Anju Reshma | Erasmus University Rotterdam (original) (raw)
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Thesis Chapters by Anju Reshma
Masters Thesis , 2018
‘There is not communism or marxism, but representative democracy and social justice in a well pla... more ‘There is not communism or marxism, but representative democracy and social justice in a well planned economy’ – Fidel Castro
Netherlands in the post Second World War era would have resonated with this quote. With a strong welfare state agenda and active policies where social justice is an objective defined that period. As Thomas Pikkety elaborates that war is great equalizer for the society. Netherlands has a strong urban culture, was democratic for several centuries and in many ways set the path for the rest of the world to follow by being innovative. Their land governance system was one such exception through which Netherlands created good quality of life for all its citizens while maintaining a green heart, managing water efficiently and effectively and creating equitable living conditions for all its people. However, over time, the land governance system underwent changes and has aligned itself similar to the practices in the rest of the world.
Therefore, the main objective of this research is to understand not only what the changes were but also the main reasons behind the changes. Thereafter, it assesses the impact of the changes on spatial justice that is an outcome of the governance. Since social/ spatial justice is a value and is subjective, the research has a strong theoretical basis in development of the conceptual framework. This thesis specifically looks at the distributive justice in Land governance and its manifestation over time (from post Second World War practices to the present times 2018). The research strategy employed is a mixed method with Desk research being the primary source of the data collection and thereafter is triangulated by interviews with experts working on the said subject and municipal officials working on urban development in Rotterdam.
The main findings indicate that the municipalities have lost direct control over land and its development/ management. From being active policy practitioners to becoming passive planners, now, the municipalities exert control primarily through the land use plan for the city. Private sector involvement in land markets have significantly altered the way land was planned, used and managed in Netherlands. Evidently, the shift has cost the municipalities and the people substantially while making profit for the developers. The municipalities however are working intently using other instruments to fulfil their social obligations while they themselves claim that the going has become tougher. The increasing price in land and housing markets is an outcome of this shift. This increasing price affects spatial justice since it reduces accessibility and affordability of real estate. On the other hand, land value capture is another form in which distributive justice can be achieved. While some land value capture instruments are being used, the extent of value capture is much less in comparison to the earlier system. Moreover, Rotterdam Municipality sold its publicly leased land and there has been an increase in land speculation particularly since there is not instrument to keep a check on the same. Analysing Rotterdam’s housing market revealed that there has been a steep increase in prices on one hand and on the other state led gentrification process is underway where significant portion of cheap houses are being torn down to create middle and high income housing units. There are fewer incentives for creating rental homes thus creating injustice to the middle-income sections (particularly 18-30 age group), which would not be eligible for social housing and cannot afford to buy a house in the city.
Therefore, the previous land governance system was a better one providing spatial justice and creating equity in the society. It is important to note that today in an interconnected world, which is highly competitive, social and spatial justice becomes critical to maintain peace in the country.
Drafts by Anju Reshma
Makoko -the floating slum is a physical manifestation of the myriad critical issues encumbering L... more Makoko -the floating slum is a physical manifestation of the myriad critical issues encumbering Lagos due to the present global economic paradigm. Makoko slum, being centrally located, is now perceived as an ideal location for several luxury and high--end enterprises implying gainful utilization of the waterfront . Eko Atlantic, an important developer (who will also be developing Makoko) in Lagos is undertaking a massive project in Victoria Island through land reclamation thus providing jobs to over 250,000 persons. However, it is essential to understand the target groups of this project are the upper middle and the rich class of the society. While this project is expected to create economic development, its evidently exclusionary in that it does not provide any space and opportunity for the poor in the city. The question of 'Public interest' is critical since the government will have to expropriate the whole or part of the community to make way for new development. Therefore, on one hand we have Eko Atlantic bringing in economic development (although exclusionary) and on the other hand the living conditions in Makoko are dismal and the community is vulnerable to several hazards forcing us to think of ways to create an equitable solution that is sustainable.
