Commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt

A focus on the impact of commercial gentrification on long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat

Author: Jasper Kortbeek Student number: 11054212 E-mail: [email protected] Study: Human Geography Thesis supervisor: N. B. (Bahar) Sakizlioglu Second reader: Dr. R. I. M. (Rowan) Arundel Submission date: January 14th 2019 Word count: 17.857 words

1 Table of contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 3 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework - 2.1: Gentrification 4 - 2.2: State-led gentrification 4 - 2.3: Commercial gentrification 5 Chapter 3: - 3.1: Problem statement 7 - 3.2: Research questions 7 - 3.3 Conceptual framework 8 Chapter 4: Case selection 9 Chapter 5: Methodology - 5.1: Research type and design 13 - 5.2: Research units 13 - 5.3: Operationalization 14 - 5.4: Research methods 16 - 5.5: Analysis 17 Chapter 6: Commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt 19 Chapter 7: Empirical analysis - 7.1: What is the role of the city municipality in 25 commercial gentrification? - 7.2: What are the impacts of commercial gentrification 30 as experienced by long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat? o 7.2.1: Causes of change 30 o 7.2.2: Emotional experiences of impact 31 o 7.2.3: Economic impacts 33 o 7.2.4: Role of municipality 36 - 7.3: What are the responses of long term shopkeepers 38 on the process of commercial gentrification? o 7.3.1: Individual responses 38 o 7.3.2: Collective responses 40 Chapter 8: Conclusion and Limitations - Answering the research questions 42 - Conclusive thoughts 43 - Discussion 43 - Limitations and recommendations 44 Bibliography: 46 Appendix: - Interview questions 49 - List of respondents 51 - Time schedule 52 - Table of shops located in the Javastraat 53 - ATLAS. Ti codes 57

2 Chapter 1: Introduction

Gentrification has become a widespread process in many cities. It changes the residential- as well as the commercial landscape of the cities. There are multiple forms of gentrification and this process is occurring in different geographies and has different outcomes at different locations. Many studies have focused on the form of residential gentrification, while less research has been done on commercial gentrification. Especially, the role of a government within this process has been little studied (Hubbard, 2017, p.1). Urban governments are often trying to improve neighbourhoods by attracting middle-class residents (Hochstenbach, 2017), and these actions have not only influence on the residential landscape of a neighbourhood, but also on the commercial landscape. It is important to know what the impacts of this process are on the shopkeepers that own a business in these neighbourhoods, because this process can lead to difficulties for the original shopkeepers. Are they being displaced? How do they adapt to this situation? These are questions that are of great importance to answer to fill the gap in the academic literature. To make a contribution to the existing literature, the impacts of, and responses to commercial gentrification will be examined in a case study. The process of commercial gentrification is occurring in Amsterdam, and this thesis will focus on the Indische buurt located in the East part of Amsterdam. Within the Indische buurt, the Javastraat is the main shopping street where most of the commercial enterprises are located, and this is the case on which this thesis is focusing. Additional to the impacts for and responses of the long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat, the contribution of the municipality of Amsterdam to gentrification and commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt will be examined. What policy do they apply in relation to gentrification and do they take any action to the consequences that this process has for the long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat? Thereby, the social relevance of this research is related to the experiences and responses of the long term shopkeepers, and the city governments’ policy. For the shopkeepers, it is crucial to know how they can adapt themselves to the changing neighbourhood. In this way, they can stay attractive for the inhabitants and keep their enterprises open in the Javastraat. This research can help them finding solutions to the problems they may be facing. For the city government, it is important to know how the long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat are influenced by their policy. In this way, they can analyse this policy and, if necessary, make improvements. The research is structured as follows. First, the concepts related to this research will be elaborated in the theoretical framework. In this framework, the existing literature based on the relative concepts will be discussed. Second is the problem statement in which a brief description of this research will be described, followed by the main research question, the corresponding sub-questions, and the conceptual diagram, in which the relation between the variables are visualized. Third, there will be a description of the case, namely the Javastraat located in the Indische buurt. After the case selection, the methodology of this thesis will be described, including the research type and design, the research units, the operationalization, the methods used and the way in which the data is analysed. Fifth, the way in which commercial gentrification is occurring in the Indische buurt is examined, firstly focusing on gentrification in the Indische buurt, followed by the changes in the commercial landscape of the Javastraat. Afterwards, the analysis of the data will be done, including the role of the municipality and the experiences and responses of the long term shopkeepers, followed by a conclusion and discussion.

3 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework

To answer the research questions, the most important concepts will be elaborated within this theoretical framework. The first concept that will be described is gentrification in general and its possible consequences. Secondly, the influence of the state within this process will be described what is called state-led gentrification. The goal of state-led gentrification and the reason for the implementation of this kind of policy will be elaborated. This affects not only the residential landscape of a neighbourhood but also the commercial landscape. These possible effects will be described in the last part, namely under commercial gentrification.

2.1: Gentrification The process of gentrification is routinely defined as: “A process involving a change in the population of land-users such that new users are of a higher socio-economic status than the previous users, together with an associated change in the built environment through a reinvestment in fixed capital” (Clark, 2005, p.25). According to Atkinson (2012) there are two important elements of gentrification, namely the movement by middle and higher-income classes to cheaper neighbourhoods and the reinvestment in the physical housing stock (Atkinson, 2012, p.270). Atkinson describes that there are cultural and economic forces driving gentrification and that it is not clear which of these main factors is the leading one. That is why these two forces can be connected: “A range of national, metropolitan and local neighbourhood dynamics are behind the supply of gentrifiers and help to set the conditions by which social and economic inequalities create the possibility for gentrification activity and displacement” (Atkinson, 2012, p.2). Due to gentrification, the rental prices are increasing, which can lead to the displacement of existing households (Knox et al, 2014). It becomes more difficult for lower income households to keep living in gentrifying neighbourhoods (Karsten, 2014). So, this process of gentrification leads to a change in the residential composition of a neighbourhood. Characteristics of people coming into gentrifying neighbourhoods, called ‘gentrifiers’ are mostly white, middle-class households. They are overwhelmingly single individuals or couples without children and nearly all have attended college (Gale, 1985, p.16). The change in the demographics of a neighbourhood can also have consequences for the economic situation of long term shopkeepers (Davidson, 2008).

