Approaches to Handling Future Use of the Single-Family Housing Stock : Evidence from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands

Abstract

Single-family houses are a common form of housing in Europe. Most were built in the context of the suburbanization after World War II and are now facing challenges arising from generational changes as well as increasing living and energy standards. According to the hypothesis of this paper, in several EU regions, single-family houses may face future challenges arising from oversupply and lack of adaptation to current demand. To examine this, the paper analyses the present situation and discusses the prognosis for the challenges described above regarding the three neighbouring north-western European countries Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, based on available data and a review of country-specific characteristics of housing markets as well as national policies. Despite an impending mismatch between demand and supply, planning policies still support the emergence of new single-family houses. The comparison of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands shows the growing polarization between shrinking and growing regions and central and peripheral sites apparent at different stages in the three countries. While a high rate of vacancies is already registered for some regions in Germany, in the Netherlands this phenomenon can only be seen near the borders and in villages within the Randstad conurbation. In Belgium also, this phenomenon is not yet widespread, but in some suburban neighbourhoods dating from the 1950's and 1960's more and more single-family houses are becoming more difficult to sell, indicating an emerging mismatch between supply and demand. This article proposes some instruments which enable municipalities to intervene in single family housing neighbourhoods which are largely dominated by private ownership. These instruments are not yet widely established in single-family housing neighbourhoods but that may become important in the future.

A Planning Support System for Monitoring Aging Neighborhoods in Germany

“…Apart from case studies, there is hardly any systematic research that analyze these areas on a long-term and large-scale basis [39]. A comparable situation has been identified in the Netherlands and Belgium [40]. This is particularly true when it comes to research that takes a comprehensive and holistic approach to neighborhoods and that explicitly addresses demographic transition.…”

Analysis of the current state of green buildings in the Russian Federation

“…Ecological construction largely depends on efficient resource usage, waste treatment and the use of alternative energy resources (Kosheleva and Elliott, 2006). Most GBs in the USA and Europe (Berndgen-Kaiser et al , 2018), as well as in Russia, have obtained green labels only for the design phase and not for operation (Vierra, 2014).…”

Urban, suburban or rural? Understanding preferences for the residential environment

“…First, because the composition of the population is changing in most Western countries. This transition concerns an increase in the number of households, combined with a decrease in the size of the household (Buzar et al 2007;Berndgen-Kaiser et al 2018). Second, there is a broader variety in household arrangements combined with a declining relevance of traditional family models (Buzar et al 2007;Berndgen-Kaiser et al 2018).…”

“…This transition concerns an increase in the number of households, combined with a decrease in the size of the household (Buzar et al 2007;Berndgen-Kaiser et al 2018). Second, there is a broader variety in household arrangements combined with a declining relevance of traditional family models (Buzar et al 2007;Berndgen-Kaiser et al 2018). These effects are caused by factors such as the aging population, the postponement of childbearing and an increasing number of divorces (Buzar et al 2007).…”

“…The trends in socio-demographics are responsible for an increase in the quantitative housing demand but also for a change in the type of housing demand (Buzar et al 2007). For example, older residents are more likely to prefer smaller homes with easy access to services, which results in a preference for denser housing in a more walkable neighbourhood (Yang and O'Neill 2014;Berndgen-Kaiser et al 2018). Third, next to these demographic trends, researchers argue that other types of motivations, such as quality of life issues and housing preferences, have become more important for the prediction of mobility patterns (Barcus 2004;Howley, Scott, and Redmond 2009).…”