The housing response to new refugee flows in the Netherlands

Sophie Colebourne

Abstract

To-date, extremely little research has been conducted regarding long-term housing solutions for refugees. As such, a critical gap remains within policy, planning and broader academic literature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 key stakeholders involved in housing provision in the Netherlands, with specific focus on the region of Amsterdam. The resulting findings concluded that co-production and knowledge distribution amongst providers is essential in providing efficient and effective housing solutions. Whilst housing shortages, time pressures and ineffectual communication still pose challenges, existing housing solutions in the Netherlands offer promising examples of best practice from which other European countries may take note.