2.2: State-led gentrification According to Smith, gentrification has to be seen in relation to systematic changes in the relation between the state, individual and market brought about by neoliberalization. This is characterized by market power, superior to state power (van Gent, 2013). The state can use its power to intervene in order to control and expand the influence of the market (van Gent, 2013). This also occurs in the relation to gentrification, what can be called state-led gentrification and this has evolved since the 1990s into a highly important urban strategy for many city governments (van Gent, 2013, p. 504). Urban governments are trying, with several policies, to increase social mixing, to decrease poverty concentration and to attract middle-class residents in order to manage disadvantaged neighbourhoods (Hochstenbach, 2017). In Uitermark et. Al’s words, “gentrification is a means through which governmental organisations and their partners lure the middle-classes into disadvantaged areas with the purpose of civilising and controlling these neighbourhoods” (Uitermark et. al, 2007, 127). State actors in the Netherlands consider, more and more, that gentrification is the only solution to urban problems. In this understanding, gentrification can help them improve the economic situation and liveability of a disadvantaged neighbourhood (UItermark et. al, 2007).

4 The spatial concentration of poor household or ethnic minority households have a negative effect on the opportunities for the residents to improve their living conditions (Friedrichs et al, 2003). In this way, social mixing can have positive effects on these living conditions. Policy based on social mixing argues that higher income/ affluent residents will improve the neighbourhood, due to their bigger resources. Other positive effects of social mixing are the advance cohesion, creation of economic opportunities and the counteract of social and ethnic segregation (Huse, 2016). The social mixing of neighbourhoods has also an influence on the commercial landscape of a neighbourhood. “The loss of shops and service preferred by lower-income original residents and their replacement by up-market shops and services targeted to incoming wealthier newcomers resonates with the international gentrification experience” (La Grange & Pretorius, 2016, p. 520). Not only has this process of social mixing influence on the commercial landscape but it can also cause an indirect form of displacement. The middle-class households who move into a gentrifying neighbourhood have different preferences when it comes to shops or restaurants. This leads to the decrease in clients for the original shopkeepers what can cause serious economic problems for them (Davidson, 2008). Relating to the Dutch context, gentrification has been relatively mild. Despite this relatively mild form of gentrification, state actors have increasingly used gentrification as a policy tool to decrease social problems within neighbourhoods (Teernstra, 2015). These goals of the national government have been adopted by local governments, and they saw the differentiation of the housing stock as a highly important policy tool for multiple reasons. The government aimed at attracting higher-income household by differentiating the housing stock. Second, the urban economy is tried to be improved by attracting higher-income households into neighbourhoods. It is assumed that these household will spend more money in these neighbourhoods. Thirdly, the competitiveness of cities is tried to be improved and lastly, social problems were seen as consequence of the concentration of relatively poor household and this will be decreased by mixing the neighbourhoods with different kind of household relating to their income (Teernstra, 2015, pp. 1465). The way in which the local governments are trying to improve the urban economy in their neighbourhood is by attracting higher income households. In this case, commercial gentrification can be seen as a side effect of residential mixing, but in the analysis of the role of the municipality of Amsterdam within commercial gentrification, attracting higher income households is not the only way in which the urban economy is tried to be improved.

2.3: Commercial gentrification Zukin (2016) argues that the shopping street is of extreme importance when you look at the status of a neighbourhood. She describes that you can walk through a shopping street in almost any neighbourhood to see the diversity that is causing the growth in cities (Zukin, 2016, p.1). So the change in the shopping street can be related to the change in the socio- economic status of a neighbourhood and their inhabitants. This change in the shopping street in the Indische buurt is called commercial gentrification: “the gentrification of business premises, which leads to consumption spaces for the middle-class, even if this groups does not represent the entire neighbourhood” (Bridge and Dowling, 2001, p.93). The consumption patterns and identities of ‘gentrifiers’ are reflected in retail spaces of gentrifying neighbourhoods, but there is a big variation between the nature of these spaces in different gentrifying neighbourhoods (Ernst & Doucet, 2013, p.191). Gentrified commercial districts typically consist of restaurants specializing in different types of international cuisine, cafés and boutiques, thereby giving the area a more cosmopolitan feeling (Ernst & Doucet, 2013, p.191). This process is common in gentrifying neighbourhoods but the role of the government in this process is little studied.

5 Commercial gentrification has an impact on the long term shopkeepers in a neighbourhood. New restaurants, cafés and shops establish themselves in gentrifying neighbourhoods and are, often, based for the new inhabitants of the neighbourhood. These new businesses are not like the mainstream business and are attractive for the newcomers who differentiate themselves from the original inhabitants (Jeong et al, 2015). According to Zukin (2016), this can lead to the displacement of the working-class and minorities because they are not part of this subculture (Zukin, 2016). The negative effect of gentrification, namely the pressure of displacement, has been studied a lot in relation to the residential aspect. Most of the literature is based on residential displacement and the displacement pressure on shop owners in gentrifying neighbourhoods has little been studied. Only a few studies had focused on the long-term shopkeepers who are affected by commercial gentrification (Jeong et al, 2015), but there has been a shift towards the process of gentrification related to the retail sector. According to Gonzalez and Wiley (2013), this shift is crucial because, the retail sector can be seen as ‘frontier’ of further gentrification (Jeong et al, 2015, pp.147). According to the results of the study of Jeong et al (2015) in Gyeongridan, long term shopkeepers react different towards the process of commercial gentrification. “By interviewing long-term shop owners in the neighbourhood, we uncovered discourses, which are welcoming to, accepting of, and frustrated with the process” (Jeong et al, 2015, pp.153).

6 Chapter 3

3.1: Problem statement Gentrification has changed the Indische buurt. Not only has there been a residential change but, the commercial landscape has also faced a change. New shops, cafés and restaurant have established themselves in the Javastraat. This process of commercial gentrification has been boosted by the municipality of Amsterdam (Zukin, 2016). The question is how long term shopkeepers are affected by commercial gentrification and how they react to the consequences of this process. Compared to the literature on residential gentrification, commercial gentrification attracted less research attention. The literature lacks account on how long term shopkeepers experience and respond to commercial gentrification. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on 1) the role of the municipal authorities in commercial gentrification; 2) how long term shopkeepers experience and respond to commercial gentrification.

3.2: Research question and sub questions To examine the role of the municipal authorities in commercial gentrification and how long term shopkeepers experience and respond to commercial gentrification, two main questions will be used. - What is the role of the city municipality in commercial gentrification? - How does commercial gentrification affect long term shopkeepers and what are their responses to this process? The role of the municipality of Amsterdam will be underlined within the process of commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt. The second research question is divided into two sub questions: 1. What are the impacts of commercial gentrification as experienced by long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat? 2. What are the responses of long term shopkeepers on this process of commercial gentrification?

