Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This research presents an historical-ethnographic case-study of ‘Buurland’: a collaborative housing community in Utrecht. By using various audio-visual and ethnographic methods I explore how...Show moreThis research presents an historical-ethnographic case-study of ‘Buurland’: a collaborative housing community in Utrecht. By using various audio-visual and ethnographic methods I explore how Buurland became the community it is now and how this communal living is lived and experienced by different ‘Buurlanders’. The focus of this research is on processes of re-design and place-making and the factors that allowed this re-design to occur. The temporality of the place, and the attitude and close ties of the initiating group prove to be important in this process. Furthermore, drawing upon discourses on architecture and communal living, I argue that the specific design of the housing blocks fosters social interactions between neighbors. In addition, Buurland’s case-study shows how lack of policy in a residential area leads to creative communal practices organized by neighbors. The yearly ‘Zwemfest’ is a key communal practice, which forms a binding ritual among the members of the community. In 2023 the housing blocks of Buurland will be demolished and make place for social housing appartements and mid-market rental housing. The aim of housing corporation Mitros is to ‘create’ a new community with a similar communal character. The question remains if Mitros will succeed in doing so. The outcomes of this research are presented in an article, ‘Making Buurland’, and in an ethnographic film, ‘Buurland, a Land Ruled by Neighbors’.Show less