (2007) are used to give more insight in this area. Like Florida, Van den Berg et al. (1999) describe that work has become less important in the settlement motives of residents, he states: As in earlier days the workers moved to the factories, things are now reversed. Now, high-grade activities preferably settle in zones that satisfy the high requirements of employees as to the level of services and a pleasant living environment. 17 He also describes that soft location factors are becoming more important than traditional hard ones. Soft qualities like for example the quality of life, the diversity and quality of cultural and leisure services and the status of a given location. In his thesis about the attractive city accessibility is important, van den Berg et. al. explains: The city is in fact a collection of locations...not the quality of one given location (a house, a business building or an hotel) is decisive so much as the quality and accessibility of (urban) provisions. 18 He mentions that the attraction of a certain location depends on several aspects which differ per target group (residents, companies or tourists). For residents the following aspects are mentioned: affordable dwellings, a clean and safe environment, employment, educative-, health-, relaxation-, religion-, shopping and cultural facilities and social security. 19 According to Van den Berg et al. the decision for a place to live would also be based on services in the direct environment. He states the increased prosperity allows people to make ever higher demands on their dwellings, but also on the services in the immediate environment. 20 Where Florida and Van den Berg et al. have done studies on a large scale, Lia Karsten has studied on a detailed scale level. Karsten has interviewed middleincome families that were living in Rotterdam and asked why they stayed in the city while many other middle-income families have left. Her study showed that closeness to facilities and work, and the social relations they had build up in the neighbourhood are important aspect that made those people stay in the city. She describes; Although proximity to work was the primary reason that families mentioned for not moving out of the city, work-related issues were not the only reasons mentioned. Many respondents made it clear that they enjoyed living close to a broad range of urban cultural facilities. They perceived the possibility to visit these facilities by cycle as a luxury... Families also stressed the advantages of 17 Van den Berg, L., Van der Meer, J., Otgaar, A. (1999) The attractive city: catalyst of sustainable urban development, Rotterdam, European Institute for Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR), p Idem, p.9 19 Idem, p.8 20 Idem, p.8 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 7

26 living close to children s facilities such as schools, children s leisure clubs, the swimming pool, the library and so forth. 21 Karsten concludes that the scarcity of time in the lives of this families makes them vulnerable to problems of distance and accessibility, therefore space and time restrictions are placed high on the agenda. Proximity of work and facilities for themselves and their children is important. 22 Rotterdam seems to make work of their ambition to create a strong economy and an attractive residential city. As mentioned above the city tries to strengthen their creative production and uses leisure facilities to increase the attractiveness of the city. However does this emphasis on leisure improve the attractiveness for residents? The described literature mentions several elements which are important for the attractiveness of the city. Leisure is one of these elements, but how important is leisure in relation to the other elements? 2.2 Overview of elements Based upon the theses of Florida (2002) van den Berg et. al. (1999) and Karsten (2007) an overview has been made of elements that play a role in the attractiveness of a city. These elements are used as foundation to investigate the aspects that are important in the settlement choices of educated inhabitants in Rotterdam. Florida (2002) Van den Berg et. al. (1999) Karsten (2007) 1. diversity (of people) 1. affordable houses 1. house type 2. amenities, liveness and culture 2. living environment / natural surroundings 3. identity (image) 3. Services related to education, culture, health, relaxation, shopping, religion 4. third places (for social interaction) 5. authenticity and uniqueness Table 2.1: Overview of elements 2. current population and ethnicity groups 3. facilities (education, leisure, retail) 4. social security 4. social networks 5. accessibility 5. spatial quality 6. employment 6. safety (Child friendly) 7. accessibility (closeness) 8. identity / Solidarity (feeling connected to city) 21 Karsten, L (2007) Housing as a way of life: Towards an understanding of middle-class families Preference for an urban residential location, Housing Studies, 22:1, p Karsten, L (2007) Housing as a way of life: Towards an understanding of middle-class families Preference for an urban residential location, Housing Studies, 22:1, p.95 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 8

27 In the table on the right the elements mentioned by the municipality of Rotterdam are shown. There are some differences with those from the three theses above. - Florida mentions diversity of people and also Karsten mentions the population as element. - All mentions leisure facilities, however Florida focuses on a specific kind of leisure. On third places where interaction takes place. These third places are smallscale facilities like coffee shops, bookstores, cafés, etc. - Van den Berg et. al. adds employment. - Florida mentions authenticity and uniqueness, an element that refers to the history of a place. This could be historical buildings, established neighbourhoods and specific cultural attributes. Municapality of Rotterdam (2007) type and size of the houses 2. surroundings / Environment 3. precense and quality of educational, sport and play facilities 4. nearby shops 5. spatial quality 6. social safety 7. accessibility 8. image of the neighbourhood Table 2.2: Overview of elements 23 Gemeente Rotterdam (2007) Stadsvisie Rotterdam: ruimtelijke ontwikkelingsstrategie 2030, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 9

28 3. Research framework The research framework consists out of the problem description, the research questions which has to be answered, the research methodology and reading instructions for this report. 3.1 Problem description Florida (2002) has revived the discussion about the importance of creative and educated people in the society. The municipality of Rotterdam has recognized that an educated and creative workforce is important for the city and tries to attract and retain this target group. However as mentioned in the introduction the city still suffers from a negative selective migration, there is an outflow of educated and privileged inhabitants. The municipality has created a vision that focuses on strengthening the economy and attractiveness of the city. By increasing the attractiveness the educated and privileged inhabitants should be retained. Several actions are taken to increase the attractiveness of the city. As Kooijman and Romein (2007) describe, Rotterdam has put emphasis on leisure facilities. This leisure seems to be an important aspect of Rotterdam s strategy. But does it indeed increase the attractiveness for the inhabitants they want to retain? From the theoretical framework becomes clear that leisure is one of the elements that plays role in the attractiveness of a city. But it isn t clear how important it is in relation to the other elements. Florida gives some examples of desired leisure types (cafés, culture, arts, etc.) and mentions aspects like vibrancy of street life and facilities that facilitate experiences and interaction. However no specific information is given. Must these facilities be located in the direct surroundings or is presence somewhere in the city sufficient. Rotterdam is part of the Randstad-region, an agglomeration of different cities. Within an hour you can travel from Rotterdam towards one of the other main cities. This makes a huge difference with the American cities of Florida s thesis, which are far off each other. In the introduction is described that the importance of the current leisure facilities for the inhabitants of Rotterdam is being criticized (see discussion of Möring). Because of the large amount of social houses (49% in 2009) 24, which is a legacy of the postwar reconstruction, some argue that emphasis should be on creating decent houses. Others mention that although decent houses are still an important aspect, other aspects like culture should get priority. The question rises which elements are important to retain the elite inhabitants and which role leisure has within this. 24 COS Rotterdam, Woningvoorraad in Rotterdam naar eigendomsverhouding [online] available at: [accessed 05 august 2010] Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 10

29 Conceptual model To create a clear view, the elements from the theoretical framework have been put into one scheme, the conceptual model. This model gives a schematic overview of the expected relations and connections, and is used to investigate the importance of the settlement factors. In the middle of the scheme the different elements from the theory are shown. 25 The preferences of elements together with the possibilities on the current market will be determined for the settlement choice. Elite class Characteristics (cultural background, age, education, work / income, household) Functional Physical Social Economical Accessibility (of work, social relations and facilities) House quality Quality of the environment / surroundings Social - relationships Current population of district Employment Elements Facilities (leisure, health, educational, retail) Social safety Image of neighborhood Supply and conditions market Settlement choice Figure 3.1: Conceptual model 25 Only the aspect of authenticity and uniqueness has been left out of the scheme, because this element is aimed at the city as an whole. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 11

30 3.2 Problem statement As described by Florida (2002), van den Berg et. al. (1999) and Karsten (2007) there are several aspects that are important to create an attractive residential place where people wants to settle. The municipality of Rotterdam seems to puts emphasis on leisure, to increase the attractiveness of the city, and also literature gives importance to leisure as element of attractiveness. Is leisure indeed an important element in the settlement choice of people or has other elements more priority? And which kind of leisure is desired in the direct surroundings? Therefore the objective is to: to gain insight in the different elements that plays a role as settlement motive under high educated inhabitants (elites) in or near the city of Rotterdam and find out which role leisure has within these aspects. Also to find out which kind of leisure is desired in the direct surroundings. Research questions The main question which has to be answered. Which role has leisure within the different settlement elements for elites in Rotterdam, and which leisure is desired in the direct surroundings of their homes? General hypothesis There are several sources suggesting that leisure is an important settlement factor this elite class. Therefore the general hypothesis in this research is: Leisure is an important element to retain the elites of Rotterdam. 3.3 Research questions To answer the main question and the general hypothesis the following questions have to be answered. 1. What important developments took place in the history of Rotterdam, that have led to the current city of today? To understand the current decisions that are made in Rotterdam, it s important to know the history of the city. Especially because this thesis is written in English en could be read by someone who s not familiar with Rotterdam and its context. 2. What are the current characteristics of Rotterdam and how is it performing in comparison to the other main cities in the Netherlands? This question will give insight in the current performance of the city on the aspects: the economy, the population, the labour force, the safety, the facilities, the housing market, the environment and accessibility. 3. What is the participation, consumption behaviour and appreciation of the elites in relation with the current leisure of Rotterdam? Based on statistics of the municipality a description is given of these aspects. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 12

31 *The first two aspects will be worked out by explorative research. The questions are related to literature and statistics. 4. Which elements are important as settlement factor for elites? And which role has leisure within these aspects? The elements represented in the conceptual model are questioned on the elite class inhabitants. This will give insight about the importance of all elements. **The third question will be answered by both explorative research (literature) and surveys. The gained information from the literature is used for the conceptual model and problem statement, and can be found back in the theoretical framework. Later this theoretical knowledge is tested by a survey on the elite class in the Rotterdam region. This will give information about the importance of elements to the inhabitants of Rotterdam. More specific questions about different kinds of leisure in relation to the environment will give more detailed insight. 5. Are there priorities between the different elements? The elite class inhabitants will be asked to set priorities between the elements that are important to them. 6. Are there any differences in use between elite class inhabitants with different characteristics? Comparison between different characteristics of the elites from the surveys. Can the importance of leisure be explained by different characteristics? *** The last research questions will be answered by analysis of the surveys 3.4 Demarcations Some definitions are needed before continuing this thesis, below a definition is given of both leisure and the elite class of Rotterdam. Leisure There are different definitions of leisure, for this thesis the definition of Mommaas (2000) will be used. Mommaas has divided leisure in the following categories: 26 Horeca (bars, restaurants, discothèques, etc) Art and culture Sport Amusement and recreation Leisure combined with retail; The elite class of Rotterdam Florida describes his creative class, which includes; scientists, engineers, artists, musicians, designers and knowledge-based professionals. 27 However as Kooijman 26 Mommaas, J.T., Heuvel, M.C.M. van den, & Knulst, W.P. (2000). De vrijetijdsindustrie in Stad en Land; een Studie naar de Markt van Belevenissen. Den Haag: SdU Uitgevers. P Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 13