7 3.3: Conceptual diagram

Policy municipality of Amsterdam

Impacts and experiences on Commercial long term shopkeepers and gentrification their responses

Characteristics business: Consequences of - Duration of gentrification: settlement - Residential - Type of shop demographic change within the neighbourhood

- Increase in rental price

Figure 1: Conceptual diagram (Made by: Jasper Kortbeek, 2018)

This thesis is mainly focused on the impact of commercial gentrification on the long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat together with long term shopkeepers’ responses to this process. The interventions made by the municipality of Amsterdam in relation to commercial gentrification will also be underlined. As seen in the diagram, this policy has both influence on commercial gentrification itself and on the impact on long term shopkeepers of commercial gentrification. The characteristics of the businesses and the consequences of gentrification, including the residential demographic change and the increase in rental prices might influence the way in which the long term shopkeepers are affected by commercial gentrification. These are the most important concepts that will be researched within this thesis project.

8 Chapter 4: Case selection

This study will focus on a neighbourhood located in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has changed since the 1970s due to globalization. The city attracted migrants from mostly Turkey, Morocco and Surinam, but also white and English speaking foreign residents (Zukin et al, 2016). Amsterdam is recently facing the process of gentrification. This process did not only have influence on the residential landscape of Amsterdam, but also on the commercial landscape. Globalization influenced the retail landscape of Amsterdam in two ways. Firstly, it created high-status restaurants and shops owned by this group of white, English speaking residents. Secondly, it is also the cause of the existence of many low-status stores owned by ethnic minorities. The latest kind of stores had led to the fair for ‘ghettoization’, what has led to introducing state-led gentrification by urban planners (Zukin et al, 2016). This case study focuses on the Indische buurt. This neighbourhood is located in the East part of Amsterdam as seen on the map below. The Indische buurt is highlighted in green.

Figure 2: Location of the Indische buurt within Amsterdam (Wikipedia)

The Indische buurt has 22875 inhabitants in the year of 2018 (OIS Amsterdam, 2018). In the following tables, the characteristics of the neighbourhood are described. Age Amount of Percentage groups inhabitants of total 0-19 4210 18,41% 20-39 9409 41,15% 40-59 5762 25,2% 60-79 3043 13,31% 80+ 451 1,97% Total 22866 100%

Table 1: Inhabitants Indische buurt by age (OIS Amsterdam, 2018)

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Migration Amount of Percentage background inhabitants of total Surinam 1841 8,05% Antillean 261 1,14% Turkish 2020 8,83% Moroccan 4318 18,88% Other Non- 2687 11,75% Western Western 3405 14,89% Dutch 8343 36,47% Total 22875 100% Table 2: Inhabitants Indische buurt based on ethnic background (OIS Amsterdam, 2018)

Average income per Average income per Average personal Average household household Indische income Amsterdam personal income Amsterdam buurt Indische buurt 36800 29850 33500 26250

Table 3: Income level of Amsterdam and the Indische buurt in 2015 (OIS Amsterdam, 2015)

Regarding the age of the inhabitants, the most representative group is the people within the age of 20-39. Regarding the income-level, the situation has changed. There is an increase visible in the income-level of the household living in the Indische buurt, but it is still below the average of Amsterdam (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). Both the appearance of a huge amount of relative younger people and the increase in the average income-level are characteristic for a gentrifying neighbourhood (Gale, 1985 & Atkinsons, 2012). Another common consequence of gentrification is the increase in the WOZ-value of the houses, which implies the value of the houses (Knox et al, 2014). This effect can be found for the Indische buurt. Within three years, the average WOZ-value has increased with 49,7% (OIS Amsterdam, 2018) as seen in the table below.

Average WOZ- Average WOZ- Increase in Increase in value 2016 value 2018 absolute numbers percentage 206561 309245,5 102684,5 49,71% Table 4: Average WOZ-value of houses in the Indische buurt (OIS Amsterdam, 2018)

The WOZ-value is used, because there were no statistics available based on the rental prices in the Indische buurt. Figure 2 illustrates the residential transition within the Oostelijk Havengebied and the Indische buurt. In this case, only the transition within the Indische buurt is relevant. As figure 2 shows, the amount of non-Western migrants has decreased within the Indische buurt during the period of 2005 till 2015. The amount of new-city dwellers, defined as: “People of autochthonous or western origin aged 18-55 years, who are registered in Amsterdam after their 18th birthday” (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2016), has increased within this period of time. This is a typical transition for a neighbourhood that is undergoing the process of gentrification (Gale, 1985).

10

Figure 3: Amount of new-city dwellers with a non-western background, 2005-2017 (OIS Amsterdam, 2016)

But, social mixing is not only based on the demographics of the neighbourhood but also on the commercial landscape. The municipality of Amsterdam focused on the retail landscape in the the Indische buurt to speed up the process of gentrification within this neighbourhood (Zukin et al, 2016), and came up with a gentrification policy. This policy was implemented in 2007, and the Javastraat became the main target. The impacts of this policy are highly visible in the Javastraat. The retail landscape has changed and this has an impact on the long term shopkeepers established within this street. The commercial enterprises are mostly located in the Javastraat. In the map below, the location of the Javastraat within the Indische buurt is highlighted.

Figure 4: Javastraat, Amsterdam (Google Maps, 2019).

This street is the main shopping street within the Indische buurt. The characteristics of the commercial landscape can be seen in the tables below. These characteristics are collected due to the use of a mini survey. Within this mini survey, the amount of years the shop is located in the Javastraat, the type of shop and the ethnicity of the shopkeeper were asked. In the appendix, you can find the characteristics of every single shop located in the Javastraat.

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Duration shop within Amount of shops Percentage of the Javastraat total Long term shopkeepers 43 39,1% Short term shopkeepers 46 41,8% Duration unknown 21 19,1%

Total 110 100%

Table 5: Duration shop located in the Javastraat (Mini survey, 2018)

Ethnicity shopkeeper Amount of shops Percentage of total Dutch 29 26,4% Pakistani 5 4,5% Turkish 17 15,5% Moroccan 17 15,5%

Indian 3 2,7%

2 1,8% Surinam Afghanistan 2 1,8% Egyptian 3 2,7% Iraqi 2 1,8% Syrian 2 1,8% Others 7 6,4% Unknown 21 19,1% Total 110 100%

Table 6: Ethnicity of shopkeeper within the Javastraat (Mini survey, 2018)

Type of shop Amount of shops Percentage of total Telephone shop 9 8,2%

6 5,5% Bakery Restaurant/ Café 25 22,7% Retail trade 30 27,3% Supermarket/ food 17 15,5% products Barber/ beauty saloon 6 5,5% Others 17 15,5% 110 100% Total Table 7; Type of shop, located in the Javastraat (Mini survey, 2018)

The changes in the commercial landscape due to the process of commercial gentrification are visible, which will be described in chapter 6. The reason behind the choice for the Indische buurt is the fact that this neighbourhood is undergoing the process of gentrification at the moment, and the city government is the main driver of this process. The aim of the municipality of Amsterdam was to bring middle-class residents and ‘creative’ businesses into the neighbourhood (Stadsdeel Zeeburg, 2001). This affects the commercial landscape within the neigbhourhood and makes it a representative case for this research.

