When displaced tenants move in…: A Rotterdam case study on the role of the inflow of displaced tenants in perceived neighbourhood decline

• We examine how inflows of displaced tenants affect perceived neighbourhood decline.
• We compare perceived decline between residents living in a host and a control neighbourhood.
• Residents of the host neighbourhood experience more often neighbourhood decline.
• The inflow of displaced tenants is perceived as one of the indicators of a worsening population composition.
• The inflow of displaced tenants is perceived to be more problematic because the host neighbourhood is less tolerant.

Although urban renewal policies target specific areas, their effects can also be felt in other areas. Forced relocations tend to be part of urban renewal processes, as it is a common renewal strategy to replace some of the cheap housing stock with more upmarket alternatives. A large inflow of displaced tenants might have negative effects on the receiving neighbourhood. Although this risk is underscored in both societal and scientific debates, very few studies have focused on it. This paper reports on a case study on perceived changes in a Rotterdam neighbourhood in which many displaced tenants had settled. An expert meeting with public sector employees and a questionnaire completed by and in-depth interviews with residents were used to examine whether and, if so, why residents perceive neighbourhood decline when displaced tenants move in. The results show that the residents of the receiving neighbourhood do perceive more neighbourhood decline, and that this is because they are more negative about the development of their neighbourhood’s population composition. However, this perception is only partly related to the inflow of displaced tenants.