32 and Romein describe It is extremely difficult to define who belongs to the creative class and who does not 28. Although the municipality has also mentioned the creative class, there is no definition given of this class. Also the municipality of Rotterdam is aiming at a broader target group. Not only on creative s but all higher educated people and people with a higher income. Therefore the following definition will be used for the elite class. The elite class: People with at least a bachelor degree (people who finished a Dutch HBOschool or a bachelor at an university). 3.5 Research methodology To answer the research questions and test the general hypothesis two methods are used. Firstly explorative research based on literature and statistics. Secondly, empirical research by a survey under elites class inhabitants in Rotterdam: - Literature research; the first three research questions will be answered with literature and can be found back in the chapters 4, 5 and 6. - Empirical research; the elements from the theoretical framework will be tested by a survey under elite class inhabitants in Rotterdam. Empirical research As described before, some questions will be answered by surveys on the elite class inhabitants of Rotterdam. The choice of the samples is based on the desired living environments of the vision from the municipality of Rotterdam (figure 3.2). These living environments have different characteristics. - The red zone or so called centrum stedelijk woonmilieu (English) central urban area is characterized by high density of houses, high concentration of facilities, and vibrant street scene. The main target groups are dynamic 1- or 2- person households, students, starters and seniors. - The orange zone or so called rustig stedelijk woonmilieu (English) serene urban area also has a high concentration of facilities, but is less crowded and has more ground bounded houses. The area is meant for all types of households - The green zone or so called groen stedelijk woonmilieu (English) green urban area only supplies the basic facilities and is meant as more quiet living location with a lot of owner occupied houses and gardens. This type of living area has similar characteristics with suburban places. 27 Florida, R. (2002) The rise of the creative class : and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life, New York, NY, Basic Books, p.xiii 28 Kooijman, D., Romein, A. (2007) The limited potential of the creative city concept: policy practices in four Dutch cities, Delft, TUDelft, p.35, [online] Available at: Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 14

33 2 3 1 Figure 3.2: Overview of desired living environments of the municipality and of survey locations (Gemeente Rotterdam, 2007, p.66). A stratified sample is drawn from inhabitants of this 3 different zones, drawn from the gemeentelijke basis administratie [municipal basic administration]. From each area some neighbourhoods are chosen and from each neighbourhood 750 households are invited to participate in this investigation. The selection of the 750 households is based on the real estate value. All respondents are living in a house with a value above This is done to increase the chance to reach elite class inhabitants. 29 The survey is drawn by means of an internet survey. All participants have received a letter with a brief explanation and a personal password for the survey. In consideration with the research department of the municipality of Rotterdam the following areas are selected (see stars in figure above): (1) Central urban area: the Kop van Zuid area. (2) Serene urban area: Hillegersberg-Zuid and Blijdorp area (3) Green urban area: the Prinsenland and s Gravenland area Besides the surveys in the 3 zones, also people from some organisations in Rotterdam are approached to participate. 30 People from the following organisations are approached to participate: - Ortec-Finance (about 100 people) 29 There is no information available about the educational level of the inhabitants of Rotterdam, the assumption is made that most elites will live in prosperous houses. 30 The selection of these companies is based on personal connections, via personal connections it became possible to hold the surveys. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 15

34 - Eneco Rotterdam (about 30 people) - Heijmans Rotterdam (about 30 people) - Hogeschool Rotterdam Academieplein, department of architecture (about 20 people). A link with the internet address of the survey has been spread by the secretariat of the organisations. No personal passwords have been added to this survey. A third method is used to reach elite class inhabitants in Rotterdam. An invitation is placed on the group Rotterdam is top on the (professional) social network of LinkedIn. By this method its unclear how many people will be approached, a response analysis isn t possible. The second and especially the third method could give a diverse response. Therefore the three different methods have been used separately, so that separation is easily if any issues occur. Statistical analysis The results of the surveys will be analyses with the program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). This program contains several kinds of analysis, with all their own terms and restrictions. To avoid confusion, in the part below the analyses which are used (with their way of describing) are briefly explained. (Pearson) Chi-square test: The chi-square test is used to determine whether there is a significant difference between the frequencies in one or more categories. This test needs adequate sample sizes (at least 10). The results of this test will be described as: Chi-square, measure of freedom, significance X² (df)=...,p< 0.05 Fisher's exact test This test will be used if sample sizes are small (instead of chi-square). The results of this test will be described as: Chi-square, measure of freedom, significance X² (df)=...,p< 0.05 Kruskal-Wallis-test: This is a non-parametric method for testing equality of population medians among groups. It is identical to a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the data replaced by their ranks. The results of this test will be described as: Chi-square, measure of freedom, significance H(df)=..., P< 0.05 Logistic regression: Is used for prediction of the probability of occurrence of an event by fitting data. It is a regression with an outcome variable that is a categorical dichotomy and predictor variables that are continuous or categorical. The results of this test will be described with a table of the model. The following parameter will be shown: - Nagelkerke R² of the model - The ODDS Ratio (Exp (B)) and 95% CI - The significance: * p <.05, ** p <.01, *** p <.001. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 16

35 3.6 Read instructions Below a brief description is given of the framework of this report. The first three chapters contain information about the problem, the research questions and the used methods to answer these questions. Chapter 4 contains a brief description of main development in the history of Rotterdam. Chapter 5 describes some important characteristics and shows the performance of Rotterdam in comparison to other Dutch cities. These chapters could clarify a lot of the current problems and context of Rotterdam. Especially people who are not familiar with Rotterdam or its history should read these chapters. Chapter 6 focuses on the developments in leisure time and consumption behaviour. It describes the available leisure time, leisure activities and consumption. Chapter 7 describes the results from the surveys. In this chapter is shown which elements are important to the elite class inhabitants of Rotterdam and which priorities they have. Also an overview is given of the desired leisure in the direct surroundings. Chapter 8 shows the conclusions and recommendations. The research questions are answered and reflections are made. Research framework Literature Practical research Conclusions Introduction Development Rotterdam Settlement and leisure preferences Conclusions Theoretical framework Status Quo (results of the survey) Research framework Leisure and consumption behaviour Figure 3.3: Overview of the structure of this thesis. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 17

36 4. Development of Rotterdam This chapter describes the history and main developments of Rotterdam in the previous centuries. Rotterdam is a exceptional city in the Dutch history of urban development and has struggled with some large scale issues and events, which have had a major impact on its current form. The development from a middle-aged city toward a modern international seaport will be described briefly in this chapter. Also a brief overview is given of the current municipal plans. 4.1 History of Rotterdam About the year 1270 the first protective dikes and dams were built along the stream the Rotte. This is where the city gains it s name, a dam on the Rotte or Rotterdam. Some years later, at 7 June 1340, the city granted city rights given by Count Willem IV. At this time Rotterdam was just a little city with a low amount of inhabitants. In 1350 the shipping canal Rotterdamse Schie was completed, which resulted in shipping traffic between the (larger) cities Delft and Dordrecht 31. The city grows slowly in the 15 th and 16 th century, fishing (herring) and trade becomes more important. New harbours have to be build to support the increasing harbour activities. Rotterdam becomes a transhipment centre between Holland, England, Germany and France. In 1572 the city becomes a strategic point in the revolt of Willem van Oranje (later; Prince of Orange) against the Spanish domination. The threat of a Spanish assault on the city has led to the decision to fortify the city. New canals and city walls are build to defend the harbours and strengthen the military position 32. Figure 4.1: City expansion in (left) and expansion in (right). (Laar & Jaarsfeld, 2004, p.21). In the 17 th century around the year 1600 the first (large) harbour expansions take place (figure 4.2). The amount of inhabitants increases towards about in 31 Laar, P. van de, Jaarsveld, M. van, (2004). Historische atlas van Rotterdam: De groei van de stad in beeld. Amsterdam, Uitgeverij SUN, p Idem, p Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 18

37 1650 and Rotterdam becomes larger than its neighbours Delft, Dordrecht and Gouda. The port of Rotterdam becomes one of the six port cities of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), the Dutch East India Company. Around 1700 the city has grown and become the second largest city of the Netherlands with about inhabitants. Figure 4.2: City expansion in the 17 th century (Laar & Jaarsfeld, 2004, p.22). In the 17 th century, the military defence was important because of the war with Spain, and therefore walls and canals were needed. In the 18 th century the military defence became less important and because of the growth the city had to expand. The growth of inhabitants had let to a dense city and expansion inside this city walls was not possible anymore. Industrial (shipbuilding) functions were relocated to areas outside the city to create more space for living. During the 18 th century the appearance of Rotterdam improves. The Boompjes area becomes a central meeting place in Rotterdam and the elite class inhabitants moves from the crowded inner city towards this Boompjes area. A lot of houses and public space is being beautified. A lot of manor houses and merchant s houses are build, like you will see nowadays in the city of Amsterdam. Figure 4.3: Example of houses in 18 th century (Laar & Jaarsfeld, 2004, p.27) Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 19

38 4.2 Rotterdam in the 19th century Halfway the 19th century there are some large scale changes in the Dutch society. The industrial and demographic revolution begins to affect the cities in the Netherlands. De industriële revoluties brachten het stoomgemaal, het stoomschip en de ijzeren spoorweg, gevolgd door de elektriciteit, de telegraaf, de telefoon en de chemische industrie. De demografische revolutie werd veroorzaakt door de verbetering van de hygiëne. 33 [The industrial revolution brought the steam(-driven) pumping station and the railway, followed by electricity, the telegraph, the phone and the chemical industry. The demographic revolution was caused by improvements in hygiene.] This was also the case in Rotterdam. In the year 1850 the amount of population has increased to inhabitants, Rotterdam has become a dense and unhealthy city. Most of the people didn t have fresh water and had to use the water from the city canals, which were also used as open sewer and garbage dump. Because of a cholera epidemic in 1854, the municipality decided to improve the quality of life inside the city. Extra canals were made to improve the water system in the city, the so called Waterproject. In the same period a new railway has been build, to connect Rotterdam with Amsterdam and Antwerp (Belgium). The municipality was forced by the local government to locate the railways straight through the city, an intervention that changed the appearance of the inner city (see figure below). The inner city has changed, with the growth and expansion, to a centre for the whole city. Some large retail functions settle themselves in the inner city area. Figure 4.4: The new Railway in the city centre of Rotterdam, about 1880 (Laar & Jaarsfeld, 2004, p.33). 33 Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p.125 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 20