12 Chapter 5: Methodology

5.1: Research type and design The type of research for this thesis is a qualitative research design. Bryman (2012) describes a qualitative research as: A research strategy that usually emphasizes words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data (Bryman, 2012, p.35-36). This thesis will examine a specific topic in depth. This is characteristic for a qualitative research design. Qualitative research is mostly inductive, what means that there will be generated a theory due to the collection of data (Bryman, 2012, p.36). This is partly true for this thesis. Data was gathered and with this data I have answered the research questions. But the deductive part is the part where the concepts within this thesis are discussed. This theory is namely the basis for this research. The information gathered is used in the design of the semi-structured interview, what will later be further elaborated. This research is done in de Indische buurt, especially in the Javastraat, and this is my geographical case. According to Yen (2014), a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its ‘real-world’ context (Yen, 2014, p.16). This thesis researched a wider phenomenon, namely commercial gentrification, and this has been done in depth in one specific neighbourhood, what makes it a single representative case study. In this way, it is possible to do a detailed research. This is an embedded single case study, because there are multiple levels. Commercial gentrification has an influence on the composition of the shopping street in the Javastraat, but it has also influence on the individual long term shopkeepers. Very important with this design is the fact that the results of this research are not completely representative for other cases (Bryman, 2012). Yet, I can address theoretical issues without making any empirical generalizations. But, the external validity of this case study is low. “External validity is concerned with the question of whether the results of a case study can be generalized beyond the specific research context” (Bryman, 2012, p.47). Contextual factors are of great importance. These contextual factors can be different in every neighbourhood and that is why this study minimizes itself in its external validity.

5.2: Research units The units of research in this single case study are the long term shopkeepers, the policy documents and the area broker of the Indische buurt (Gebiedsmakelaar economie, Indische buurt). Long-term shopkeepers in the Javastraat were interviewed to gather information about their experiences of commercial gentrification in the neighbourhood they are settled in, and how they respond to this process. This will be done with the use of semi-structured interviews what will be discussed later. The policy documents will be used to examine the role of the municipality of Amsterdam in the process of commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt. This information will be included in the design of the semi-structured interview to question the experiences of long term shopkeepers of this role of the municipality of Amsterdam. The following policy documents have been analysed: - Stadsdeel Zeeburg (2001) Stedelijk Vernieuwingsplan Indische buurt 2001-2005 - Stadsdeel Oost (2010) Bestemmingsplan Indische buurt en Flevopark - Horecanota Stadsdeel Oost (2012) Additional to the policy documents, the area broker of the Indische buurt has also been interviewed, to help answer the first main research question, and this data is also used within the examination of the other research question.

13 5.3: Operationalization In this part, the concepts that are related to the research question will be made measurable. This is necessary to answer the research question.

State-led gentrification: This concept underlines the role of the state in the process of commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt. The kind of interventions that are characterizing state-led gentrification and in this case commercial gentrification are related to the promotion of higher-quality businesses into the neighbourhood. This can be done by offering subsidies to higher-quality businesses, investing in the outlook of the shopping street and restrictions for new businesses that want to open their business in the Javastraat. Did the municipality of Amsterdam made any of these interventions to promote commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt? The demographic change within the neighbourhood is also important when you look at the process of gentrification. The municipality of Amsterdam tried to make the Indische buurt a more mixed neighbourhood. This will be measured by using the statistics available in the online databank of de Gemeente Amsterdam.

Commercial gentrification: Commercial gentrification is defined as: “the gentrification of business premises, which lead to consumption spaces for the middle-class, even if this group does not represent the entire neighbourhood” (Brdige and Dowling, 2001, p.93). This will be measured by mapping the commercial landscape of the Javastraat. A mini survey is taken, to divide long term shopkeepers from short term shopkeepers and the type of shop located in the street.

Impacts and experiences of the long term shopkeepers: Shop keepers that are settled in the Javastraat before 2007 are considered as long term shopkeepers. The impacts and experiences in relation to commercial gentrification that have been measured are divided into two different perspectives, namely the emotional and economic impacts of commercial gentrification on the long term shopkeepers and how they experience these impacts. How do the long term shopkeepers perceive the changes that have occurred in the Indische buurt, and especially in the Javastraat? The emotional impacts are related to multiple variables. First is the fact if the shopkeepers feel displaced after the changes that have occurred. This is measured by asking how their relation is with the other shopkeepers, including long term and short term shopkeepers. Secondly, do they have any thoughts of moving towards another neighbourhood? Thoughts of moving can have different reasons, but it gives a direct impressions of the situation of a long term shopkeeper, because intentions of moving are minimal if you have a successful enterprise on a certain location, in this case the Javastraat. The economic impacts and how these are experienced do also have different variables. As described, gentrification leads to an increase in the WOZ-value of the houses. But did the rental prices of the premises owned by long term shopkeepers also increase in the Javastraat? Moreover, is this causing economic problems for the long term shopkeepers? Due to gentrification the residential demographics of the Indische buurt have changed. This changing demographics can be of influence on the amount of customers the long term shopkeepers have, because the new inhabitants can have different preferences then the original inhabitants. Does this lead to a decrease in their amount of customers or are they able to attract the new inhabitants? The municipality does also play a role within the process of commercial gentrification. How do the long term shopkeepers see this role of the municipality? This is measured by

14 asking about the relation between the municipality of Amsterdam and the long term shopkeepers. Additionally, the availability of subsidies is also researched.

Responses to commercial gentrification: Their responses have also been measured. What actions do long term shopkeepers take as response on commercial gentrification? This is measured at two different levels, on the individual level and the enterprise level which implies the cooperation between shopkeepers and the city government. Shopkeepers can individually make adjustments to their products, their outlook of the shop and to the inside of the shop. But, they can also cooperate with each other to improve their situation. The shopkeepers of the Javastraat do have an enterprise association where they can be part of. This association is in contact with the municipality of Amsterdam. In this way, they can cooperate with each other and maybe find solutions for problems they are facing. But do the shopkeepers work together and are they active within this enterprise association?

