This study uses a quasi-experimental design to investigate the causal impact of an extended school week on educational performance in 22 Dutch primary schools. The intervention has been partly modeled after the prominent Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). To assess the impact of the intervention, we leverage register data containing information on all Dutch children finishing primary school in the period 2009 - 2022. Synthetic control analysis is applied to estimate the causal effect for each individual school. The findings show the program has had limited effect on educational outcomes with little variation between schools. Our contribution is in showing how several factors, such as goal switching, lack of participation, and teacher shortages, hamper program effectiveness and discussing to what extent a concept such as the HCZ is transferable to other international contexts. Finally, we also illustrate how the synthetic control method can be applied in educational research.

This study investigates the impact of an extended school week in 30 primary schools on track recommendations, an achievement-related outcome, at the school level. The intervention is part of a major urban policy in one of the most disadvantaged areas in the Netherlands. Register data are used to examine changes in track recommendations between 2010 and 2020. Control schools are selected through genetic matching based on educational and demographic variables, after which comparative interrupted time series estimate the causal effect. The findings show that, on average, track recommendations in the intervention schools did not structurally increase compared to the control schools. We critically discuss how these results might relate to implementation barriers such as the partial top-down design, program quality and coordination, and teacher shortages. We contribute to the literature by showing how difficulties with program implementation are likely to produce null findings.

The role of media in producing territorial stigma is a central concern for urban researchers. This study investigates how one of the most stigmatised areas in the Netherlands, the Bijlmer, has been portrayed in newspaper media over a period of 35 years, and how this portrayal relates to structural changes in the district. The concepts of core and event stigma are employed to understand the temporal dimensions of stigma production. The corpus includes 22,934 articles from the five largest Dutch newspapers that referenced the Bijlmer since 1990. Hierarchical topic modelling and sentiment analysis are used to detect topical representations of the Bijlmer. The findings indicate that in the 1990s two news peaks regarding the Bijlmer crash have been important in raising its (inter)national status, whereas the Bijlmer has also suffered from core stigmatisation on various crime and social issues. In addition, the findings suggest an intricate relation between structural changes in the Bijlmer and media attention. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the relevance of core and event stigma, employing novel techniques in research on territorial stigma, and investigating the relation between structural neighbourhood conditions and media representation.

The concept of social infrastructure has recently gained much traction in academic, policy, and public discourses. However, it remains unclear what constitutes a social infrastructure and how the concept is applied in academic research. This systematic scoping review therefore synthesizes the various spaces, characteristics, and social functions that define a social infrastructure. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify articles on social infrastructures. In total, 100 articles met the inclusion criteria. From the literature we create a typology of spaces of social infrastructure: public institutions, commerce, recreational facilities, places of worship, transit, digital infrastructures and (groups of) people. We also address the organizational, social, and physical characteristics that affect their functioning. Moreover, we develop an overview of the various social functions that these spaces fulfill. These functions include serving as important sites for sociality, providing essential services, serving as a platform for collective action, functioning as spaces for identification and belonging, and social control. Finally, we consider how social infrastructures function in the context of disaster response. In addressing theoretical, methodological, and empirical gaps, this study ends with a discussion on how the concept of social infrastructure can be a valuable research approach.

Recent studies have called attention to how neighborhood organizations can help people in low-income neighborhoods who face risks of social exclusion. This study examines how different types of neighborhood organizations broker resources for the urban poor. We investigate how neighborhood organizations employ linking social capital (vertical networks) and organizational ties (horizontal networks). Furthermore, we discuss the process of organizational brokerage and through which mechanisms neighborhood organizations make resources accessible. Qualitative field work was conducted in a faith-based organization, a professional welfare organization and a volunteer organization. Our findings demonstrate that organizations broker resources in different ways, and that mechanisms of organizational brokerage complement each other. We further show how neighborhood organizations play an important role in connecting people from low-income neighborhoods to main institutions such as the labor market and welfare bureaucracies. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for neighborhood effects studies and policy, and what the study's limitations are.

This City Profile presents a multi-disciplinary perspective on the development of Rotterdam, analysing its transformation from a “sick man” to the “capital of cool” between 1995-current. Our profile integrates insights from five policy domains and presents them as a new framework. First, Rotterdam witnessed the rise of the populist right and established a new safety regime through a zero-tolerance mentality. Second, Rotterdam's superdiversity initially triggered anti-migration sentiments, but has more recently been normalised. Third, state-led gentrification policies have uplifted Rotterdam's status and provided space for middle-class households, thereby restricting access for working-class households. Fourth, the local administration has initiated large-scale urban regeneration projects as new flagships in former port areas and the city centre. Fifth, the city has been using water safety improvements to guide urban development and to create an attractive city. Overall, these developments have contributed to Rotterdam's new, hip image. However, we argue this image is Janus-faced. The populist and repressive form of urban disadvantage management is highly politicised and considered discriminatory, whereas the new flagships and water-led urban development are depoliticised and technocratic. These two sides often operate autonomously from each other, but together they contribute to new divisions in Rotterdam.