Masters Thesis , 2018
‘There is not communism or marxism, but representative democracy and social justice in a well pla... more ‘There is not communism or marxism, but representative democracy and social justice in a well planned economy’ – Fidel Castro
Netherlands in the post Second World War era would have resonated with this quote. With a strong welfare state agenda and active policies where social justice is an objective defined that period. As Thomas Pikkety elaborates that war is great equalizer for the society. Netherlands has a strong urban culture, was democratic for several centuries and in many ways set the path for the rest of the world to follow by being innovative. Their land governance system was one such exception through which Netherlands created good quality of life for all its citizens while maintaining a green heart, managing water efficiently and effectively and creating equitable living conditions for all its people. However, over time, the land governance system underwent changes and has aligned itself similar to the practices in the rest of the world.
Therefore, the main objective of this research is to understand not only what the changes were but also the main reasons behind the changes. Thereafter, it assesses the impact of the changes on spatial justice that is an outcome of the governance. Since social/ spatial justice is a value and is subjective, the research has a strong theoretical basis in development of the conceptual framework. This thesis specifically looks at the distributive justice in Land governance and its manifestation over time (from post Second World War practices to the present times 2018). The research strategy employed is a mixed method with Desk research being the primary source of the data collection and thereafter is triangulated by interviews with experts working on the said subject and municipal officials working on urban development in Rotterdam.
The main findings indicate that the municipalities have lost direct control over land and its development/ management. From being active policy practitioners to becoming passive planners, now, the municipalities exert control primarily through the land use plan for the city. Private sector involvement in land markets have significantly altered the way land was planned, used and managed in Netherlands. Evidently, the shift has cost the municipalities and the people substantially while making profit for the developers. The municipalities however are working intently using other instruments to fulfil their social obligations while they themselves claim that the going has become tougher. The increasing price in land and housing markets is an outcome of this shift. This increasing price affects spatial justice since it reduces accessibility and affordability of real estate. On the other hand, land value capture is another form in which distributive justice can be achieved. While some land value capture instruments are being used, the extent of value capture is much less in comparison to the earlier system. Moreover, Rotterdam Municipality sold its publicly leased land and there has been an increase in land speculation particularly since there is not instrument to keep a check on the same. Analysing Rotterdam’s housing market revealed that there has been a steep increase in prices on one hand and on the other state led gentrification process is underway where significant portion of cheap houses are being torn down to create middle and high income housing units. There are fewer incentives for creating rental homes thus creating injustice to the middle-income sections (particularly 18-30 age group), which would not be eligible for social housing and cannot afford to buy a house in the city.
Therefore, the previous land governance system was a better one providing spatial justice and creating equity in the society. It is important to note that today in an interconnected world, which is highly competitive, social and spatial justice becomes critical to maintain peace in the country.
Makoko -the floating slum is a physical manifestation of the myriad critical issues encumbering L... more Makoko -the floating slum is a physical manifestation of the myriad critical issues encumbering Lagos due to the present global economic paradigm. Makoko slum, being centrally located, is now perceived as an ideal location for several luxury and high--end enterprises implying gainful utilization of the waterfront . Eko Atlantic, an important developer (who will also be developing Makoko) in Lagos is undertaking a massive project in Victoria Island through land reclamation thus providing jobs to over 250,000 persons. However, it is essential to understand the target groups of this project are the upper middle and the rich class of the society. While this project is expected to create economic development, its evidently exclusionary in that it does not provide any space and opportunity for the poor in the city. The question of 'Public interest' is critical since the government will have to expropriate the whole or part of the community to make way for new development. Therefore, on one hand we have Eko Atlantic bringing in economic development (although exclusionary) and on the other hand the living conditions in Makoko are dismal and the community is vulnerable to several hazards forcing us to think of ways to create an equitable solution that is sustainable.