Social housing associations Haag Wonen and Staedion are joining hands with De Haagse Hogeschool and Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities to work together on a future-proof The Hague.
With a declaration of intent signed on 7 October, the parties are taking an important step in addressing urban challenges such as housing shortage, liveability and energy transition. The aim of the cooperation is to connect knowledge with practice to develop concrete solutions that contribute to affordable and sustainable living in safe and resilient neighbourhoods.
The strengthening of cooperation comes at a crucial time: The Hague is growing fast, there is a shortage of affordable housing and the quality of life in The Hagues neighbourhoods is under increasing pressure. At the same time, there are urgent tasks around sustainability and social cohesion. Together with students and researchers, the housing corporations want to develop innovative solutions that not only improve the physical living environment in neighbourhoods, but also strengthen social cohesion.
We are already seeing how this joining of forces is producing concrete results.'
Board chairman of Haag Wonen Mohamed Baba: ‘At Haag Wonen, we are building a beautiful city of The Hague, where everyone can feel at home. We can only achieve this by working together with our partners in the city.'
‘As housing corporations, we bring expertise in housing and area development, while knowledge institutions deploy students and researchers to strengthen neighbourhoods with innovative ideas and research.’
'At the Lozerlaan in The Hague Southwest, we are already seeing how this joining of forces is producing concrete results by creating meeting places and strengthening social cohesion. We are happy that we are now further reinforcing this valuable cooperation and together roll up our sleeves for residents and house seekers in The Hague.'
Win-win for city and student
The collaboration offers three clear advantages: it ensures a lasting impact in the neighbourhoods, it connects knowledge and practice, and it enthuses both students and professionals. By linking research with practical projects, housing associations gain access to innovative ideas and young talent. At the same time, students gain valuable experience in solving social problems such as improving liveability and making housing more sustainable.
Future vision: structural cooperation in 2025
The partners are ambitious and want to further embed this cooperation in a formal cooperation agreement in 2025, setting out joint objectives and actions. This three-year cooperation agreement should form the basis for jointly tackling long-term urban challenges. This cooperation agreement follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 7 October 2024.
Instructive for students, useful for society.'
Wim van den Doel, Dean of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities: ‘The strength of this cooperation agreement is connecting knowledge to practice and policy in real and urgent cases. Instructive for students, useful for society. The starting point is co-creation, everyone's knowledge is equally relevant, which suits South-Holland. Smartly linking knowledge supply and demand is also badly needed with the further growth of our cities. It is gratifying that Haag Wonen, Staedion, The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities are joining forces.'
Symposium Fine neighbourhoods in resilient districts for a soft city
The declaration of intent was signed during the symposium Fine neighbourhoods in resilient districts for a soft city. Signatories were Mohamed Baba (Haag Wonen), Wim van den Doel (Leiden-Delft-Erasmus), Elisabeth Minneman (Haagse Hogeschool) and Arianne van der Rijst (Staedion). The symposium brought together policymakers, researchers, students, project managers and neighbourhood developers with the aim of advancing relevant cases from practice together and gaining inspiration.
By joining forces, we create solutions that make the city stronger.'
Elisabeth Minnemann, chair of the Executive Board of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, said: ‘This collaboration is the perfect example of how co-creation between knowledge institutions and local partners can create tangible improvements in The Hague's living environment.’
‘By joining forces, we create solutions that make the city stronger with a focus on inclusivity and sustainability, in which our students make a difference by working with residents and professionals to develop solutions that are not only practical, but also permanently impactful.’