The operationalization as described above, is briefly displayed in the table below.

Concepts Dimensions Variables State-led gentrification Interventions made by the Availability of subsidies, municipality of Amsterdam both for new entrepreneurs based on gentrification and original shopkeepers

Demographic change due to Restrictions for new coming state interventions entrepreneurs.

Promotion of middle class consumption

Permits for new coming entrepreneurs

Improvement of public spaces

Diversification of the housing supply within the Indische buurt

Type of newcomers related to their income, migration background and age.

Amount of people leaving the neigbhourhood and their demographic background Commercial gentrification Change of commercial Influx of higher-quality landscape within the businesses. neighbourhood

15 Displacement of lower-end shops and attracting low- income people. Impacts of commercial Shopkeepers experiences of Loss of place/belonging gentrification as experienced change: (Relation with the other by long term shopkeepers - Emotional entrepreneurs in the experiences of Javastraat) commercial gentrification Plans for moving out - Economic impacts as experienced. Competition with other shops Perceptions of long term shopkeepers of the role of the Rise of rental price municipality within the process of commercial Access to subsidies gentrification Change in type of customers and loss of customers Responses to commercial Enterprise level (Collective Adjustments to shop gentrification of long term action) - Products shopkeepers - Outlook Individual level - Inside of shop

Cooperation with the city government, that contribute to the improvement of their shop (access to subsidies)

Activity in enterprise associations

Cooperation between long term shopkeepers to improve their situation. Table 8: Operationalization of concepts (Made by: Jasper Kortbeek, 2018)

5.4: Methods In this thesis, multiple research methods were used to gather the necessary data for the research. The first research method is a small survey that is used to take a snapshot of the commercial landscape in the Javastraat. Within this survey, the type of shop, the ethnic background of the shopkeeper and the amount of years the shop keepers are located in the Javastraat were asked. This mini survey is done for two reasons. First, the commercial landscape of the Javastraat is quickly illustrated. It gives information about the retail type, duration of the enterprise and the ethnic background of the shopkeeper. This is also useful for the first part of the analysis in which the change in the commercial landscape within the Indische buurt was examined. Second, I could determine potential respondents for this research.

16 The second research method is the usage of the online databank of de Gemeente Amsterdam. This databank will be used to examine the occurred changes, and the current situation in the Indische buurt. This is useful for the case relevance as described before, and is also used for chapter 6, where the changes in the commercial landscape of the Javastraat are described. The third research method that will be used is the semi-structured interview. In a semi-structured interview, the interviewer does not follow a strict schedule, but the interviewer does, to a certain extent, follow a script (Bryman, 2012, p.471). In this way, there is a list with topics that I want to discuss during the interview but there is room for improvisation and follow-up questions, so the interview will not be completely structured. With this flexible way of interviewing, the goal is to gain as much information as possible about the experiences of the long term shopkeepers of commercial gentrification. Zukin (2016) describes that the municipality of Amsterdam implemented in 2007 a policy based on gentrification and that they focused on the retail landscape in the Indische buurt. I am especially interested in long term shopkeepers. Because of the implementation of this policy in 2007, I characterize long term shopkeepers as the ones that were settled in the Indische buurt before 2007. After taking the mini-survey it was clear which shopkeepers could be considered as long term shopkeepers. I used the method of snowball sampling to recruit participants. “Snowball sampling is a sampling technique in which the researcher samples initially a small group of people relevant to the research questions, and these sampled participants propose other participants who have the experience or characteristics relevant to the research” (Bryman, 2012, p.424). I broadened my sample by using the contacts already interviewed respondents. In this way, I tried to take as many as possible interviews, to increase the validity of the results. I realize that the sample size that is reached in this research is not big enough to be able to generalize the conclusions to all long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat, but within the short time, I tried to recruit as many participants as possible to answer the research questions without generalizing to other cases. Additional to the amount of respondents, the type of respondents that participated in the interviews is also important in this research. The differentiation in the shops can lead to different perspectives and opinions regarding the impacts of and responses to commercial gentrification. Even though, the amount of respondents is not that high, I was still able to find much data to answer the research questions. The last research method to gather data is the analysis of policy documents from the municipality of Amsterdam. The role of the municipality in the process of commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt is examined through the analysis of these policy documents. These documents can be very useful because they are unique, and it is their official character what makes them interesting (Bryman, 2012, p.550). Policy documents with information about interventions the municipality of Amsterdam took in relation to commercial gentrification will be used. These documents are from de Gemeente Amsterdam. The policy documents used for the analysis are mentioned in the part where the research units are described. This method is useful for the first main question. The information gathered through this method has also been used in the semi-structured interviews with long term shopkeepers.

5.5: Analysis The interviews and the policy documents had to be analysed to find out the results. The policy documents are not analysed with a computer program, but I was especially looking for the goals of the municipality of Amsterdam and the interventions they made in the Indische buurt to find out if these interventions can be related to interventions that have to be made to promote gentrification and especially commercial gentrification.

17 When the process of taking interviews was done, the interviews were analysed with a program called Atlas.Ti. In this way I can easily divide the answers into different topics. This will be helpful in the analysis of the interviews. This program have kept the process of analysing well-ordered. In this way, the chance of missing important items was minimal. This was done by using codes and relating them to quotes of the respondents. The codes that have been used are added to the appendix. Additionally, an advantage of using this computer program is the fact that answers related to a specific topic can easily be found during the complete analysation of the date. In this way, the complete process of analysis was clear and well ordered.

18 Chapter 6: Commercial gentrification in the Indische buurt

This chapter describes the changes that happened in the Indische buurt related to gentrification. This process of gentrification does also have an effect on the commercial landscape in the Javastraat and these changes are illustrated and described due to the use of statistics, the mini survey and the interviews that have been taken from respondents working in a shop in the Javastraat. First, the process of gentrification in the Indische buurt will be described and secondly, there will be focused on the changes that occurred in the Javastraat regarding the shops.