39 New legislation The unhealthy situation and the cholera epidemics together with the growth of inhabitants have led to more attention for the quality of the general housing accommodation. In 1896 the publication Het vraagstuk der volkshuisvesting [the problems of public housing] is published in which Drucker, Greven and Kruseman assigns the amount of slums and shortage of houses as the main problem. In 1901 the Housing act comes into force, which provides constrains for houses and leads to some improvement. The Housing act forces municipalities to take measures in the housing supply and by that has consequences for the whole city. However this legislation makes it only possible to regulate the squares, roads and canals. Other areas cannot be regulated by this act. Some years later in 1908 the law is extended by minister Heemskerk with extra regulation, which makes it possible to put constrains on every kind of land The World Sea Port Rotterdam The greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg (English) New Water Canal, in This new canal reduced the distance towards sea to with 30 km, and should made the Rotterdam harbours accessible for large ocean-going vessels. However the first decades this intervention wasn t successful. The new water cannel wasn t deep enough for large vessels and the cannel was flooded with mud. In 1889 orders were given to dredge out the cannel, and the new water cannel became accessible for vessels with draught of 7 meter. Figure 4.5: Overview of Rotterdam in 1850 before the new water canal (above) and in 1890 with the new water canal (under) ( accessed ) 34 Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 21

40 The new harbours and industry attract a lot of workers and bourgeois, trading and exchange of goods with other (sea) ports starts to increase. Because of an agricultural-crisis and the growing importance of the industrial sector, county areas in the Netherlands depopulated. Farmers and other rural inhabitants moved to the city looking for a job and the amount of inhabitants of Rotterdam increases drastically. The municipality decides to expand the city, new industries and harbours must be build to fulfil the increasing demands. This expansion should be located at the south side of the River, in the so called Feijenoord area. Soon it became clear that the new harbours in Feijenoord were insufficient, more harbours had to be build. In 1879 the director from the department of public works (G.J. de Jongh) decided to use a different design for the new to build harbours. The harbours should be larger and be free accessible for ocean vessels. Old villages and polders are being replaced by three new harbours; the Rijnhaven ( ), the Maashaven ( ) and the Waalhaven ( ). Figure 4.6: Overview of Rotterdam in 1910 (above) and in 1935 (under), ( accessed ). In the figure above, the new harbours are clearly visible. The port function starts to gain a dominant role in the layout of the city of Rotterdam. Because of the new industries and harbours the employment increases and a lot of new residents settle themselves in Rotterdam. The trade of goods and passenger travel between Rotterdam and other international cities increases. The municipality continues the annexation of the surrounding villages, and increased the amount of houses to satisfy the housing needs of its new inhabitants. The increasing population and improved economic situation led to a higher demand for traffic and transportation, which leaves its mark on the infrastructure of the city. Also the southern area, below the river, has become a large residential district with a lot of houses. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 22

41 Influence of CIAM on urban town planning. Between 1920 and 1945 urban town planning developed from an intuitive design process to a more scientific based process. De opkomst van het praktisch sociaalwetenschappelijk onderzoek vormde een stimulans tot wetenschappelijke onderbouwing van plannen. Toepassing van economische, geografische en sociologische inzichten vond in de jaren dertig zijn weg in streekplannen en stedelijke uitbreidingsplannen. Het hoogtepunt daarvan was het Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan voor de gemeente Amsterdam van [The emerging practical social-scientific research stimulated to scientific based planning. In the thirties the use of economic, geographic and sociologic views settled down in regional planning and urban development planning. With as highlight the general development plan of Amsterdam in 1934.] The AUP was based on the fundamentals of the functional city of CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d Architecture Moderne) 36. An important principle in this concept is the separation of functions. The CIAM has a large impact on the urban development and is the basis of modern town planning. Figure 4.7: Dutch poster of the 1933 Athens Charter (Cammen et.al, 2003, p139). 4.4 Consequences of the WOII In 1940, just before the war with Germany there lived about inhabitants in the city of Rotterdam, twice as much as in The Second World War (WOII) had begun and Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the Netherlands in just one day. However his forces met unexpectedly fierce resistance. This led to the plan to bombard the city of Rotterdam and threatening to bomb other Dutch cities if capitulation was refused. On the 14 th of May in 1940 the Germans hold an aerial bombardment on Rotterdam. The objective was to break the Dutch resistance, and force the Dutch to surrender. In about 10 minutes the German air force demolished the city centre of Rotterdam. About 850 people were killed and houses and other buildings were demolished. A huge fire burned about 258 hectare of the city, buildings that survived the bombardment still got demolished by this fire Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p The CIAM was founded in 1928 by the architects LE Corbusier and Siegfried Giedion in La Sarraz. 37 Laar, P. van de, Jaarsveld, M. van, (2004). Historische atlas van Rotterdam: De groei van de stad in beeld. Amsterdam, Uitgeverij SUN, p Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 23

42 Figure 4.8: Rotterdam after the bombardment of 1940 (wikipedia.org/wiki/rotterdam_blitz, accessed ). About people lost their homes and about 5 million cubic metre of rubbish had to be cleaned. The municipality decided to expropriate the demolished land and make a new reconstruction plan. On 18 may 1940 the municipality of Rotterdam assigned the city developer W.G. Witteveen with the task to make a reconstruction plan. His reconstruction plan was based on the pre-war ideas and studies, however received a lot of criticism from modern architects. In 1944 he went on sick leave and his assistant Cornelis van Traa took his position. Inspired by modernistic views of the CIAM Traa adapted the plans and made a clear distinctions between function and architecture. He made a land-use-plan that was based on the functions of traffic, work, houses and recreation. No specific constrains were given for the architectural appearance of the buildings. In his plans Traa used the (historical) city canals as dump for the rubbish of demolished buildings 38. The city centre was used as central point for most of the urban economic facilities and the shortage of houses had to be solved fast; Wil men de achterstand in tien jaar inhalen (...) dan zullen er jaarlijks tot stuks moeten verrijzen 39 [If we want to catch up about to houses has to be build yearly] premier Schermerhorn said in a radiobroadcast after the liberation. A period of reconstruction had begun in which a lot of houses had to be build for all the people who lost their houses during WOII. 38 Laar, P. van de, Jaarsveld, M. van, (2004). Historische atlas van Rotterdam: De groei van de stad in beeld. Amsterdam, Uitgeverij SUN, p Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p.192 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 24

43 4.5 Reconstruction after WOII During the bombardment of the WOII a lot of historical buildings have been destroyed. The buildings that survived the bombardment were hardly damaged, and almost all of them have been demolished, only the Sint-Laurenskerk en the Schielandshuis has been restored. Because of the housing shortage a mass production of houses takes place, with a focus on quantity and speed. The reconstructions are characterized by the following aspects: - Based on the functional and modern ideas (of CIAM) a distinction is made between functions - A restricted amount of houses in the city centre, the destroyed houses had to be rebuilt in new neighbourhoods (with a lot of apartment blocks). - Replacement of the city centre to the west, the Coolsingel had to become the heart of the city centre. - More space for traffic. Besides the reconstruction of the city also the destroyed harbours are repaired and expanded. The so called Botlek area is build, an industrial area with a lot of chemical industry. As visual in the figure below the industrial area (grey) and the city of Rotterdam (red) expands again. Figure 4.9: Overview of Rotterdam in 1955 ( In the fifties the reconstruction is well under way and Rotterdam gains the image of work-city and the city develops as example of modernity. The architectural elaboration of the reconstruction plan has been done by architects like Van den Broek & Bakema, Maskant & Tijen, Kraaijvanger, Elffers and others. The traditional architecture transforms to more functional architecture. 40 In 1953 the Lijnbaan is opened, Europe s first purpose-built pedestrian (shopping) street. At the same time the Euromast was build, which became a symbol for the city for some decades. Also the port related industry starts to increase, in 1962 Rotterdam becomes the world s busiest port. A position which is retained until 1986 (for shipping tonnage and containers) and until 2004 (for cargo tonnage). Looking at the figures below it 40 [accessed ] Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 25

44 becomes clear that industry dominates a large part of the landscape. The industry (grey area) occupies half of Rotterdam. Figure 4.10: Overview of Rotterdam in 1965 (above) and in 1980 (under), ( Suburbanisation Between 1940 and 1970 the amount of inhabitants in the Netherlands increased drastically from 8,8 million to 12,9 million and also the economic situation became better. The increased prosperity, the shortage of houses and the growth of population required coherent plans on a larger scale. In 1958 the plan Randstad Holland has been made to arrange urban planning on a larger scale. Followed by the Eerste Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Nederland (1960), a notation of the ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Netherlands, and the Tweede Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Nederland (1966). With these plans a new period of urban planning had began. 41 In the sixties the growth changed from a concentrated towards a not-concentrated growth. The settlement choice of households was determined to an increasing extent by consumption elements instead of production elements. The supply of houses and the employment grow from one other. A lot of people moved from Rotterdam to the surrounding suburbs. The amount of people that commute between home and work growth from Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p.163 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 26

45 in 1960 towards in 1971, about one third of the working population. 42 The city centre becomes a bad accessible place with a lot of traffic jams. In the sixties a subway is placed in Rotterdam to improve the accessibility of the city centre. Also four and six lanes wide freeways are places to open up the area. In the next years new problems emerge; the economic situation in the seventies becomes worse, a lot of companies left the (main) cities, the unemployment increases. A lot of (pre-war) city districts run down and people are leaving the cities. The CIAM (ceased to exist in 1959) devoted the last meeting to city centre and the design of public space. This leads to the rejection of the Charter of Athens (1933). Architecture and urbanism should have to integrate and give identity to the build environment. Aldus kreeg vormgeving in dienst van de menselijke ontplooiing voorrang boven de ordening van functies op grond van statistische analyse en onderzoek.vanaf 1970 vond dit nieuwe gedachtegoed brede ingang. Urbaniteit werd niet langer in verband gebracht met de stad als commercieel brandpunt, maar met het stadscentrum als forum, ontmoetingsplaats. 43 [Designing in service of human development gained priority above the designing of functions based on statistical analysis and research From 1970 this new way of thinking established. Urbanity wasn t connected to the city as commercial centre anymore, but was connected to the city centre as forum, as meeting place] The city centre gains a lot of attention during this period, a lot of the people in Rotterdam aren t satisfied with the city. The city has modern, functional architecture which is experienced as cold and comfortless. A lot of citizens don t like the appearance of the city. A social psychologist named Wentholt, starts an investigation and concludes that the city lacks cosiness. The city of Rotterdam would need a better city centre, he makes the following statement: Een stadshart gaat pas kloppen en in die zin bestaat het pas als het centrum zo aantrekkelijk wordt gevonden dat de bevolking, of aanzienlijke categorieën van de bevolking, er vaker komt dan functioneel strikt noodzakelijk is. 44 [A city centre starts working and in that way only exists as the centre is found so attractive that the population, or major categories of the population, will visit it more often than is functionally strictly necessary] The municipality decides to improve the quality of life, and increase the cosiness of the city. Living-, cultural- and recreational functions should be strengthened. The new plans compacte stad and Structuurplan Rotterdam binnen de Ruit leads to; an impulse of facilities, housing- and neighbourhood improvements and improved accessibility Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p Idem, p Idem, p Laar, P. van de, Jaarsveld, M. van, (2004). Historische atlas van Rotterdam: De groei van de stad in beeld. Amsterdam, Uitgeverij SUN, p Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 27

