The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure tried to cancel a plan for 2.500 student homes in Kronenburg. The reason: noise pollution due to the nearby Schiphol Airport. On February 15, dozens of students marched in the pouring rain to protest the Ministry’s claim. ‘’It’s totally absurd, because 3.500 students already live at Uilenstede campus, which is just 100 meters away,’’ said VU’s student union (SRVU) chair Joep van Dijk. On that same day, the case was tried in court.
The student housing crisis is at an all-time high, according to the SRVU. The greater Amsterdam area only lacks an estimated 6.600 homes. The proposed student campus Kronenburg-Uilenstede would not only feature 2.500 student homes, but also 1.500 to 2.000 extended-stay units. The plan to redevelop Kronenburg was therefore warmly welcomed by both the student union and student housing corporation DUWO. Kronenburg, however, is close to one of Schiphol’s arrival strips, the Buitenveldertbaan. Normally it isn’t allowed to build on this location, but the Amstelveen municipality made an exception for this plan given the urgency of the housing crisis. The Ministry of Infrastructure disagreed, and argued that the noise pollution would still be unacceptable. This case had a hearing in the Council of State on February 15th.
On the day of the hearing, two students unions and the local Communist party organized a march to raise awareness for the issue. While chanting ‘’Fight fight fight! Housing is a right!,’’ around forty demonstrators made their way from the VU campus to Uilenstede. Many participants see the Kronenburg affair as part of a larger failing housing system. ‘’Internationals are faced with discrimination, students are faced with horrible landlords, and on top of that they have to juggle working with studying,’’ Gideon, a member of the Communist party, told me. When we asked an organizer why the Communists were there in the first place, he answered: ‘’Oh the Communists? They are always here, at every protest.’’ That they are always there should not come as a surprise, because they view this incident as symptomatic of a broken capitalist market.
Others, including SRVU’s Joep, put the blame on government bureaucracy politics. In their speeches at Uilenstede, they argued that the Ministry used noise pollution and safety issues as an excuse to prioritize Schiphol over students. ‘’Students who live at Uilenstede more often hear parties than overflying planes,’’ concluded ASVA Student Union’s Job Vermaas.
Whether a usurping class of bourgeois landlords or a lacklustre government bureaucracy is to blame, the outcome is the same: an alarming lack of affordable housing. Whether Schiphol truly is prioritized over students remains to be seen. The Council of State’s official verdict will follow within six weeks.