The Indische buurt was and is still known as a multicultural neighbourhood, with many nationalities. Most of the inhabitants were non-Western immigrants and this neighbourhood was labelled as a disadvantaged neighbourhood. In 2007, the Indische buurt was named the ‘Vogelaarwijk” for the bad social conditions on the streets and the bad quality of the living environment (Masterscriptie Glazer, 2017). But, there have been done major improvements in the neighbourhood. This is led by the municipality of Amsterdam who wanted to attract households with a higher socio-economic status which is characteristic for the process called state-led gentrification. The housing supply has changed. The amount of owner-occupied houses has increased. The latest numbers show that the amount have increased from 20% in 2011 to 25% in 2016. The amount of corporation stock has decreased from 68% to 60% in 2016 and the amount of private rent has been constant at 32% (Gebiedsanalyse 2016, Gemeente Amsterdam, 2016). Because of this residential gentrification, the neighbourhood has become more accessible for higher-income households (Masterscriptie Glazer, 2017). Consequently, the demographics have changed. The amount of people called ‘new city dwellers’ has increased and in 2017, 30% of the total inhabitants of the Indische buurt were part of this group. These ‘new city dwellers’ are people between the age of 18-55 who are originally from the Netherlands or Western countries and have moved to the city after their 18th birthday (Gebiedsanalyse 2016, Gemeente Amsterdam, 2016).

“At one point, certain type of people came living here, and I thought by myself: What is this? This is not characteristic for my neighbourhood. Those were people who just got a baby and they were originally from the countryside. I do not know where they came from, but they loved this neighbourhood and it is just like an oil slick. More and more were coming to live here and you can definitely see the difference with ten years ago, it is all completely changing” (Respondent 9, 2018).

“Young people in the thirty, they love it to live here” (Respondent 2, 2018).

Additionally, more households with a relatively higher socio-economic status are entering the Indische buurt. These are younger people, including students. The university closely located to the Indische buurt has contributed to the increase in the amount of students.

“It is the diversity, many bars have opened their doors and this is because of the amount of younger people. This is mainly because of the University, a kilometre from here. This causes public from all over the world, from South- and North-America to Asia and Africa. This is nice, the street is really multicultural nowadays” (Respondent 5, 2018).

“The neighbourhood has become more expensive. The prices of the houses have increased, no social rental housing anymore. This place is not suitable anymore for the older generation,

19 the generation before this generation, the people who have less to spend” (Respondent 4, 2018).

The municipality of Amsterdam was also aiming at the renovation of the housing supply and the improvement of the public spaces. An example is the change in the colour of the houses. They did this by ‘sandblasting’ the houses. This is a process were the dark colour is being ‘washed’, and this leads to a clearer and lighter colour of the houses, what gives a nice result as seen in the pictures on the next page. These are pictures from Google StreetView and gives an image of the Balistraat, located in the Indische buurt, in 2008 and in 2018.

Figure 5: Balistraat, Indische buurt June 2008 (Google Streetview, 2018).

Figure 6: Balistraat, Indische buurt May 2018 (Google Streetview, 2018). The Javaplein was also part of the plan. This square had a great potential to become a nice meeting place for the inhabitants of the Indische buurt. The transformation of the ‘Badhuis’ into a café/ restaurant and the arrival of the Coffee Company made a contribution to the improvement of the Javaplein as meeting place (Masterthesis Glazer, 2017). External factors are also contributing to the attractiveness of the neighbourhood. With the development of Ijburg, the Indische buurt is not at the edge of the city anymore, but is seen as ‘edge of the city centre’. All these factors are contributing to the positive development

20 in the Indische buurt and has changed it from a neighbourhood with many problems into a highly attractive neighbourhood for relatively higher socio-economic households and students. Additionally, the commercial landscape in the Javastraat has changed. A mini survey is taken to illustrate the commercial landscape of the Javastraat. In this way, a map is created in which the shops are being divided according to the amount of years they are located in the Javastraat. The amount of new shops can quickly be seen.

Figure 7: Map of the commercial landscape within the Javastraat based upon duration of the shops (Mini survey, Made by: Jasper Kortbeek, 2018)

21 The blue blocks are long term shops and the green blocks are short terms shops. Shops from which the duration of settlement is unknown are illustrated as white blocks.

The Javastraat was known for its one-sided type of shops.

“The Javastraat was known as a ‘cucumber shop’, we had so many vegetable affairs” (Respondent 9, 2018)

“Formerly you could count maybe 15 supermarkets within 100 meters. This has decreased and there have established different kind of shops in the street” (Respondent 5, 2018).

This has changed in the last ten years. As seen on the map in figure 7, 46 new shops have moved into the Javastraat including restaurants, bars, coffee shops and clothing stores of high- quality. Many of the new enterprises are contributing to commercial gentrification. Commercial gentrification is defined as: “the gentrification of business premises, which leads to consumption spaces for the middle-class, even if this group does not represent the entire neighbourhood” (Bridge and Dowling, 2001, p.93). The enterprises that are establishing in a gentrifying neighbourhood are mostly of higher quality than the already located enterprises. “Gentrified commercial districts typically consist of restaurants specializing in different kind of international cuisine, cafés and boutiques, thereby giving the area a more cosmopolitan feeling” (Ernst & Doucet, 2013). Examples of these kind of enterprises are Bar Basquiat, Burger ‘n Shake, Licht & Meubels (who was one the pioneers in the change in the commercial landscape), de Balkonie, Blitskikker, Hartje Oost and Div. The bars and restaurant that have established are relative more expensive than the original ones and the food on the menu is renewing and of higher-quality. Div.Herenkabinet is a clothing shop only for men. This shop is relatively expensive and has clothing of high-quality. In the following table, the shops that have established in the Javastraat and contributed to the process of commercial gentrification are categorized into different types.

Name/ Category Type Year of Nationality owner establishment Catering industry:

Fondue Oost Restaurant 2015 Dutch Venkel Lunchroom 2018 Dutch Gallizia Restaurant 2015 Dutch (Italian roots) Ijs van Oost Icecream - - La Fucina Restaurant 2015 Italian Rum Barrel Café 2015 Dutch De Jonge Café/ Bakery 2014 Dutch Admiraal Bar Basquiat Bar/ Restaurant 2015 Dutch Sushito Restaurant 2018 - Burger ‘n Shake Restaurant 2018 Moroccan Walter Woodbury Restaurant/Bar 2014 Dutch Fyrre Restaurant 2017 Dutch Retail sector: The Other Guys Clothing store 2016 Somalia

22 We are pets Pet shop 2018 Argentina De Balkonie Plant and gift shop 2018 Dutch STØV Gift shop/home 2018 Indonesian accessories Licht & Meubels Furniture 2009 Dutch Java Bookshop Bookshop 2010 Dutch Feliz Plant and gift shop 2018 Dutch Div. Damesboudoir Clothing store 2015 Dutch Saber Nuts Nut shop 2018 Syrian Div. Herenkabinet Clothing store 2012 Dutch Mixed: Hartje Oost Coffee bar/clothing 2013 Dutch store Blitskikker Coffee bar/ daycare/ 2018 Dutch barber Table 9: New enterprises contributing to commercial gentrification (Made by: Jasper Kortbeek, 2018).

