Affordable Family Housing in Nijmegen, Netherlands

Affordable family housing is quite often hard to find, but for the residents of one city in the Netherlands, it could become a thing of the past.

In the city of Nijmegen, Netherlands, first-time buyers are being given the opportunity to build their own homes as part of an initiative called ‘Ik bouw betaalbaar in Nijmegen’ (IbbN), which translates as ‘I build affordable in Nijmegen’.

IbbN has been designed for families on an income between €30,000 to €47,000. People will be able to select and architect-designed home which can then be assembled in kit-form on a designated lot within the city. The homes are detached single-family dwellings with either two, or three bedrooms and a 1.5 bathroom on both floors. All told the homes contain 1,075 square feet of space.

Inspired by IKEA furniture, the houses can be flat-packed and shipped to the owners site, where they can be assembled (by the owner) in as little as 6 weeks. The construction process is also overseen by a building supervisor to ensure proper construction standards and practices are being applied.

Nijmegen has allocated 30 plots in the district of Vossenpels for the IbbN program. The Ibbn program is based on a successful initiative that operated in the Almere region in 2008. As a result of the initiative 400 homes designed to cater for lower income families were added to the area.

The Nijmegen homes are designed to take advantage of natural light, and ventilation. They’re also built with low-maintenance, durable materials to help ensure the success of the project in the long run.

A similar project has also been put into action in Winnipeg, Canada. An abandoned lot originally designated for 6 family homes, was transformed into an affordable micro-housing development for 25 families.

Via Inhabitat