46 Internationalization and competition During the economic downfall from 1979 and 1984 the question arises which role urban planning can play in the economical recovery. The economy has become a worldwide system that s connected with each other, a process explained by the sociologist Manuel Castells. Castells explains: The ICT revolution has resulted in a worldwide network of interconnecting decision and knowledge centres, work areas, financial service providers and leisure, entertainment and cultural areas. In effect, this creates a new reality domain: a sort of new World with its own laws, no longer having anything to do with our old and safe world of places and geography (the space of places). This new world is mainly organised around flows (of goods, people and money) and relation networks. A space arises that is determined not so much by places, but by its position and function in unlimited networks This is what Castells calls the space of flows; a world-covering space of networks, characterised by immediateness, foot looseness, limitlessness, openness, anonymity, market-orientation and uncontrollability 46. This development has also consequences for the Dutch society. The international competition between regions has become a dominant theme. In the Vierde nota over de ruimtelijke ordening (1988) 47 aspects like internationalisation, economic perspectives, opportunities and strengthening of the qualities gain a central role. Which was called pre-sort for the 21th century. Trust was put upon the market forces for the construction of the city. Opportunities and strengths were being enlarged; marketing for settlement motives, strategic project planning and cooperation with business for investments take place 48. Because of the worldwide interconnected economy companies begin to settle in different economic zones over the world and cities began to promote themselves. Also Rotterdam with its highrise projects, the Erasmus-bridge and the representation of Rotterdam as Manhattan at the Maas starts to promote itself. 49 Figure 4.11: The Erasmusbrug of Ben van Berkel, icon of the new Rotterdam, symbolizes the rediscovery of the city (Cammen et.al, 2003, p295). 46 Castells in WIGMANS, G. (2007) Cities and their social context: a problem outline, TU Delft, Delft, p.1-2, 47 A notation of the ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Netherlands. 48 Cammen, H. van der, Klerk, L. de (2003). Ruimtelijke ordening: Van grachtengordel tot vinex-wijk. Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, p Laar, P. van de, Jaarsveld, M. van, (2004). Historische atlas van Rotterdam: De groei van de stad in beeld. Amsterdam, Uitgeverij SUN, p.7 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 28

47 Consequences of economic restructuring Rotterdam has lost his position as world s busiest port to Shanghai and Singapore, but still remains the largest port of Europe. Although industry is still an important element it s not generating much employment anymore. Figure 4.12: Overview of transhipment and employment in the port of Rotterdam (Laar & Jaarsfeld, 2004, p.67). The transhipment of goods between 1945 and 1998 has increased fast, however the number of jobs in related industry has decreased. Because of automation less workers are needed to do the work, the employment in the industrial sector is shrinking. On the other hand the amount of work in the service and knowledge sector is increasing. As the table below shows the service sector in the Netherlands has increased from 43% in 1947 to 74% in Year Agriculture Industry Services Total Unemployed & fishing Cs* N-cs* % 36% 43% % 40% 48% % 37% 57% % 33% 35% 27% % 27% 46% 25% % 23% 46% 28% * Cs = commercial services, N-cs = non-commercial services. Table 4.1: Overview of employment by economic sector in the Netherlands between (Cammen et.al, 2003, p367) With the shift from an industrial to a service and knowledge oriented economy, some new problems emerged. Especially in Rotterdam, with its industry and port functions, a mismatch arises between the employment opportunities and labour supply. As Burgers describes: While the growth in employment was concentrated at the upper end of the employment structure as Hamnett s data also show requiring high educational levels, the unemployed in the cities are poorly schooled Burgers, J. (1996) No Polarization in Dutch cities? Inequality in a Corporatist Country. Urban Studies1996; 33; 99 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 29

48 Primary education or less Higher education Amsterdam 14% 34% Rotterdam 19% 21% The Hague 18% 26% Utrecht 15% 35% The Netherlands 12% 20% Table 4.2: Educational level of the population aged between year, 1991 (Burgers, 1996, p101.) All four cities have both a higher proportion poorly educated people and a higher proportion of people trained professionally and scientifically. However Rotterdam seems to have the worst statistics, in 1991 Rotterdam had 21% of higher educated inhabitants which is almost the same as the 20% nationwide. Rotterdam also has a higher percentage of people with primary education or less (19%) in comparison with Amsterdam (14%) and the percentage nationwide (12%). Burgers mentions that when unemployment is included, the educational levels in cities becomes polarised. Not only a polarization in terms of the incidence of high-quality jobs and poorly educated unemployment, but also in terms of ethnicity. The amount of unemployed in Rotterdam under ethnic groups is about 15% higher than unemployment of indigenous Dutch. The long term unemployed under ethnic groups were even three times more than unemployed under indigenous Dutch, in A lot of the low educated (ethnic) groups live in the same area with a high amount of social houses. These neighbourhoods have become underprivileged areas, with a lot of social problems. 4.6 Changed role of the (inner) city For centuries, the majority of the Dutch population didn t came far beyond their own village or city. With the introduction of the steam train (1839), cycling (1868) and the automobile (1896) this changed. It became possible to travel over a larger distance. However leisure time was still an exceptional concept which was only available to the elite because the average worker didn t have much holidays. After the Second World War leisure time became available to the total population. The prosperity increased and the household income rose rapidly, more and more households gained access to a car. Remarkable is that the first traffic jam in 1955 wasn t because of commuter traffic but because of leisure movements on Whit Sunday. The available leisure time and the increased prosperity had large consequences for the city. Cities have become touristic places with a lot of entertainment and consumption oriented facilities. Statistics show that nowadays (on average) about 20% of the household income is spent on leisure. 51 Leisure activities have developed to an important element of life. The development of leisure activities and the consequences of this for the city is an event which is clearly described by the Danish architects Gehl et. al. They describe the gradual development of an industrial society s with an essential city life to the 51 NVM (2009) Het economisch belang van leisure en de rol van leisure in gebeidsontwikkeling, Nieuwegein, NVM, p.6 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 30

49 current society with an elective city life. As Gehl et. al. describes in the first chapter about New city life: Where city life was once a necessity and taken for granted, today it is an option. 52 A century ago, in the beginning of the 20 th century, the quality of city space didn t play much of a role. Necessary work related activities dominated the city space, the streets were crowded with workers and work-related traffic. Nowadays in the 21th century this picture has changed, necessary activities play a limited role. Aspects like trade of goods, news and transport has moved indoors, and optional or recreational activities have taken over the public space. Today leisure- and consumer related activities dominate the city life instead of work related daily life activities (figure 4.13). Optional activities (Urban recreation) Necessary activities will happen regardless of quality will happen only when good quality city space exists Figure 4.13: Development of city life from 1880 until 2005 (Gehl, J. Et. Al., 2006, p. 9) Many changes in society with varying impact on city life have taken place: households have shrunk, people study longer and start their family later, women have become more independent and work more often, people have more room than they used to, due to technology more things are privatised and functions are more often handled privately and individually. Although we have more resources and time available, direct meetings with other people can still be few. Meeting other people is often not anymore an automatic part of daily life. 53 Gehl et. al. mentions that although the city life has changed much, the most important function still remains the same. Meeting other people is the most important function and attraction of the city, and city space has always had a central role as meeting place. As Gehl et al mentions: In a changed society, new city life can be considered to fulfil the traditional meeting function in a new guise due to changed circumstances. Now as before city space is the framework for people s meetings with society and each other. 54 This new situation sets new constrains to the appearance and functional layout of the city, the city has to facilitate optional activities. Activities which Gehl categorises 52 Gehl, J. et al. (2006) New city life, Copenhagen, Danish Architectural Press, p.8 53 Idem, p Idem, p.15 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 31

50 in passive activities (like for example staying at a terrace) and active activities (like for example jogging and skating). In just a few decades the city has transformed from a work oriented city to a city that includes a lot of leisure and enjoyment. In her book Pret! leisure en landschap ( Fun! Leisure and landscape ) Tracy Metz (2002) describes the impact of leisure and recreation on the living and working environments in the Netherlands. Metz mentions that leisure was once a valuable but limited element in the society, which has become an overpowering factor. Several kinds of new places and buildings emerge and existing locations change in character. Several inner city areas have undergone a metamorphosis and are tuned to the regional and national market of recreation and tourism. The functioning of the city is increasingly dependent on the visitors which is attracted and less of its 'own inhabitants'. The way we spend our free time, have become just as crucial to our social identity as the work we do or the things we possess. There has been a large growth of companies to fill or quality time and also the competition in the leisure market has grown. The high demands for memorable experiences have led to multifunctional places with a lot of leisure. Functions which were separated in the past are nowadays mixed and should flow into one another. Shopping has become a pleasure trip to a lot of people, and a day of shopping is often combined with other activities like a theatre show or a diner at a restaurant. Even the experience has often become more important than the product itself. Mommaas has studied this phenomena and comments that a large amount of the population is confronted with the paradox of a growing supply of leisure facilities but also with a decreased amount of available free time. Mommaas mentions that the consumer is becoming harder to please and has become goal-oriented: nowadays people want a guarantee for experience on forehand. The consumers also seem to be willing to travel a larger distance for their leisure activities Rotterdam in the 21th century Rotterdam wants to expand its economy, the service and knowledge economy have become an important element for the municipality. For a strong service and knowledge economy, a professionally and scientifically trained population is necessary. This seems to be an issue, as described in the previous paragraph, Rotterdam has a high amount of low skilled labours and a low amount of highly educated inhabitants. An aspect which has not yet been improved in the 21th century. As described in the first chapter Rotterdam suffers from negative selective migration. On average there is an outflow of native Dutch inhabitants with a higher education level of income level. This outflow has been compensated by inflow of foreigners from outside the Netherlands, which have on average a low income and 55 Mommaas, H (2000) De vrijetijdsindustrie in stad en land: Een studie naar de markt van belevenissen, Den Haag, Sdu uitgevers, p.10 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 32

51 educational level. Fortunately, this phenomenon has also been recognized by the municipality of Rotterdam, therefore already in the nineties plans are made to improve the situation. Old neighbourhoods are improved and also new developments take place, which are aimed at the service- and knowledge workers. The idea is to present the inner-city as settlement location again, to attract residents to this area. One of these improvements is the developments of Kop van Zuid. This old harbour area has to become part of the central city area, with a lot of high-rise projects and a mix of functions. The Erasmus-bridge connects this new part with the historical centre on the north-side of the river. At the end of the 20 th century a master plan is made and a lot of developments are started. Figure 4.14: (left) an impression of the final design of Kop van Zuid (right) picture of September 2007 ( After the elections in 2002, in which the new party Leefbaar Rotterdam under lead of Pim Fortuyn won the elections, the urban renew changed. Emphasis was put on social mix by building more expensive houses and also safety and maintenance became more important. 56 Future plans for Rotterdam In 2006 the municipality of Rotterdam published the document Rotterdam Gateway to Europe, the course to 2030, a strategic report with interventions for the spatial and economical development of Rotterdam. In this report the municipality explicitly mentions that the service and knowledge sectors are important for the economy of Rotterdam. As the mayor of Rotterdam (Opstelten) said about the visionary document: Het is de strategische richting waarin Rotterdam zich wil ontwikkelen. Daarbij moeten we keuzes maken. Om zelf sterker te worden, maar ook om binnen de Randstad een krachtige speler te kunnen zijn. Want op internationaal niveau is de Randstad dé economische regio in Nederland die de concurrentiestrijd met de grote stedelijke agglomeraties in Europa en de rest van de wereld aankan. Een strijd die de komende jaren naar verwachting vooral gevoerd zal worden op het terrein van de kennis- en dienstengeoriënteerde economie. 57 [It s the strategic course in which Rotterdam wants to develop and therefore choices have to be made. To become stronger itself, but also to become a powerful participant in the Randstad area. Because on international level the Randstad is the economic region in Netherland 56 [accessed ] 57 Gemeente Rotterdam (2006) Gateway to Europe: De koers naar 2030, Gemeente Rotterdam Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 33