These shops are characteristic for commercial gentrification because of a combination of supply, price, ambiance, and the contribution they make to an urban lifestyle (Brocken, 2015).

Commercial gentrification and residential gentrification have a reversing relation. Zukin (2016) argues that the change in the type of shops in a neighbourhood can be related to the change in the socio-economic status and the inhabitants of this neighbourhood. The changing demographics contribute to the process of commercial gentrification, but the process of commercial gentrification also contributes to the changing demographics.

“The type of people that are present in the street are making the street of course” (Respondent 2, 2018).

The type of people within a neighbourhood have an influence of the type of new entrepreneurs that are willing to establish their shop in the neighbourhood. One respondent has established a restaurant in 2010, located at the Javaplein. This shopkeeper does not belong to the long term shopkeepers but was a very interesting respondent because of his reason for settlement. He was aware of the growing centre of Amsterdam, and the improvements that were going to be realized at the Javaplein. Together with the changing type of residents in the Indische buurt, he saw his opportunity for his type of restaurant and opened his doors in 2010.

“We started this business in 2010, and I live here since 2006. I saw that the neighbourhood was undergoing a big change. I came to live here because it was still a bit ghetto and it was affordable, but I knew that Amsterdam was expanding and the centre was also growing. This was also visible here. I saw that the neighbourhood was getting renovated and this square was also improved in 2009. I saw the opportunity with my two companions, that if we started our business here, we are already here and we would have a name” (Respondent 1, 2018).

The improvements that have been made in the neighbourhood by the municipality have made him choose for the Indische buurt as location for his enterprise. This shows that the changes in the neighbourhood are contributing to the process of commercial gentrification. This upgrade in the commercial landscape has also contributed to changing type of residents living in the Indische buurt. Demand and supply is in better balance, when it comes

23 to the references of higher socio-economic households. This makes the Indische buurt more attractive for higher-income households. An increase in the amount of people with a relatively higher income than the original inhabitants have occurred.

Overall, the Indische buurt has changed in a positive way. Renovating and demolition-new construction projects have improved the quality of the housing in the neighbourhood. Additionally, the distribution in social rent, private rent and owner-occupied housing have changed. More houses have been made available for owner-occupied and less for social rental, but the Indische buurt is still recognizable for its relative high amount of social rent- housing. In the upcoming plans for the Indische buurt in relation to housing, the relatively high amount of social rental houses will remain (Area broker Indische buurt ‘Gebiedsmakelaar’, 2018). The process of gentrification has also influenced the commercial landscape. Commercial gentrification has led to an increase in the amount of high-quality catering establishments and higher-quality clothing and furniture shops. This change in housing and commercial enterprises contributed to the change in the residents of the neighbourhood. Higher socio-economic households have entered the Indische buurt.

24 Chapter 7: Empirical analysis

7.1: What is the role of the city municipality in commercial gentrification?

The municipality of Amsterdam played a role within the process of gentrification in the Indische buurt, not only in residential gentrification but also in commercial gentrification. In the policy documents that have been published, several interventions made by the city government are described that contributed to this process. The urban renewal plan for the Indische buurt 2001-2005 is one of the published policy documents, made by the district Zeeburg. This is a document in which the plans for the physical renewals within the Indische buurt are described. The main focus lays on economic-, social- and physical renewal of the Indische buurt. The four main goals are: 1. Improvement of the quality of the public space, infrastructure and green structure. 2. Improvement of the quality and differentiation of the housing supply. 3. Improvement of the social structure and security 4. Improvement of the economic structure The amount of public spaces and the quality of these spaces were of minimal quality within the Indische buurt in this period. In these years, the Javaplein only functioned as a crossing for traffic, but this crossing had big potential to become a nice meeting place for the inhabitants of the Indische buurt. Within public spaces, the way in which the people experience those places is of great importance. A smart plan from the municipality of Amsterdam was to add art in the public spaces, what caused more liveliness in the neighbourhood. The upgrade of public spaces is partly contributing to the improvement of the outlook of the Indische buurt. In this way, the municipality tries to promote gentrification by attracting middle-class and higher-class household to a relatively cheaper neighbourhood what is one of the elements of gentrification according to Atkinson (2012). The city government also tried to increase the attractiveness of the neighbourhood for higher-income households by adapting the housing supply. The composition of the housing supply was very one-sided. It mostly existed of small rental houses for single-person households. Arrangements were made between the municipality and housing corporations about the period till 2005. The municipality of Amsterdam aimed at creating a differentiated housing supply available for different types of households, with the goal that different types of households could live next to each other within the Indische buurt. A minimum of 25% of the housing supply have to consist of houses intended for high income households. 75% have to consist of the core stock available for households with a lower income (Stadsdeel Zeeburg, 2001). This goal had to be reached by adapting the existing houses instead of demolishing those houses. These adjustments to the housing supply has actually happened. The adjustments to the housing supply in the Indische buurt can be seen as a direct intervention to promote the process of gentrification. According to Atkinson (2012), the reinvestment in the physical housing stock is also a crucial element of gentrification. The improvement of the social structure and safety was also an important goal to reach. There are many neighbourhood organizations, what improves the social cohesion within the neighbourhood, but many inhabitants felt unsafe in the Indische buurt, not only in the evening but also by daylight (Stadsdeel Zeeburg, 2001). Additionally, the youth crime is higher than the average of Amsterdam. Physical improvements had to be made at places that were known as ‘unsafe’. Also the neighbourhood organizations can be improved and expanded to increase the social cohesion in the neighbourhood what contributes to the feeling of safety in the neighbourhood. The last goal of the municipality is the improvement of the economic structure. There is a high amount of shops in the Indische buurt, mostly located in the Javastraat but this

25 commercial landscape is a little one-sided. Most of the shops are local shops focused on the inhabitants of the Indische buurt who are mostly non-Western in this period of time. A high amount of the shopkeepers in the Javastreet were also non-Western. The Javastraat was attractive for the inhabitants of the Indische buurt, but not so much for people outside the Indische buurt. The municipality of Amsterdam focused on the improvement of the commercial landscape by stimulating the establishment of diverse shops in the Javstraat. How this is done will be described in the following parts. In 2007, district Zeeburg, Ymere, De Alliantie en Eigen Haard cooperated in a program, what continued the previous policy of the municipality of Amsterdam. The main aspects in these program were also the improvement of the housing supply, tackling of social problems within the neighbourhood, improving the economic position, improving the quality of public spaces and improving the safety in the Indische buurt.

