HOUSING QUALITY RENOVATING RENEWING NEIGHBOURHOODS Highway cover and

HOUSING QUALITY RENOVATING & RENEWING NEIGHBOURHOODS – Highway cover and renewal in Schwamendingen – -ZURICH- Eurocities WG Housing, 20. 11. 2019 20 -21 November 2019, Ghent | Belgium

Name: Alex Martinovits City: City of Zurich, Urban development, Department of the Mayor Position: Project manager, coordinator of housing politics

Highway Cover Schwamendingen - ZURICH • HOUSING QUALITY > Realisation of a Highway cover in the north of Zurich 2024/25. > Biggest remaining "city repair measure" in Zurich. > Long separation of neighbourhoods will be abolished. > A highway cover and a park ("Ueberlandpark") at the top of the cover. > Better quality of life, but also risk of gentrification. Wednesday 20 November 2019 3

General information > General information on the presented neighbourhood: – Schwamendingen/Kreis 12: 35'000 inhabitants (in north of Zurich). – Kreis 12 and area beside cover, comparison with city average: – Lower income, more migrants, average share of elder people and families with children. – More affordable housings at cost price level owned by cooperatives and by the City of Zurich. Wednesday 20 November 2019 4

General information Kreis 12 / Schwamendingen future highway cover Parts of the design plan «Ueberlandpark» and structure of owners: Most owners are cooperatives or the City of Zurich Wednesday 20 November 2019 5

Problem Description > issue(s)/challenges : – Inhabitants look forward to the revaluation of the neighbourhood. – The cover with the park ("Ueberlandpark") (incl. a covered "wall") will necessarily bring changements directly next to the cover: several demolitions of old housings are expected during the next 20 years. – The changements should be made socially responsable. – Generel politicial debate and fear about gentrification in the city. Wednesday 20 November 2019 6

Actions I > Actions of the city to renovate, renew and relocate: – Realisation of Highway cover. Realisation of park at the top of the cover ("Ueberlandpark"). Fulfillment/realisation 2024/25. Goal: abolish separation of neighbourhoods, less noise and creation of a new park area. – People critisized bad information about project: Several administration units improve now information measures to inform the people about the projects and the future changements (Federal and City level). Wednesday 20 November 2019 7

Actions II > Actions to promote socially responsable changements and to avoid expulsion of vulnerable people from the area/ quarter: – Guidelines/ manual of the City: "success factors for socially sustainable replacements and renovations"; – Negotiations with cooperatives for subsidised apartments for low income people. – Study ordered by the City parliament about social effects of the highway cover. Published in november 2019. Results: People want the change. There are smaller gentrification-effects in case of replacements than expected (Ø rate of movings of persons with low income). Wednesday 20 November 2019 8

Actions III: > Main recommendations of the manual of the City "success factors for socially sustainable replacements and renovations": – Long-termin planning by the owners for the whole housing stock concerning replacements and renovations. Offer a good blance of several quality and price levels in the whole house stock. – Early (pre-) informations of tenants/ inhabitants about future demolitions/replacements and renovations. (Enable early reaction) – Offers for replacement apartments, preferably in the same part of the City. Cooperation with other owners to make such offers. – "Tenant offices" that accompany/support tenants. Wednesday 20 November 2019 9

Summary of overall results + - Expected abolishment of the separation of the neighbourhoods will be fullfilled in 2024/25. According to opinion polls most inhabitants see more advantages than disadvantages of changements. Fear of price increases for apartments and gentrification. A study showed: Smaller Effects of gentrification than expected: Lower incomepersons don't leave neighbourhood more often than other income levels. Certain degree of uncertainty lasts about long termin effects / changement in population mix. Cooperatives and City as apartment owners learned to act socially responsable (replacement offers at affordable prices, long termin information, tenant offices) Unclear way of acting of other private investors with replacements of buildings: Share of evictions etc. not clear. No direct influence on these investors. Improvements of informations about administration measures are a key factor for acceptance by the population. In early stage of the process, informations for population about highway cover made by administration units was not ideal. Wednesday 20 November 2019 10

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