52 that can compete with other urban agglomerations in Europe and in the World. A competition expected to take place in the knowledge- and service economy] As figure 4.15 shows, (2) Rotterdam is presented as a (geographical) strategic middle point of the (1) Randstad area and the (3) Rhine-Scheldt- Delta. The report also shows an ambitious investment program from 2006 until the year 2030, with a total investment of 12,9 billion euro (based on investments of marked parties, the municipality and the government). The summary of this report shows 5 priorities, which are: - A second Maasvlakte (an industrial area at sea) - Transformation of old port areas. - Science port Holland, a first class business park to the north of Rotterdam - Intensifying and improving the accessibility of the inner city. - Creation of an attractive residential city. Figure 4.15: Strategic position of Rotterdam. After the report was published the municipality decided that further elaboration and foundation was needed. For a period of one and a half year the municipality worked on this document. During the elaboration about 80 market parties were interviewed and a lot of research has been done until the report was finished. In November of 2007 the municipality published the final version of the vision for This document doesn t only contain a strategic vision but also contains a spatial development strategy. The five priorities of the Gateway document have been summarized to a main objective, which is: Bouw aan een sterke economie en een aantrekkelijke woonstad [Work at a strong economy and an attractive residential city]. 58 This is a two-folded mission about creating (1) a strong economy with more employment and (2) an attractive city to live in with a balanced population. For the second part of this mission creating an attractive residential city, the municipality mentions that high-educated and creative people should be attracted and retained to the city, also people with a middle- or high income have priority (Gemeente Rotterdam, 2007). Looking at the strategies and implementations it becomes clear that there is a large focus on the housing sector. Building new houses, transforming or improving old houses is an important strategy. Even a development program has been made which shows a target of houses for the period (about each 58 Gemeente Rotterdam (2007) Stadsvisie Rotterdam: ruimtelijke ontwikkelingsstrategie 2030, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p. 43 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 34

53 year) 59. Also gentrification is an important aspect which has to be accomplished by privatising houses, by increasing spatial quality, locating catering industry and by stimulating creative economy. To create an attractive residential city for the named target groups, they mention that it is insufficient only to create a supply of good houses. Also quality of public space, accessibility by both car and public transport, safety and facilities (like: education, child care, medical/social, sports and games, retail, et cetera) are important create an attractive residential city. 4.8 Conclusion The development of Rotterdam has been subjected to several issues and events. The city has transformed from a fishing village to an international sea port with a lot of industrial and port related functions. A development which is caused by the industrialisation, the (strategic) geographic position of the city and by the development of the Nieuwe Waterweg [New waterway]. On the 14 th of May in 1940 the city faces one of its most tragic happenings, the inner city is demolished during an aerial bombardment and people lose their homes. An occurrence with large consequences for the city of Rotterdam. The reconstruction plan of the municipality was based on functional and modernistic views, one of the main elements was separation of functions for work, living and recreation. This has determined for a large part the layout of the city, with industry zones, living areas and an inner city with a lot of consuming, entertainment and recreational facilities. After the war a lot people were homeless and therefore houses had to be built fast. The new build neighbourhoods contained a lot of the same house types with a often a low quality level. The welfare increases and a lot of people leave the polluted and obsolete city and move to the suburbs, an outflow which for a large part has been compensated by an inflow of immigrants. In this time a lot of people value the city as cold and comfortless, the city of Rotterdam seemed to lacks cosiness. Therefore the municipality started to invest in elements that should improve the quality of life. Several living-, culture- and recreational facilities were built and the inner city becomes a place of consumption, recreation and entertainment. The internationalization and rise of the network society resulted in a larger aim on the quality of the city. Employment in industry and port related activities decreases, on the other hand the employment in other sectors like the service and knowledge economy starts to increase and have become important economical sectors. These sectors need a professionally and scientifically trained labour force, however Rotterdam has some issues concerning this topic. Rotterdam suffers from a negative selective migration. On yearly basis a lot of educated and privileged inhabitants leave the city to settle somewhere else (mostly in the region). This is a bad development for a city who tries to strengthen its service and knowledge economy. Rotterdam tries to turn the tide and have formulated the objective to become an attractive residential city where all kinds of people would want to live. Attracting and retaining privileged inhabitants have become important. 59 Gemeente Rotterdam (2007) Stadsvisie Rotterdam: ruimtelijke ontwikkelingsstrategie 2030, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p. 62 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 35

54 5. Current performance of Rotterdam The previous chapter describes the history of Rotterdam, it gives an overview of the events and strategies that occurred in the last centuries. This chapter focuses on the current performance of the city. Based on (secondary) research and statistics, several elements of the city of Rotterdam are described. Besides descriptive information, also two kinds of analysis are made to give insight in the performance of Rotterdam. (1) A comparison of the current performance of Rotterdam and the performance in the past. This to find out if the performance is improving. (2) A comparison with three other large cities in the Netherlands, the so called G4-cities. This G4-cities exists out of: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The first paragraph gives a general overview of the economy and settlement climate of Rotterdam in comparison with the other G4-cities. The next paragraphs all describe and compare an individual element, these individual elements are: the economy-, the population-, the labour force-, the safety-, the facilities-, the housing stock-, the quality of the environment- and the accessibility of Rotterdam. 5.1 Overall performance of Rotterdam The seventh edition of the economical exploration of Rotterdam ( ) starts with a so called vitality-web of the economy and settlement climate in the G4 cities. This vitality-web compares the G4-cities on several aspects (see figure 5.1). economy (social) facilities labour market quality of life knowledge and innovation space for entrepreneurs Rotterdam Amsterdam The Hague Utrecht Figure 5.1: Vitality-web of the economy and settlement climate in the G4 in 2008 (Economische verkenning Rotterdam , p.15). Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 36

55 From this vitality-web it becomes clear that, in comparison with the other three large cities of the Netherlands, Rotterdam performs well on the element economy. Rotterdam has a large economy, which has shown a strong growth. Also in terms of productivity the city seems to perform well in comparison with the other three G4- cities. On the elements knowledge & innovation and facilities the cities performs reasonable. Rotterdam has a low research and development ratio (R&D-graad) and also the knowledge intensive services score low. On the other hand Rotterdam scores relatively high on productivity and lifelong learning. In matter of facilities Rotterdam has a strong position in terms of education and healthcare. The elements labour market, space for entrepreneurs and quality of life show a bad performance in comparison to the other G4-cities. The participation on the labour market is low and has a lower amount of highly educated labours than in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Rotterdam also has a high vacancy ratio in the office market and has few company grounds to give out. The quality of life scores low, because of an imbalanced housing stock, a low amount of cultural facilities per inhabitant and a limited size of the creative class. Another general performance indicator is the woonaantrekkelijkheid index [live attractiveness index] which is published on yearly basis. This is an index with a weighted mix of several statistical indicators about: accessibility of jobs, supply of cultural facilities, safety, the housing market, closeness to natural beauty, supply of culinary delight, universities and the historical nature of the city. This indicator shows that Rotterdam is lacking performance in comparison to the other G4-cities; Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Of the 50st largest cities in the Netherlands Amsterdam seem to be the most attractive place to live. Utrecht is placed secondly and The Hague is placed on the fourth place. Rotterdam is placed on the 12 th position in 2009, and has one place in this index in comparison to Figure 5.2: Live attractiveness index in the G4-cities (Staat van Rotterdam 2010, p.64) Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 37

56 5.2 Economy of Rotterdam Currently the economic crisis is almost three years old now, the problems on the housing market in the US in 2007 have become a global financial crisis. This crisis has also consequences for the current economy of the Netherlands and of Rotterdam. Like the national economy, the economy of Rotterdam shows a lower growth ratio (see figure below), however the economy in 2008 was still growing with about 2,4%. After 2008 the economic situation in the Netherlands has become worse. Statistics show that in Rotterdam about one out of twenty has lost their job during the financial crisis. 60 Rotterdam area Amsterdam The Hague area Utrecht Netherlands Figure 5.3: Economic growth in the G4-cities and the Netherlands (Economische verkenning Rotterdam 2010, p.29). This can be found back in the unemployment ratio which is increasing after As the figure below shows, the percentage of unemployed people is much higher in Rotterdam than in the other G4-cities. Figure 5.4: Unemployment ratio (Staat van Rotterdam 2010, p.76) In contrast to the economic crisis the employment seems to be increasing in the Netherlands, however not in Rotterdam. The figure below show the development of employment in the G4-cities. In The Hague and Amsterdam the amount of jobs is increasing, however Rotterdam shows a different trend. The employment seems to stay at the same level and hasn t grown much in comparison to With the 60 Rhee, M. van, Roode, A.L. (2010). Staat van Rotterdam 2010, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS), p.19 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 38

57 large port, trade and industry clusters, the economy of Rotterdam depends for a large part on the global economy. This could reflect the de difference in employment. Rotterdam Amsterdam The Hague Utrecht Netherlands Figure 5.5: Employment growth in the G4-cities (Economische verkenning Rotterdam , p.42) Within the economy there are three clusters of companies who, according to the Economical Vision of Rotterdam, are important for the future economy of Rotterdam. 61 These sectors are; the industrial and port complex, the creative cluster and the medical cluster, who are responsible for 20%, 3,3% and 9,4% of Rotterdam s economy. 62 medical cluster creative cluster industrial and port complex (2009) jobs jobs jobs Figure 5.6: Mutations in the three key sectors of Rotterdam (Economische verkenning Rotterdam , p.34). The three sectors differ a lot, the industrial and port complex related employment isn t growing anymore, it has shrunk a little in comparison to the year The creative cluster differs over time and is cyclically sensitive. The medical cluster shows a constant growth over time, even during the economic crisis. 61 EDBR (2005), Economische Visie 2020; Rotterdam: stad van de toekomst, sterke stad in een welvarende regio, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam. 62 Gemeente Rotterdam (2009) Economische verkenning Rotterdam , Rotterdam, OBR, p.34 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 39

