“This is really not such a bad neighborhood, I always feel safe. Yes, you know all those people here very well.”
“I sometimes find that annoying if you just want to go home and then you have to walk past all those men who are at the door every time.”
“I’ve lived here for forty years, I’ve never been robbed. All the boys know me. When I walk down the street it’s ‘goodbye ma’am’, ‘are you okay ma’am?’ With respect.”
This is what three residents of South Rotterdam say about the feeling of safety in their neighbourhood. They are quoted in the research report the Shared space on South, commissioned by the municipality and Kenniswerkplaats Leefbare Wijken by Erasmus University. The use of public space (routes, places and facilities) in South was investigated. And how the layout of the neighborhood can ensure that residents feel (even more) at home.
Paper and markers
A team of researchers went into the neighborhood with large sheets of paper and markers. They asked fifty residents from the Afrikaanderwijk, Carnisse, Hillesluis and Tarwewijk to draw the places in the neighborhood that are important to them. As well as the routes used. “It is indeed an atypical way of interviewing,” said lead researcher Wenda Doff. “Sometimes people had to be persuaded. They said, ‘I can’t draw at all’. But when they got going, it worked well. And while drawing it is also easy to start a conversation.”
It would be good if the municipality didn’t stick too much to its own plans
Rotterdam South has become more diverse because more people from middle groups have come to live, partly due to the policy of the municipality and housing associations. The upper class, in socio-economic and cultural terms, has also grown somewhat, because a lot of building was done for them. The lower layer (little money) was traditionally already large in South. How do you ensure that all these groups have a good time and feel at home in their neighbourhood?
“Different groups use their neighborhood differently,” says Doff. People with money and cultural interests are very much focused on the north side, where there are classic (and more expensive) restaurants and concert halls. They find the range of shops in South too one-sided and also do their shopping in the center of the city.
The group at the bottom uses the neighborhood intensively. “They draw the church, mosque, community center, the shops.” They are often very satisfied with the range of shops. The range is partly small: they mainly live in and around the house, often due to a physical limitation and little money.
Swimming pool
The middle groups are in between: they often use the neighborhood functionally: they take the shortest route to shops, schools, swimming pool and Zuiderpark. And are also aimed at the north side of the city.
It is striking that all groups like to use certain facilities of a neighbourhood, such as parks, playgrounds and squares. Wealthier residents would make more use of the neighborhood if there was more to their liking. For example, in addition to the coffee house and the brown café, they lack catering that meets their wishes.
One finding is that many residents wish to connect more with the neighborhood but do not feel invited to do so. It is important, says Doff, to beautify and greener the neighborhoods in South and to ensure that rubbish is cleared up as quickly as possible. Now many residents do not really feel at home there. They find it too dirty and unsociable and the public space too ‘masculine’ – read: too many (young) men hanging around.
green strip
Furthermore, says Doff, the municipality should not stick too much to its own plans, but should involve all groups in the neighborhood design. There are plenty of residents who can and want to. “Then you hear how important a community center is, that residents would like to use and maintain the green belt. And that the shop that the municipality wants to close to prevent men hanging out in front of it in the evening, gives many residents a safe feeling.”