36.1. Short description Neighbourhood management companies (buurtbeheerbedrijven, or “NMCs”) in Amsterdam were an initiative of the housing corporation mere. In 2007, as part of the larger national Community Development Programme (“wijkaanpak”), it was decided that in a selection of so-called “problem areas” – or “aandachtswijken” – large-scale urban renewal projects were to be carried out:…
37.1. Short description Neighbourhood Stores for Education, Research, and Talent Development (Buurtwinkels voor Onderzoek, Onderwijs en Talentontwikkeling, or BOOT) are an initiative of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam, or HvA). The Community Development Programme (“wijkaanpak”), which started in 2007, raised the question about how the HvA – the largest institute for…
38.1. Short description Neighbourhood Mothers Catering is an initiative of three girlfriends who live in Nieuw-West – one of the areas that the “wijkaanpak” has defined as a so-called “attention area”. Within the framework of the “wijkaanpak” residents may apply for funding for so-called resident initiatives. And we saw that a lot of international women…
Sustainability Undeniably, financial contributions by the municipality/city districts played a role for all three social innovations that were presented in this report. Without the financial support of the municipality (and the additional funds that were available for the implementation of the wijkaanpak), all of these social innovations would have been more difficult to set up,…
Local background of the social innovations In the Netherlands, it is often said how Amsterdam is “arrogant” and always wants to do things in its own way, and indeed, it is a city that is keen on having its own particularities. Internationally renowned as an open-minded, tolerant and progressive capital, Amsterdam also strives to uphold…
Child care is important in Warsaw due to recent demographic trends. As a result of demographic changes, the number of children at kindergarten age has increased, while the number of those older than grammar school students has been low; the number of the elderly has increased as well. In addition, migration between districts can be…
Warsaw, as the capital city and a metropolitan area, is a city in which many foreigners stay, live, work and study. Warsaw and Mazowieckie Province are the main areas of concentrations of immigrants in Poland, assembling more than 30 per cent of all foreigners who have been issued a residence permit in our country. Their…
As already mentioned, after the political transformation in 1989, an attempt was made to return real estate property to pre-war owners or their successors, as well as to privatise the new buildings. This resulted in numerous problems, which are now influencing the situation of the inhabitants of the city. These factors led to the emergence…
One of the problems that Warsaw faces in terms of labour market policies is the insufficient use of young people’s potential, and a high risk of unemployment among them. About 50,000–60,000 people encounter problems of this kind in Warsaw. The employment services of Warsaw, coordinated by the Labour Office of the Capital City of Warsaw,…
Factors that influence local welfare policy in Warsaw include (1) historical heritage of the second world war and legal decisions made during 1944-90 (the period of so-called socialist rule); (2) present conflicts between the governing liberal party Civic Platform and parties in opposition: the populist Law and Justice party and the leftist Democratic Left Alliance…