The influence of gentrification on neighbourhood belonging: Differences between ethnic groups in the urban context This study investigates the relationship between gentrification in urban neighbourhoods and feelings of belongingness. It was expected that gentrification has a negative influence on neighbourhood belonging because of the (fear of) displacement of original residents and the disruption of social cohesion. It was also hypothesized that this effect would be the strongest for longer established ethnic minority groups compared to less-established ethnic minority groups and that the effect would be the weakest for Dutch natives. These expectations were based on theory that feelings of belongingness to the neighbourhood of long-established groups are related to their ethnic/racial identity and level of rootedness in the city. These hypotheses were tested using the Rotterdam Neighbourhood Profile data from 2015 (N = 9.190). Contrary to our expectations, the results show that gentrification generally has a small positive impact on the level of connectedness to the neighbourhood. Regarding the various ethnic groups, there appears to be no difference between them in terms of the relationship between gentrification and neighbourhood belonging. The results of this article complement the discussion on the often proclaimed negative effects of gentrification in the city. Implications for urban policies, and the gentrification policy in Rotterdam in particular, are also discussed.

Urban areas are facing increasing social inequalities, which governments try to tackle with social policy. This study examines one of the most ambitious urban policies in the history of Dutch policies that aims to increase educational attainment amongst disadvantaged children in one of the poorest areas in the Netherlands. We investigate to what extent inequality in educational attainment based on parental education has changed during the first period of this programme. We further examine to what extent school characteristics affect educational attainment and how these effects relate to targeting disadvantaged areas for policy intervention. Register data on the individual, school and area level were employed to study these issues. We find that the effect of parental education on secondary school attainment has been stable since the start of the programme, indicating that inequality has not decreased in the context of the programme. Furthermore, several school characteristics, including socioeconomic status and retention rate, were relevant in explaining differences in educational attainment. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the allocation of public resources for policy programmes based on area and school characteristics.

Social class plays a central role in understanding the urban structure, yet its conceptualization and operationalization in urban studies are limited. We have used the Bourdieusian conception of social class, which conceives of class as the possession of economic, social and cultural capital, to establish the class structure of Rotterdam. We make a theoretical contribution to the literature by discussing how this conception provides new insights into the professionalization-polarization debate. Furthermore, we examine the spatial distributions of different class fractions, known as the geography of class. Based on two waves of a comprehensive city survey, we applied latent class analysis to develop an elaborate class typology consisting of seven social classes. We investigate how the class structure developed between 2008 and 2017 and analyze the changes in spatial class divisions. Our findings show that the transformation of the class structure is mainly driven by changes in cultural capital, that is, middle classes with high cultural capital replacing lower and middle classes with low cultural capital. Spatial analyses further reveal that classes are dispersed in specific ways and that these patterns of dispersion change over time. Finally, we reflect on the relevance of Bourdieu's work in studying the urban class structure

Why the higher educated oppose the political system. A study on the motives of higher educated citizens to vote for populist radical right parties. The majority of the voting electorate of Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) generally consists of lower educated citizens. However, Forum for Democracy and JA21 have succeeded in attracting higher educated voters to their electorate. Little scientific research has been performed on the motives of higher educated citizens to vote for these parties, as traditional explanations often focus on the lower educated. The focus of this inquiry will, therefore, be on understanding the deliberations of higher educated citizens and how these have incentivised them to vote for Populist Radical Right Parties. 12 semi-structured interviews were held with higher educated PRRP voters. The results show that cultural factors and political distrust were most relevant in higher educated citizens’ choice to vote for these parties. Especially political distrust seems important, which is shaped by the perceived political knowledge and sophistication of the higher educated. This research shows that the underlying motives of the higher educated to vote for these parties may differ from existing explanations that focus on lower educated voters.

Cody Hochstenbach analyseert de wooncrisis in Nederland en stelt vast hoe politiek zowel bijdraagt aan de oorzaak, als deel van een oplossing kan zijn.

The National Program Rotterdam South is a large-scale ambitious Dutch urban policy that aims to increase educational attainment amongst disadvantaged children in one of the poorest areas in the Netherlands. This study investigates to what extent inequality in educational attainment based on parental education has changed during the first period of this program. We further examine to what extent area and school characteristics affect educational attainment. Register data on the individual, school and area level were employed to study these issues. We find that the effect of parental education on secondary school attainment has been stable since the start of the program, indicating inequality has not decreased in the context of the program. Furthermore, several school characteristics, including socioeconomic status and retention rate, were relevant in explaining differences in educational attainment. We discuss how our findings relate to the allocation of policy means.

The dissertation investigates contemporary transformations in the class structure of Rotterdam. In addition, it is studied to what extent changing societal conditions affect levels of civic participation.

