Dilemmas of families in the city: stay or leave?

573,000 families live in a highly urbanised neighbourhood
As of 2024, there are 2.7 million nuclear families living in the Netherlands, accounting for roughly one-third of all households. Over one-fifth of these families live in highly urbanised neighbourhoods. These are densely built-up neighbourhoods in and around city centres, with an address density exceeding 2,500 addresses per km² (CBS definition) [1]. For the Netherlands, this amounts to 573,000 families living in a highly urbanised area. The map shows these neighbourhoods, with the colour purple representing the proportion of families living in these neighbourhoods. The lighter the colour, the fewer families.

Map: distribution of nuclear families in 2024, broken down by neighbourhood, in highly urban areas, ABF Socrates Model 2023.

How satisfied are these families with their living situation?
40% of the families in the most urbanised neighbourhoods live in an owner-occupied single-family home. This is quite remarkable given that only 22% of the houses in these neighbourhoods are owner-occupied single-family homes (WoON 2021). When it comes to housing, families in the city tend to live differently than other households. They are more likely to follow the traditional model of living in a single-family house that they own.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the families are (very) satisfied with their home in the city (74%). However, there is a big difference between homeowners and renters: 91% of homeowners are satisfied, compared to just 53% of renters. Most families in the city are also positive about their living environment: 76% are (very) satisfied. Here too, there are large differences between renters and owners: 82% of families in the owner-occupied sector are happy with their living environment, compared to 68% of renters. Families are about as satisfied with their living environment as the other households in the city. However, it turns out that families living outside the city are even happier with their living environment (WoON 2021). 

Families in urbanised neighbourhoods are not inclined to move more often than other households in the neighbourhood
The trend in highly urbanised areas shows more families moving out than moving in. This does not mean, however, that all families are leaving or want to move. The national WoON 2021 survey shows that 15% of families in highly urbanised neighbourhoods definitely want to move within the next two years. A further 10% of families indicate that they would like to move but cannot find anything suitable. Thus, in total, 25% of households in highly urbanised neighbourhoods express an immediate desire to move within the next two years. Furthermore, an additional 25% is considering a move within the same timeframe. The desire of families to move is thus as high as that of other households in the neighbourhood. However, the desire to move is much higher in very urban areas than in the rest of the Netherlands. About 15% of families in highly urbanised areas definitely want to move in the next two years, compared to 7% of households outside the city.

Figure: Do you wish to move within 2 years? Broken down by nuclear families in the city, other households in the city and other nuclear families in the Netherlands

Over half of families who are thinking of moving want to stay in their current neighbourhood, and would be happy to move into a new build home
For about half of the families in urbanised areas, their home is the main reason for wanting to move. This is for half of these families due to insufficient space, they find their home too small (48%). Other factors include the absence of a garden (16% of families) and a preference for a different housing type (12% of families).
Dissatisfaction with the living environment is another reason families want to move; 21% of families cite this as the main reason. Issues like noise, safety concerns, the housing types or insufficient parking space contribute to this. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that families want to leave their neighbourhoods. In fact, 54% of urban families thinking about moving would rather stay in their current neighbourhood. In the rest of the country, this percentage is 50 percent.

Of the families wanting to stay put in their neighbourhood in the city, about half want to buy a home and the other half want to rent. The families who want to buy a home typically prefer a single-family house (68%). Families looking for a rental home, on the other hand, often opt for an apartment (55%). One in five families prefers a new build home in their own neighbourhood, while another two in five are open to it.


Bricks alone do not make a home
There is a large group of families in the city who like to live there and want to continue living there. The biggest challenge, however, is finding a suitable home. New construction can be a key solution to providing this growing population with a pleasant place to live in the city. Bricks alone do not make a home. What is needed to keep families in our (inner) cities? How does VanWonen contribute to this? We will discuss this in the last article of this series. 

Data used
WoON 2021: WoON stands for WoonOnderzoek Nederland (Housing Research Netherlands) and is a comprehensive, long-term national survey conducted every three years by CBS and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. For decades, the research has offered insights into households’ living conditions, their satisfaction with their homes, desires to move, and housing expenses. For the analyses of families’ current living situations and their desired housing, we have used the standard household weighting in the WoON, or alternatively, the weighting for their preferred home. Only independent households residing in houses were included in the study.
Urbanisation: To determine the level of urbanisation in a neighbourhood, we used the standard classification system of the CBS. The urbanisation of a neighbourhood is determined on the basis of address density, highly urban means an address density of more than 2,500 addresses per km²
ABF Socrates Model 2023: Forecast model about the household development and housing needs in the Netherlands, broken down by neighbourhood level.