Call of mayors: save vulnerable city districts from destruction

The cabinet and the House of Representatives must tackle the problems in vulnerable urban neighborhoods as quickly as possible. Poverty, debt and unemployment are widening the gap with the rest of society. This is at the expense of social cohesion and security in our country. The approach will cost at least 500 million euros.

Fifteen mayors and a number of organizations in the field of living, working and education say this in a call to the negotiators for a new cabinet. The motto of the call is: Close the gap.

One million Dutch people live in 16 vulnerable areas in the cities, the manifesto states. They face persistent problems such as poverty, debt, unemployment and crime. There are also educational disadvantages and many residents suffer from poor health. The corona crisis also hit them extra hard. The problems are a breeding ground for organized crime.

Potential and ambition

The mayors and social organizations write that the potential and ambition are indeed there, among young people and adults. But that requires customization and unorthodox solutions for the long term.

As an example they cite the National Program Rotterdam South (NPRZ) from 2012. This contains agreements such as extra primary education, a job guarantee for young people who obtain their MBO diploma, intensive guidance for jobseekers and the construction of affordable housing for the middle class. The program will run for 20 years.

The manifesto states that a ‘national recovery and perspective program’ must be established for the entire country as soon as possible. This should make unorthodox solutions and long-term extra investments possible.

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