58 5.3 Population of Rotterdam In comparison to the total Netherlands the inhabitants of Rotterdam seems to be younger. The amount of younger people is and will be larger than nationwide. In 2010 there are about 4,5 people aged 20 to 64 for every pensioner (65+), in the year 2025 this number will decrease to about 4,2. Nationwide this number decreases much more, from 4,0 in 2010 towards 2,6 in This prognoses show a sharp rise in the ageing population on national level, however in Rotterdam the population will have the same proportions as nowadays. Figure 5.7: Development of population (Staat van Rotterdam 2010, p.27) Looking more specific at the segmentation of the population it becomes clear that Rotterdam is has a large amount of foreigners (about 48% in 2010). Although the total amount of inhabitants in 2000 and 2010 are almost the same, the proportions in population have changed. The amount of foreigners increased with 7,7% in the last decade of which 6,4% came from non-western countries. Ethnicity Surinamese, Antillean, Cape Verdean, Turkish, Moroccans 25,4% 26,9% 28,0% 28,6% 29,1% 29,5% Other non-western 5,1% 6,0% 6,7% 6,8% 6,9% 7,4% Autochthon 60,0% 57,3% 55,4% 54,6% 53,8% 52,3% Other EU countries 5,2% 5,3% 5,3% 5,3% 5,5% 6,1% Other Western 4,3% 4,5% 4,6% 4,6% 4,7% 4,7% Total inhabitants Table 5.1: Overview of ethnicity in Rotterdam in the last decade (COS) The amount of foreigners show similar statistics as in the other G4 cities, only in Utrecht the amount of foreigners is lower. Also in Amsterdam and The Hague the amount of foreigners has grown to about half the population (see table 5.2). Amsterdam Rotterdam The Hague Utrecht Total percentage of foreigners 49,5% 46,9% 47,3% 31,5% Table 5.2: Percentage foreigners in the G4 cities in 2009 (G4dataline.nl). Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 40

59 5.4 The labour force of Rotterdam Looking more specific at the working population in Rotterdam it becomes clear that there are some differences with the cities Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Rotterdam seems to have the lowest percentage of highly educated labours and the highest percentage of low educated labours. Although the educational level of the labour force in Rotterdam has increased in de last decade, it still remains the lowest educated of the G4-cities. Educational level high average low Figure 5.8: Educational level of the work force in the G4-cities in 1996 and 2006 (factsheet economie, grotevier.nl) The percentages in the table above indicate a small population of highly educated labours in Rotterdam, however this is not the case. The exact numbers of the table below show that Rotterdam still has a lot of highly educated labours, almost the same amount of The Hague and more than the city of Utrecht. Only Amsterdam stands out above all other G4-cities. Amsterdam Rotterdam The Hague Utrecht Nederland total labour force Percentage of highly educated 52% 33% 42% 59% 32% highly educated work force Table 5.3: Percentage highly educated workers within the labour force of the G4-cities in 2007 (CBS). Rotterdam has to lowest participation ratio of the G4-cities, in 2008 the total net participation ratio of people age 25 to 64 years old was about 70%. In 2009 this ratio decreased with about 2% Rhee, M. van, Roode, A.L. (2010). Staat van Rotterdam 2010, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS), p.53 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 41

60 5.5 Safety of Rotterdam Safety has key priority in Rotterdam. To know whether the safety policy is working and therefore if Rotterdam has become safer, the municipality measures the security annually. This is done with the safety index, a scientific instrument, which is based for one third on crime statistics and for two third on the views of inhabitants of Rotterdam itself. The figure below shows the safety index of 1999 to safety-index attention threatening problem unsafe Figure 5.9: Safety-index of Rotterdam (Economische verkenning Rotterdam 2008, p.97). It becomes clear that Rotterdam has become safer in the last decade. In 1999 the average score was about 5,5 while in 2007 the average score is above 7. Looking more specific at the map of Rotterdam (see figure below) it becomes clear that most unsafe neighbourhoods are situated in the central area of the city and on the south side of the river. It also becomes clear that in 2009 there are no unsafe neighbourhoods anymore, although there remain still six neighbourhoods were safety is a problem. 64 Figure 5.10: Overview of safety index in the different neighbourhoods of Rotterdam ( 64 Rhee, M. van, Roode, A.L. (2010). Staat van Rotterdam 2010, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS), p.39 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 42

61 In comparison to the other G4 cities, Rotterdam seems to perform well. Utrecht and Amsterdam seems to be more dangerous, only The Hague is safer. In order of ranking of all Dutch cities with more than inhabitants Utrecht is placed first (has most the delicts), Amsterdam is placed second and Rotterdam is placed on the fifth place (see figure below). Figure 5.11: Total score on municipal safety index (GVI) and order of ranking nationwide (Staat van Rotterdam 2010, p.39). 65 However when only the aspects; violence and vandalism are measured it becomes clear that there is still much space for improvement. Every year a document is published that compares the 50 largest cities (G50) in the Netherlands (Atlas voor Gemeenten) on several elements. This document shows that, on terms of violence and vandalism, the cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam are performing the worst Facilities in Rotterdam Facilities are an important element to the city, and are often used to promote the attractiveness of a city. Based on available statistics this paragraph gives an overview of several facilities in Rotterdam and the performance in comparison to the other G4-cities. Catering industry (horeca) The supply of catering industry seems to be largest in Amsterdam, which outshines all other G4-cities. Also the catering industry per inhabitant index is much higher in Amsterdam than in the other G4-cities. Rotterdam seems to have the most discotheques of all G4-cities, and also on terms of cafes and bars it seems to perform well in quantitative way. The amount of restaurants per inhabitant seems to be low in Rotterdam, with 7,6 restaurant per inhabitants has the lowest average of al G4-cities. 65 The GVI is based on statistics of theft, housebreaking, violence and vandalism ( 66 Marlet, G., Woerkens, C. van (2010) Atlas voor gemeenten 2010, Utrecht, VOC Uitgevers, p.237 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 43

62 year Amsterdam Rotterdam Den Haag Utrecht total amount of catering industry catering industry per ,7 30,4 34,7 25,2 inhabitants cafe/bars cafes per inhabitants ,4 8,9 7,1 4,8 discotheques restaurants restaurants per inhabitants Table 5.4: Entertainment facilities in the G4-cities (g4.databank.nl) ,1 7,6 10,1 7,7 Cultural facilities Also in terms of cultural facilities like cinema s, museums and theatres Amsterdam outshines all other G4-cities. Rotterdam and The Hague have just four cinemas in the city, but they both have a large amount of seats. The cinemas in Rotterdam and The Hague have to be of a larger scale than in Amsterdam and Utrecht. The amount of museums is Rotterdam (34) is more than in its neighbours The Hague (27) and Utrecht (18). The ratio of museums per inhabitant show similar performance with The Hague and Utrecht. Rotterdam seems to have less theatrical facilities and also the ratio of theatres per inhabitant is lower than in the other g4-cities. year Amsterdam Rotterdam The Hague Utrecht total amount of cinema's cinema's, amount of seats cinema's, amount of screens total amount of museums museums per inhabitants ,5 5,8 5,6 6 total amount of theatres theatres, amount of halls theatres per inhabitants ,9 1,9 3,2 3,6 Table 5.5: Overview of cinema s, museums and theatres in the G4-cities (g4.databank.nl) Hotels Amsterdam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving about 4,5 million international visitors in This strong tourist industry can be found back in the amount of hotels, which is much more in Amsterdam than in the other G4-cities. With just one 5-star hotel in 2009 and in total about 3,5 thousand rooms Rotterdam hasn t a strong tourist industry. 67 Gemeente Amsterdam (2009) Fact sheet toerisme, dienst onderzoek en statistiek [online] available at: [accessed ] Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 44

63 year Amsterdam Rotterdam Den Haag Utrecht amount of hotel rooms star hotels star hotels star hotels Table 5.6: Hotel industry in the G4-cities (g4.databank.nl) Retail facilities Amsterdam has the largest retail supply of m², followed by Rotterdam with m². However in relation to the amount of inhabitants the retail supply is the largest in the city of Rotterdam on terms of retail for; daily needs, fashion and luxury and leisure (see figure below). Only Utrecht has in ratio per inhabitant a comparable amount of retail for fashion and luxury and a higher amount of retail for in and around the house. Rotterdam Amsterdam The Hague Utrecht Netherlands Figure 5.12: Number of m2 retail per inhabitants in 2006 (grotevier.nl, factsheet economie 2008) Sport facilities On terms of sport facilities Rotterdam performs well in comparison to the other G4- cities. Rotterdam has the most of the listed facilities in the table above, only the amount of tennis clubs is more in Amsterdam. year Amsterdam Rotterdam Den Haag Utrecht hockey clubs sports halls tennis clubs soccer clubs swimming pools Table 5.7: Sport facilities in the G4-cities (g4.databank.nl) Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 45

64 Educational facilities The table below shows the amount of educational facilities and students in the G4- cities. It becomes clear that Rotterdam has a lot of students who are being trained vocationally. The schools for vocational education (mbo) and higher vocational education (hbo) in Rotterdam have twice as much students as in the city of Amsterdam. The table below doesn t show the amount of scientific schooled students. Statistics show that Rotterdam s university (Erasmus University) contain yearly about 19 thousand students. With all these students Rotterdam contains a large potential workforce. year Amsterdam Rotterdam Den Haag Utrecht primary schools primary schools per inhabitants ,8 3,2 2,9 3,1 primary schools, total amount of students secondary schools secondary schools per inhabitants ,8 1 0,8 0,8 secondary schools, total amount of students school for vocational training vocational training students schools for Higher Vocational Education (HBO) higher vocational education students Table 5.8: Education in the G4-cities (g4.databank.nl) Facilities in the inner city The municipality has made an inventory about the cultural and entertainment facilities in the inner city of Rotterdam. They conclude that Rotterdam has sufficient cultural and entertainment facilities in qualitative and quantitative way and in comparison with the other G4-cities the municipality of Rotterdam provides an equal amount of subsidy for culture. However the supply is spread out over the city and there are no clear walking routes between the facilities. A lot of leisure facilities aren t located near walking routes and will therefore not be found easily by a lot of people (especially people who are unfamiliar with the inner city). The map of figure 5.13 gives an overview of the facilities in the inner city of Rotterdam and show the walking routes (red lines) and issues (red crosses). At some points the walking route is interrupted by for example a busy traffic road or a zone with no facilities. Also at some points the walking route just stop and flow over in a neighbourhood, which might be confusing. Because of this the municipality has decided to focus on improving the visibility of the facilities and on creating better connections between the facilities. In their policy the municipality mentions four strategic interventions for improvement. Concentrating (1): the facilities should be clustered, which would result in relocating some facilities. Consolidation (2): the walking routes should merge smoothly and the facilities have to become more visual (opening up facades on street level). Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 46

65 Presentation (3): marketing of the facilities so that it becomes clear to the visitors what the inner city has to offer. Generating (4): stimulation of the demand side by retaining higher education and students and by stimulating the talent development of Rotterdam s young inhabitants. 68 A) Central station / Schouwburgplein area B) Museumpark / Witte de Withstraat area C) Wilhelminapier (Kop van Zuid area) Creative facilities activity, training, knowledge facility Culture cinema, museum, theatre Entertainment Food buildings discotheque, cafe restaurant, fastfood, lunchroom existing, planned buildings Figure 5.13: Overview of leisure facilities in the city centre of Rotterdam by category (Cultuurprogramma binnenstad 2020, 2009, p29) 68 Gemeente Rotterdam (2009) Cultuurprogramma binnenstad 2020, Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, p23 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 47

