On November 18 2010 Inspiring Cities, YD + I and the Urban Country Club went on a quest to discover the meaning of feeling at home. The stage was the Afrikaanderwijk-district in Rotterdam.
About the evening
The evening was dedicated to various and surprising conversations about home feeling. We did not only focus on feeling at home in Afrikaanderwijk, or in what makes you feel at home in the neighborhood in general. We also discused subjects like feeling at home in the Netherlands. Local residents, the owner of a shoarma-restaurant, the bar lady in a neighborhood-pub and others opened their houses for the session.
Over forty professionals from very different fields, varying from housing corporations to psychologists and photographers to urban planners, joined in for the talks with the local residents.
- An article about the event can be found here (Dutch article).
- A short film about the evening - with English subtitles - can be watched here.
Homeliness
We asked participants to share some of their thoughts on the subject after the day.
1. Home is familiarity, accessibility and safety
In almost all interviews, the three elements familiarity, accessibility and safety are mentioned. It thus seems important conditions for people to feel at home:
Familiarity - familiar people around, familiar places and familiar things (Such as furniture, photos, etc.)
Access - good public transport links and parking. It is important that it is relatively easy to find and visit the people you know.
Safety - people feel safe if they know people in the neighborhood. To know many people means you can find protection when needed.
2. Home requires the necessary basics
Repeatedly the discussion returned to basic services needed to feel at home. These are facilities such as the teahouse, the market, the gym and shops.
It is particularly important that these facilities are easily accessible. Also, these facilities should be located in the district. This makes it more likely that residents encounter other acquaintances; it increases the bond with the neighborhood and residents.
3. Home and the culture of the district
One participant said that her talks one of the main topics is that is imported to have people nearby you feel connected to. People with more or less the same attitude. Feeling home is for a big part of learning to understand the "neighborhood-culture" and to feel connected to it
Language is an important part of feeling at home. An elderly couple we talked to feel less connected with the neighborhood and the residents because the people around them often have little or no Dutch. Language links, but can also create distance.
4. Feeling home and newcomers to the neighborhood
Feeling home plays an extra big role for people new to the district. These people have to work harder to feel at home. For this they will have to throw out "anchors" by means such as small contacts at the bakery and the neighbors. In the course of time the sense of I feeling in relation to the neighborhood will mature into the 'we feeling'.
5. Feeling at home is crucial for living history
The interview with Henk de Bont and Max, father and son led to the conclusion that feeling at home and the living-history are connected. Henk de Bont is originally not from the district. During the interview he explains he doesn't feel connected to the neighborhood (he'd prefer to change neighborhoods) but feels perfectly at home in his own house with his own stuff, like books and art. Max de Bont, born and raised in the neighborhood, feels right at home in the neighborhood.
This difference in living history influenced how to intervene in the district experiences. Max observes the changes in the district with mixed feeling. "They are influencing how I feel at home in my district by demolishing and rebuilding houses and streets. It is not always progress when everything is destroyed. "
6. Home and homeland
Taner, the owner of Zafer Turkish restaurant's Place was one of the locals who opened up his restaurant for an interview. Taner has been living in the Netherlands since he was one year old. Now he is 40 now and has returned to his native Turkey a number of times. "Several years ago," he says, "I was on holiday in Turkey, like every year. It was nice to be with my family. But after two weeks I began to be yearning for my homeland. The feeling was so strong that I was very glad when I could go back again to Rotterdam. We also have a proverb: Nerd dogdugun degil, nerede doydugun evindir (your home is not where you were born, but where you eat and live). "
One of the elements of home is the "mental or individual home. This is the active participation of the private individual to a home. We see this in the routines, patterns and traditions that people develop over time. It involves the use of space, both indoors and in the district. Taner's remark fits well with the individual home. It is something you need to work on yourself as a person, which you are responsible.
7. Home and physical environment
One of the three aspects of feeling at home is the physical environment. Not only do we have a place that we can call home, this place must also meet certain conditions. One participant mentions a number of aspects of how the physical environment can contribute to a feeling of home. Aspects such as privacy, surroundings, physical orientation, sufficient contact with others and to have a place to rest and relax when needed.
The physical aspects can also only help to create an atmosphere. They are not necessarily aimed to make people feel at home. In particular, public buildings are decorated in this way. The cinema/stage LantarenVenster is a good example. The interior architect of the new cinema on the Southbank has paid much attention to an attractive decoration of the room. "With light, colors, materials and clever music to work creates a pleasant atmosphere for visitors. This makes visitors feel comfortable and enlarges the likelihood that they come back.
8. Home and the people around us
We often work towards creating solidarity and pride. Often we use to physical aspects, such as refurbishing neighborhoods, creating gardens, (new) facilities to improve districts. Social aspects are closely linked to these physical aspects. Gardens are often used by residents to meet each other. And the facilities also fulfill this function.
It is especially the latter, social function which is important for creating solidarity and pride. Dutch often feel more at home in neighborhoods where they feel socially connected with the district. From this social bond neighborhood pride emerges. Do not only provide a beautiful, renovated district. But planners should also pay attention to the next level of social contacts, increasing networking and stimulating unexpected encounters.
9. Feeling at home and longing for the past
Feeling at home may change over the years. An elderly woman told us much about her past and how things were in the old days. Feeling at home, for her, is a feeling she associates with the old days. It raises the question of how a society / carer still can make people feel at home in a changing society.
More information
Contact: Jeroen Laven
Click here to send Jeroen an e-mail
Contact: Sander van der Ham
Click here to send Sander an e-mail