Housing design in participatory and bottom-up processes. Amsterdam’s practice as an example for the development of cooperative housing models in Poland.

Abstract

Currently, approximately 4.4 billion people, accounting for 56% of the global population, live in cities. The expected growth of urban populations in the coming decades highlights the significance of research on sustainable development in urban areas and underscores the need to address the qualitative deficits in housing environments. While the progressive democratization of spatial planning in Europe enables user participation in the urban design process, participatory involvement in the creation of collective housing buildings remains a marginal phenomenon. In
Poland, the overwhelming majority of newly constructed multi-family buildings are developed within the framework of commercial investments. The housing sector, strongly rooted in the market and driven by individual entrepreneurs’ financial gains, hinders urban residents’ direct influence on the quality of the built environment. Consequently, it is crucial to initiate a discussion on the perspective of implementing alternative forms and processes for the construction of multi-family residential buildings, as observed in urban centers across Europe.

One city that consciously implements cooperative and participatory processes in housing development is Amsterdam. For over thirteen years, the capital of the Netherlands has been leasing plots and supporting entities aiming to address housing needs from the bottom-up or in collaboration with end-users. The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to comprehensively examine the models of multi-family building creation, led by residents or involving their significant participation from a design process perspective. Of particular importance to this dissertation
is the verification of the historical context of shaping new housing concepts and their comparison with the current situation in the Netherlands, specifically in Amsterdam.

Architectural analysis extends beyond a qualitative assessment of buildings but primarily considers the process of their creation and the roles of participants: the city, architects, and groups of residents. The case of Amsterdam is studied not only due to the city’s longstanding experience in implementing experimental housing models but also because of the similar nature of ownership in the tested cooperative projects, resembling those that will be possible in Poland following the enactment of the new Housing Cooperatives Act. Given the new legislation and dynamic programmatic changes in Polish housing policy, drawing inspiration from international experiences is essential, including identifying the possibilities, benefits, and problems associated with societal participation in the creation of multi-family residential buildings, as discussed in the final chapter of this doctoral thesis.