Neighborhood organizations are believed to be important in alleviating the plight of the urban poor. This study examines how different types of neighborhood organizations affect the lives of the urban poor in low-income neighborhoods. Qualitative field work was conducted in a faith-based organization, a professional welfare organization, and a volunteer-based organization. Our findings indicate the ways in which these organizations foster social relations between participants, provide daily structure to non-working individuals, and connect people to other organizations and systemic bodies such as the labor market or local government. In addition, the relation between the neighborhood organizations and social policy has been considered, paying close attention to policy processes of decentralization, responsibilization, and social innovation. A central aim of this study is thus to analyze how neighborhood organizations mediate between social processes at the micro-level and macro-level systemic forces. Finally, this study discusses how considering the socially productive role of local organizations may advance neighborhood effects studies.

Dit rapport behandelt de maatschappelijke impact van COVID-19 op de stad Rotterdam waarbij ook vergelijkingen worden gemaakt met landelijke gegevens. Het is gebaseerd op gegevens die in de periode 3 april 2020-13 april 2020, kort na de lockdown, zijn verzameld. Daarbij wordt aandacht besteed aan de sociaaleconomische, sociaalpsychologische en sociale gevolgen van COVID-19. Het gaat om een eerste meting. Het is de bedoeling om de maatschappelijke impact in de tijd te volgen zodat nader inzicht kan worden verkregen in thema’s als werk- en inkomensverlies, zorgmijding, angsten en stress, onderlinge solidariteit, sociale verhoudingen in buurten, vertrouwen van bewoners in elkaar, gezondheidszorg en overheid. Het is van belang om deze inzichten mee te nemen bij de afschaling van maatregelen die in de komende periode vorm gaat krijgen.

Dit rapport behandelt de maatschappelijke impact van COVID-19 op de stad Rotterdam waarbij ook vergelijkingen worden gemaakt met landelijke gegevens. Het is gebaseerd op gegevens die in de periode 3 april 2020-13 april 2020, kort na de lockdown, zijn verzameld. Daarbij wordt aandacht besteed aan de sociaaleconomische, sociaalpsychologische en sociale gevolgen van COVID-19. [...]

The Dutch debates on immigrant integration currently strongly focus on cultural assimilation of migrants. This focus is partly based on the idea that an orientation on Dutch society and contact with the native Dutch is a condition for economic success. This article questions this assumption. Inspired by the research from Lee and Zhou (2015) among Chinese and Vietnamese migrants in the USA, who are economically successful but nevertheless strongly oriented towards their own community and culture, we examine whether this other route to economic success is also visible in the Netherlands. Our research shows that a relatively small portion (15 per cent) of the economically successful migrants in the Netherlands is relatively strongly oriented towards their own group and not so much towards the Netherlands. We found this alternative route to success primarily with the Turkish group, more with the first generation and older migrants, and more often with migrants who (often) experienced discrimination.

This paper investigates how the 2008-9 recession affected civic participation in disadvantaged and affluent neighbourhoods in the city of Rotterdam. We hypothesize that levels of civic participation may either diverge or converge across neighbourhoods with a different socioeconomic status. We build upon a recent wave of studies examining how civil society has been affected by the 2008-9 recession. Using five waves from the Rotterdam Neighbourhood Profile survey (N = 63,134; 71 neighbourhoods), we find converging trends in civic participation. Between 2008 and 2013, civic participation declined in affluent neighbourhoods but increased slightly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This convergence is partly due to the level of perceived problems in the neighbourhood and differences in the types of volunteering found in disadvantaged and affluent neighbourhoods. In addition, we argue that these converging trends can be better understood by considering the neighbourhood organizational infrastructure and local policy configurations. Next to examining the impact of the 2008-9 recession on civic participation, we contribute to research on civil society by comparing the UK and Dutch context.

Studies by Savage et al. (2013) and Vrooman, Gijsberts and Boelhouwer (2014) introduce new class typologies that combine Bourdieu’s work with latent class analysis. This paper identifies this new research approach as Bourdieusian latent class analysis . We discuss the role of these studies within the social class debate and we review the merits and limitations of this approach. In addition, we show how the class structure of Rotterdam can be empirically established by studying the distribution of economic, social and cultural capital. We use the Neighbourhood Profile data (N = 14,040; 71 neighbourhoods) to develop a class typology that includes eight social groups. This class typology complements conventional indicators of neighbourhood socioeconomic status and can be used to study ‘social mix’ and gentrification.

This study examines to which extent neighbourhood ties relate to employment status for the less-well educated inhabitants of 71 neighbourhoods in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Previous research has produced different expectations as to whether having contact with neighbours is either positively or negatively related to being employed and how this relation differs across neighbourhoods. Two waves from the Neighbourhood Profile survey (N = 8507) were used, which included measures of the contact frequency with neighbours and their willingness to help. We find that for the less-well educated neighbourhood ties have a modest negative relation to employment. Moreover, this relation does not vary across neighbourhoods with different socioeconomic statuses, with the exception of part-time working men. Our research implies that neighbourhood ties in mixed neighbourhoods do not positively relate to employment for the less-well educated, thereby questioning policy assumptions about 'social mix'. Contributions to the field of neighbourhood studies are made by employing measures of the social networks mechanism and taking into account the conditionality of effects across neighbourhoods.