Zuidwest Kwadrant

Almost all 1,800 apartments in the Zuidwest Kwadrant  (Southwest Quadrant) are owned and managed by eight nonprofit housing corporations. This affordable rental housing was built in the 1960s to accomodate working class families. The neighborhood was designated by the city in 1994 to serve as a model for the renewal of the Western Garden Cities. The large number of stakeholders representing different views and interests greatly complicated planning efforts. Therefore, it was necessary to create a more streamlined structure for developing consensus and making decisions.

In 1995-1996 the local borough and housing corporations built a networking organization to enable communication among the parties, and provide a framework to pull together the government agencies, housing corporations, and tenant associations into the planning process.

An analysis of social, physical, and economic data, a study of the spatial organization of the neighborhood, and a financial feasibility study looking at renovation versus new construction was conducted. This resulted in a masterplan by the architecture firm De Nijl. While based on the original existing urban design, the plan calls for replacing most of the 1960s buildings with a mix of affordable and market rate apartments and single family homes.