66 The housing market of Rotterdam For a long time the city of Rotterdam has been characterized by a high amount of social housing. As Priemus describes, the housing associations grew steadily after WO1 and expanded enormously after the WOII. In the 1990s the housing associations reached a market share of 42% in the Netherlands. 69 However the figure below shows a different situation for the cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In the 90s the amount of social houses in Rotterdam became almost 60%, after this period the amount has been decreased to about 50% in 2009 (see figure below). 70 % 60 % 50 % 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % Amsterdam Rotterdam Den Haag Utrecht G27 Overig Nederland 0 % Figure 5.14: Social houses in the G4-cities (Grotevier.nl) Looking in detail at the social housing in Rotterdam it becomes clear that most of the social houses are concentrated in old neighbourhoods. In 2009 there were 42 neighbourhoods with 50% or more social housing, seven of them even contain above 80% of social houses. However this is much less than in Comparing the statistics of 2009 and 1997 it becomes clear that the amount of social houses has been reduced in the last decade. That the municipality tries to obtain a more balanced situation. Percentage of social housing <80 % % % % Table 5.9: Social housing and neighbourhoods in 2009 (buurtmonitor.nl) 69 Ouwehand, A. and Daalen, G. van (2002) Dutch housing associations: A model for social housing, Delft, Delft University Press, p.1 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 48

67 A lot of old poorly houses have been demolished and new houses have been build to improve the housing situation. In the last years a lot of expensive houses have been build, in 2009 about 80% of the newly build houses were expensive owner occupied houses (see figure below). However the mean real estate value of houses (WOZ-waarde) is still much lower than in the other G4-cities. 70 Owner occupied expensive mid-high low prices Rental high rent mid-high rent low rent Figure 5.15: Newly build houses by price range and sector (Staat van Rotterdam 2010, p.65) Urbanization agreements have been made with the surrounding municipalities about the production of houses, with the objective to manage the production on regional level. Also a new law was introduced in 2006, the so called Rotterdamwet. This law makes it possible to refuse new inhabitants with a low income level in some neighbourhoods in Rotterdam. 71 The objective of this law is to prevent further decline of underprivileged areas. The cooperative plans for go further than the plans of , besides production agreements it contains strategic plans about quality and living climates. In cooperation between Rotterdam, the 18 municipalities of region Rotterdam and market parties an urbanization scenario is made with a strong focus on the region. As described in the document: De woningmarkt is het niveau van de gemeente definitief ontstegen. Een enkele gemeente zal nooit het complete scala aan woonvormen binnen de eigen grenzen kunnen aanbieden Op regionaal niveau kan dat wel. Het is belangrijk dat dit ook gebeurt, dat meer mensen de woonsituatie van hun voorkeur binnen de stadsregio Rotterdam kunnen vinden. 72 [The housing market has transcended the local level. A single municipality will never be able to offer the full range of housing types within its own borders...on the contrary, on regional level this supply can be offered. It s important that this happens so that more people will find their preferred living climate with the region of Rotterdam] 70 Rhee, M. van, Roode, A.L. (2010). Staat van Rotterdam 2010, Rotterdam, Centrum voor Onderzoek en Statistiek (COS), p accessed Stadsregio Rotterdam (2010) Op weg naar een gezonde woningmarkt; verstedelijkingsscenario 2020 regio Rotterdam, Rotterdam, StadsregioRotterdam, p.12 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 49

68 Living environment Developments This quote reflects that the municipalities of Rotterdam and its region are looking over their own fences and try to solve the housing problems together. The current supply and developments of the whole region have been investigated and is summarized in the figure below. The open spots reflect the current living environments in the region and the filled spots show the planned developments. In total nine living climates are used to characterize the housing supply. This division of living climates is called Rosetta and should improve the communication between the different municipalities in the region. metropolitan urban - lively urban - serene urban - exclusive suburban - compact suburban - groundbounded suburban exclusive rural (dorps) country (landelijk) Figure 5.16: Living environments and developments in the Rotterdam region (Stadsregio Rotterdam, 2010, p.19) Also a global overview is given of the desired developments (see figure below), which should be used as guideline for future developments in the region. It becomes clear that the living climates; metropolitan, exclusive, rural and country are underrepresented in the region. Although the living environments urban-serene (15%) and suburban-ground bounded (25%) both occupy a large part of the supply, there is still a demand for these types. The urban-lively and suburbancompact living environments should be reduced in the coming decade. Current Current supply desired development metropolitan 5% + urban - lively 19% - urban serene 15% + suburban - compact 28% -- suburban ground bounded 25% + exclusive (urban or suburban) 4% ++ Rural and country 4% ++ Total 100% Table 5.10: (translated overview of the) Division of current- and desired living environments (Stadsregio Rotterdam, 2010, p.18). Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 50

69 5.8 The quality of the environment in Rotterdam The quality of the environment is hard to measure, there are no indicators available about (for example) the esthetical appearance and it could differ a lot per location or neighbourhood. To give insight in this element the following indicators are used: scores about inconvenience and physical deterioration and satisfaction about the environment. The figure below shows a ratio for inconvenience and physical deterioration in the G4-cities. Inconvenience is measure using questions about: drunk people walking down the street, harassment of people and drug-related problems. Physical deterioration is measured with questions about: graffiti on walls and buildings, trash on the street, dogshit and vandalism of street furniture. The highest possible score is 7 on both scales. On average the Dutch score inconvenience in their municipality at 1.8 and physical deterioration at 2.9. Figure 5.17 shows that in 2008, the G4- cities have more inconvenience and physical deterioration than nationwide. Of the G4, Utrecht has the lowest ratio on deterioration and Rotterdam the highest ratio. Inconvenience physical deterioration Figure 5.17: Inconvenience and physical deterioration in the G4-cities in 2008 (Factsheet leefbaarheid en veiligheid, The next figure shows the amount of people who are satisfied about their environment. On average, the inhabitants of the G4-cities are less satisfied about their environment than nationwide. The inhabitants of Rotterdam seem to be the least satisfied about their environment. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 51

70 Figure 5.18: Percentage of satisfied households about their environment (Staat van Rotterdam 2010, p.67) More specific research about the milieu shows the importance of this topic. After crime- and drugs related problems (53%) environmental issues (31%) are mentioned as second largest problems by the inhabitants of Rotterdam (together with traffic issues). most important problem Crime, social insecurity, drugs related problems pollution, maintenance and vandalism public space traffic issues (parking, accessibility, etc.) 68% 63% 53% 52% 53% 33% 30% 34% 29% 31% 29% 25% 31% 32% 31% Table 5.11: Most important problems according to the inhabitants of Rotterdam (Rotterdammers over het milieu 2009, p.15) About 33% of the inhabitants sometimes consider moving because of the environment. When choosing a new settlement location, these people would give priority to safety, noise- and air pollution (which is more important to them than the type or quality of the house). 73 Clean air is mentioned as most important, followed by clean streets and a green environment. These elements are also mentioned as the three most important issues in Rotterdam. Younger people, highly educated people and people with a high income level mention environmental issues (like air pollution) more often as problem which should get priority. There are also some local differences, in the north-west side of Rotterdam the most important issues are noise-, air pollution and industry. In the central area rubbish streets and a lack of green are mentioned the most. In the south area of Rotterdam more people worry about harmful (chemical) substances than in the rest of the city Gemeente Rotterdam (2009) Rotterdammers over het milieu 2009: resultaten uit de omnibusenquête 2009, Rotterdam, COS, p9 74 Idem, p.10 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 52

71 5.9 The accessibility of Rotterdam Every week a lot of people travel from their home towards their work, and the other way around. The commuting time between home and work is an important element, remarkable is that the travel distance seems to differ for the educational- or job level. Statistics show that low-educated people often live closer to their work than high educated people. On average low educated people travel 7,6 kilometres per day, average educated people travel 12 kilometres per day and high educated people travel about 17 kilometres per day towards their work. 75 The average commuting time also differs on educational level, highly educated people have to travel longer. On average the commuting time of Rotterdam seems to be longer than in The Hague and Utrecht. Only in Amsterdam the people have to travel longer towards their work. The average commuting time of higher educated people is above 40 minutes in all of the G4-cities, in Amsterdam and Utrecht even above 45 minutes. from rotterdam towards rotterdam Education level low average high Figure 5.19: Mean travel time of commuter traffic (Economische verkenning Rotterdam 2008, p.140) As table 5.11 (see previous paragraph) shows, traffic issues (like parking and accessibility) are mentioned as third problem by inhabitants of Rotterdam, so still should be improved. 75 Gemeente Rotterdam (2008) Economische verkenning Rotterdam 2008, Rotterdam, OBR, p.139 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 53

72 5.10 Conclusion Generally speaking Rotterdam has to acknowledge superiority to the city of Amsterdam, who has a stronger economy, more (educated) inhabitants and more facilities. The other two G4-cities of The Hague and Utrecht also show differences on some elements. Below the most important performances and differences are described per category. Economy The current economic crisis makes it hard to interpret the economical performance. In general, the unemployment ratio in Rotterdam is higher than in the other G4- cities and the economy shows the least growth of all G4-cities (even less than the average of the Netherlands). The economy of the industry and port sector seems to stay at a continuous level, the medical sector has increased in the last decade (even increases during the economic crisis) and the creative sector shows strong ups and downs. Population and labour force On average the population of Rotterdam is younger than in the rest of the Netherlands. While the population nationwide will become older (vergrijzing), the population in Rotterdam will become younger (vergroening). About half of the population of Rotterdam (46,9%) has a non-dutch background, which is a similar performance as in the other G4-cities. Rotterdam has a lower percentage of highly educated people (33%) in comparison to Amsterdam (52%), The Hague (42%) and Utrecht (59%). In exact numbers the amount of highly educated people (elites) seems to be comparable with that of the smaller cities: The Hague and Utrecht. Safety Rotterdam uses an own safety index which is based on crime-rates and views of inhabitants. This safety index shows that the overall safety in the city has become much better in the last decade. In 1999 the index had a score of approximately 5.5, in 2007 a score above 7 has been obtained. However there are still some areas, mostly in the centre of the city, that have safety problems. Facilities Amsterdam has much more facilities as the other G4-cities. Rotterdam shows similar performance with the cities The Hague and Utrecht in terms of facilities, only the amount of theatres is much lower. Rotterdam has a large amount of educational facilities and students. Analysis of the facilities in the inner city shows that there is a lot of space for improvement. The (leisure) facilities are not well connected, they are spread out over the city. There are no clear walking routes, the facilities could be hard to find for people who aren t familiar with the city. Relocating, connecting and opening up the facilities have main priority to the municipality. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 54

