Reclaiming Space, Reimagining Housing

Abstract

Responding to Amsterdam’s ongoing housing challenges, this thesis uses the concept of alternative imaginaries to explore the need for new ways of thinking about housing. The research nuances dominant supply-driven solutions by studying how alternative housing imaginaries are presented, enacted, and negotiated from the bottom up. More specifically, this research uses the phenomenon of squatting as both a historical and contemporary form of housing resistance. Building on Amsterdam’s rich squatting history, this study uncovers what alternatives these movements envision and how they live their ideals in occupied spaces. Therefore, imagination is treated in this research not just as a utopian dream, but rather as a prefigurative practice through which an alternative vision is put into practice. By studying these alternative visions and practices, the research exposes path dependencies and contradictions in dominant housing imaginaries.

By adopting a multi-method qualitative approach, this research examines the transformative potential of the alternative imaginaries of squatting movements in Amsterdam. The study covers both the historical impact of squatting movements and how more recent movements interacted with the system. In sum, these movements challenge the dominant narrative of housing as a commodity. In contrast, this research reveals how squatters see housing as inherently relational, envisioning them as urban commons of care and collective governance. By studying squatting as more than a protest or illegal occupation, the research adds empirical evidence for acknowledging social movements as imaginative and transformative forces, both within and outside the formal system. By connecting these questions to Amsterdam’s policy context, the study contributes to debates on socio-political transformation. It offers practical and conceptual insights into how reimagining housing can open alternatives toward more inclusive and participatory forms of urban living.