73 Housing supply In the nineties the amount of social housing became about 60% of the total housing stock. The last years the amount of social housing has been reduced to about 50% in Looking in detail at the social housing in Rotterdam it becomes clear that a lot of the social houses are located in the same neighbourhoods. Although the amount of social houses have been reduced, in 2009 still 42 neighbourhoods contained an amount of social houses of 50% or more. Numbers about newly build houses how that most of the new build houses are expensive owner occupied houses and some mid-high houses. A remarkable development is the cooperation with the surrounding municipalities. Together, the municipality of Rotterdam and the other municipalities from the region have made an overview of the current housing supply and also the demand has been investigated. This study shows that the Rotterdam region has a high demand for houses of the categories: rural and country, exclusive (urban of suburban), serene urban, and metropolitan. There is an oversupply of the categories: compact (suburban) and lively urban. Quality of the environment Of the G4-cities Rotterdam has the highest score on physical deterioration (a parameter based on numbers of: graffiti, trash, dogshit and vandalism). Other statistics show that, of the G4-cities, the inhabitants of Rotterdam are the least satisfied about their environment. More specific research about the most important problems according inhabitants of Rotterdam shows that after crime and drugs related problems (53%), environmental issues (31%) are mentioned as second largest problem. Clean air, clean streets and a green environment are most often mentioned as desired, so this element contains still much room for improvement. Accessibility The education- or job level is related to the commuting distance. Numbers show that on average low educated people travel much less distance towards their work than high educated people. The average commuting time is comparable to that of the other G4-cities. Traffic issues (like parking and accessibility) are mentioned as third problem by inhabitants of Rotterdam and should therefore also get priority. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 55

74 6. Leisure time and consumption behaviour The previous chapter shows that the city of Rotterdam has a lot of leisure facilities. Also the municipality has made use of leisure to increase the attractiveness of the city of Rotterdam. However it is still unclear which role leisure has in the lives of people. Therefore this chapter is focussed on the role of leisure in the lives of people. First a brief description is given of the economic importance of leisure, this to give an indication of the size of this branch. The second paragraph is about time division and shows how much leisure time people have in general. The third paragraph focuses on the content of leisure time and describes which kinds of activities are being done. 6.1 The economical importance of leisure The economical contribution of leisure (without retail functions) to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Netherlands was 36,9 billion in 2008, which is about 3% of the total GDP. In comparison to 2001 the leisure contribution has grown with about 24%, only the building industry shows a higher growth ratio for this period. 76 In 2008 leisure generated about jobs, which is about 4,3% of the total job supply in the Netherlands. These jobs were divided over companies, on average there are 8,1 employees per companies. However the amount of full time equivalent jobs is much lower, on overage 5,1 employee per company. This shows that this sector contains a lot of part-time jobs. leisure sector total share in the Netherlands Number of companies ,1% number of jobs ,3% full time equivalents (fte) ,6% turnover (in billions) 36,9 3,0% Table 6.1: Base figures economical performance of leisure in 2008 (NVM 2009, p.18) The table below compares the leisure sector with other cyclically sensitive markets like the car branch, building industry and retail sector. This comparison shows that the turnover per full time equivalent is low in the leisure sector. Leisure Building Retail sector Car branch industry industry Number of companies full time equivalents (fte) Fte / company 5,1 5,4 4,5 6,0 turnover (in billions) 36,9 68,3 77,7 84,8 turnover / Fte Table 6.2: Leisure with other comparable sectors in (NVM 2009, p.18) 76 NVM (2009) Het economisch belang van leisure en de rol van leisure in gebeidsontwikkeling, Nieuwegein, NVM, p.7 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 56

75 The catering industry had the most companies in 2008 and is the largest leisure sector. The catering industry generated a turnover of 7,3 billion in The category sport is placed second in terms of amount of companies, and generated a turnover of 840 million in Hotels were good for 3.3 billion euro of turnover in 2008 and have a market share of 11%. With organizations, culture had a market share of about 6%. The wellness sector was good for about 549 million euro and the entertainment sector for 1,77 billion euro in Leisure economy in Rotterdam The municipality describes that the turnover in the leisure sector in 2005 has grown with about 6% in comparison to This is a lot higher than the 2,6% growth nationwide. In 2005 the leisure market in Rotterdam was about 1,5 billion euro in, which is about 5% of the total national leisure turnover. Although with the current economic crisis the prospect has changed and the leisure economy seems to be shrinking a little 78 it still remains an important sector. 6.2 Available leisure time The time that people spend can be divided in three categories; obligatory-, personal- and free time. Obligatory time is the time spend on work and work related activities. Personal time is time spend on aspects like for example; housekeeping, hygiene and sleeping. Free time (or leisure time) is the remaining time for recreational activities. Available leisure time nationwide. As the table below shows, the amount of obligatory rime has grown in the last decades and the amount of free time has shrunk (see table below). The amount of personal time hasn t changed much over time. Table 6.3: Obligatory, personal and free time (population aged 12 and over) (Trends in time, p.12) The next table (table 6.4) shows that the increase of obligatory time comes due to the increase in employment time, which has grown with 4,6 hours between 1975 and Time spend on housekeeping hasn t changes much, while the time spend on education had fallen slightly. 77 NVM (2009) Het economisch belang van leisure en de rol van leisure in gebeidsontwikkeling, Nieuwegein, NVM, p Ontwikkelbedrijf Rotterdam (2009) Economische verkenning Rotterdam , Rotterdam, OBR, p.25 Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 57

76 Table 6.4: Obligatory time by type of commitment (population aged 12 and over) (Trends in time, p.12). Looking more specific at various population groups it becomes clear that the decline of leisure time differs. The decline has been more among men than among women, although in 2005 men still have more leisure time. The three youngest age categories saw their leisure time decrease with about 6 hours, which is more than among the people aged (-1 hour). The amount of leisure time of people aged 65 has increased and is larger in 2005 than in The working population has lost about seven hours of free time in a period of 30 years Sex Male 49,6 48,8 50,5 48,2 47,9 45,5 46,1 Female 46,2 45,2 47,6 46,2 46,8 44,1 43,4 Age years 44,2 41,6 42,6 39,6 40,9 36,8 41,8 Labour market position years 44,8 43,8 45,1 43,1 42,5 39, years 46,9 44,8 46,3 44,3 44, , years 50,5 51,8 54,5 55,3 53,9 49,6 49,3 65 and over 57 57,4 61,6 59,2 60,7 58,7 58,5 employed 45,1 43,3 43,7 42,5 41,1 39,9 38,4 unemployed 52,8 52,6 56, ,9 54,8 54,8 student 42,6 42, ,1 38,5 42,8 Table 6.5: Leisure time by background characteristics, population aged 12 and over (SCP/TBO , via Mobility The table below shows that the time spent on mobility has become larger, travel time for obligatory-, personal and leisure activities has increased since On average, most of the travel time is spent on leisure towards/from work 1,4 1,3 1,6 1,9 housekeeping 1,8 2,1 2,8 2,8 education 0,7 0,9 0,9 0,9 leisure 2,6 2,9 3,2 3,5 Total travel time (hours) 6,6 7,2 8,5 9,1 Table 6.6: Average travel time categorized by motive in hours per person per week (people of 12 years and older) (SCP/TBO , via Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 58

77 Also the distance seem to increase, as the figure below shows, the amount of travelled kilometres has grown between 1990 and In 1990 about 50% of the daytrips were in the direct surroundings (<5km) and about 10% were located on 30 km or more. In 2001 about 34% of the daytrips were in the direct surroundings (<5km) and 20% were located on 30 km or more. Figure 6.1: Daytrips of 2 hours or longer categorized by distance (Op weg in de vrije tijd, p.88) Available leisure time in Rotterdam Rotterdam has its own method of measuring the spent time of its inhabitants. Every two year a group of inhabitant is asked to participate in a survey and give insight in their time management. The table below shows some general results of research in Hours work study care obligatory time * leisure time % 18 % 53 % 13 % 44 % % 9 % 16 % 24 % 32 % % 3 % 3 % 28 % 7 % 50 and over 5% 1 % 4 % 27 % 5 % spends time to [.] 64 % 31 % 75 % 93 % 89 % doesn't spend time to [.] 31 % 64 % 19 % 2 % 1 % unknown [.] 5 % 5 % 5 % 5 % 10 % average hours per week in , ,7 40,5 21, ,8 16,6 16,0 38,9 20, ,5 16,0 18,3 39,4 22, ,4 15,4 18,8 40,8 21, ,0 12,7 19,7 40,7 24, ,0 14,9 19,9 43,5 22,1 * work + study + care = obligatory time Table 6.7: Percentage of inhabitants in Rotterdam that spends time on work, study, care and the amount of available leisure time (Rotterdammers in hun vrijetijd 2007, p.15) Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 59

78 About 64% of the inhabitants in Rotterdam spend time on (paid) work and about 31% doesn t. Also the average hours spend on work has decreased from 35 in 1997 to 32,7 hours in This is a different trend than the nationwide statistics show (see 6.1). About 31% of Rotterdam s inhabitants spends time on education related activities (study). The average hours spend on study has grown from 14,9 (1997) to 17 hours per week (2007), although the proportion of student hasn t increased in this period. A positive development for a city with a shortage on educated inhabitants. The hours spend on housekeeping and care of housemates (care) has also decreased, from about 20 hours per week in 1997 towards about 16 hours in Also a different trend than the nationwide trend ( 6.1). Both the hours spend on obligatory and on leisure time are decreased in the last decade. It is remarkable that about 10% of the respondents didn t answer this question. The next figure shows the perception of the inhabitants of Rotterdam about the available leisure time in comparison to five years ago. In 2005 about 46% of Rotterdam s inhabitants mentions that they have less leisure time available then five years ago. Although the measured amount of leisure time (table 6.7) hasn t decreased much, a lot of inhabitants got the feeling to have less leisure time available. more the same less Figure 6.2: Personal view of inhabitants about the amount of available leisure time in comparison to five years ago (Rotterdammers in hun vrijetijd 2007, p.20). Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 60

79 6.3 Leisure activities It has become clear how obligatory-, personal- and free time is divided, and that the amount of free time has shrunk in the last decades. However it s still unclear how the free time is spent, which activities are undertaken. Table 6.8 shows a division over several leisure activities. The amount of time spend on printed media has shrunk and the amount of electronic media has increased, printed media (like newspapers) are losing domain towards electronic media. With 14,8 hours electronic media has even become the largest leisure activity in Time spend on social contacts has also decreased but remains the second largest activity. Half an hour per week more than in 1975 was set aside for both sport/exercise and leisure mobility; going out and associational life also gained some popularity. Taking everything together people spent one and a half hours per week more in 1995 on these non-home-based forms of leisure activities than in Table 6.8: Types of leisure activity, population aged 12 and over (in hours per week and as a percentage of the available leisure time, and index 2000, 1995 = 100) (Trends in time, p.55). Other research shows a top-list of most common non-home-based leisure activities (see table 6.9) in With 24% the most popular activity was (outside) recreation, followed by fun shopping (18%) and personal sports (16%). A night out and hobby s or club activities have a score of 11% are placed on the fourth and fifth position. Visitation of attractions (7%) is placed on the sixth position, water and sport recreation seventh with 5%. Culture, events and attending a (sport)match occupy the last three places on this top list. Retaining Rotterdam s Elites: A.Koster 61