Now, I will focus on the ways in which city government tries to improve the commercial landscape in the Javastraat. The district Zeeburg was eligible for a subsidy of 15 million from the European Union to stimulate the economic development of Amsterdam (Stadsdeel Zeeburg, 2001). A part of this subsidy was invested in improving the commercial landscape in the Javastraat. This was done in the following way: - Attract and retain desired shops within the Indische buurt - Encounter shops that are active in criminal practices In some parts of the neighbourhood, new shops of high quality were tried to attract, but in some parts there was no need to attract new shops. By attracting new high-quality shops and minimizing the presence of shops of low quality, the district Zeeburg tries to improve the commercial landscape in the Indische buurt. Disrict Zeeburg subsidised a maximum of 60% of the physical investments in a business premises (Heath, 2007). This was, among other things, used for the renovation of facades or the purchase of security cameras and rolling shutters. Other shops, who were not favoured, like call-companies were excluded from this subsidy and gained a subsidy if they left the neighbourhood (Heath, 2007). This last aspect can be questioned. The area broker (‘gebiedsmakelaar economie’) from the Indische buurt, who’s main functions is based upon the economic development of the Indische buurt, says the following about the capabilities of the municipality to make a distinction between favoured and less favoured shops in the Javastraat:

“Diversity in the Javastraat is of great importance. With the extension of the catering policy, this diversity has come. We did not attract entrepreneurs from the municipality, the owners of the premises always rent it themselves, but we made sure they did not have any criminal background” (Area broker ‘Gebiedsmakelaar Indische buurt, 2018).

When I asked him about the ability of the municipality to stop the establishment of a less favoured type of shop, this was his answer:

“We are not allowed to do that. As long as a certain store falls within the destination the building has, we cannot stop them. Sometimes we give some advice like: We think this would be nice for the street. We are not going to make this up by ourselves, we do this in cooperation with the shopkeepers” (Area broker ‘Gebiedsmakelaar’ Indische buurt, 2018).

The municipality tries to work together with the shopkeepers in the Javastraat to attract a certain type of enterprises of high-quality, but they are not qualified to decide what kind of shops can and cannot open their doors in the Javastraat. To continue on the availability of

26 subsidies, the municipality of Amsterdam does give subsidies to improve the commercial landscape in the Javastraat. This subsidy does not go directly towards individual shopkeepers but it goes to the enterprise association (Area broker Indische buurt ‘Gebiedsmakelaar, 2018). Moreover, the city government did not promote the arrival of higher-quality enterprises by giving them access to subsidies. In cooperation with the shopkeepers active in the enterprise association, decisions are made how to invest these subsidies in order to improve the Javastraat. The municipality of Amsterdam does not only focus on attracting higher-end enterprises to the Javastraat. The diversity of the Javastraat has to be retained. That is the reason why the city government tries to help long term shopkeepers. A project has been started three years ago, which main goal is to help long term shopkeepers with increasing their attractiveness.

“We have hired a project leader, to give something back to the entrepreneurs in the street. She helps the long term shopkeepers to connect better with the current market. Entrepreneurs who see their amount of customers decrease due to the changes occurring in the Indische buurt, are helped by her by giving advice and a design for their shop. Starting point is that she gives the advice, but the entrepreneurs need to make the investments by themselves. We, as municipality, pay for the project leader, but not for the changes that are applied in the shops” (Area broker ‘Gebiedsmakelaar’ Indische buurt, 2018).

Despite the good intention, not many shopkeepers have made use of this project, due to two reasons. The investments have to be paid by themselves and the project leader did set up strict restrictions. The municipality of Amsterdam needs to be sure the investment will be worth it. This means that the shopkeepers need to prove they are able to pay for the investments, and their shop need to have an added value for the whole shopping street. The project has started three years ago and 7 shopkeepers did made use of the project, including one respondent I have spoken to. He was very positive about the results of the project and mentioned that he does have new inhabitants as customers in his shop.

“I was the first who got along with the changes in the Indische buurt. This was a project created by the city government. I owe my name of my shop to the municipality of Amsterdam. I created the name with a woman who helped me, but he municipality sponsored the name. I am very happy about that” (Respondent 4, 2018).

Another project that gained a part of the subsidy is the Ruimtelijk Economische Structuurvisie(RES), that has been set in 2001. This was made to distinguish between areas of the neighbourhood where the establishment of new shops would be encouraged and in what areas of the neighbourhood this would be slowed down. This was meant to achieve a healthy and well-functioning economy within the Indische buurt (Stadsdeel Oost, 2010).

In 2009, the district council signed the “Horecavisie” Indische buurt. This document includes the goals to achieve when it comes to the amount, quality and types of catering establishments that are present in the Indische buurt. The desired types of caterings are of high-quality, what leads to an improvement of the current types of caterings. The municipality of Amsterdam wants to attract people with a higher income. The idea behind this focus on the catering sector is that higher quality catering establishments would lead to an overall upgrade of the commercial landscape in the Indische buurt. People with a higher income will come to the Indsiche buurt and will stay for a longer time in, for example, the Javastraat. The result of this policy will be described in the next chapter.

27 In this document, the catering establishments have been categorized into five different types. This is meant for the type of catering establishments the city government tries to attract.

Category Description Horeca I Fastfood restaurant, café, snackbar, lunchroom, coffeehouse or ice cream parlour. Small food, non-alcoholic drinks or ice cream Horeca IIa Rental of rooms for occasions Horeca IIb Disco/ club Horeca III Café or bar where alcohol is being served Horeca IV Restaurant/ Bistro where you can eat and drink Horeca V Hotel or another kind of place where you can stay for at least one night. Horeca C Cultural catering establishments

Table 10: Catering categories (Stadsdeel Oost, Gemeente Amsterdam, 2010).

This plan is based on multiple places in the Indische buurt, but most of the catering establishments are located in the Javastraat. The municipality of Amsterdam aims at attracting catering establishments of category Horeca I and Horeca V. According to the plan, this can have positive contribution to the commercial landscape in this street. To be able to settle in the Indische buurt as catering establishment, the following criteria needs to be fulfilled (Horecanota Stadsdeel Oost, 2012, p.14): - Clear own identity, well organized and spacious - High quality appearance and food - Skilled staff - The catering fits within in the neighbourhood and contributes to the quality of the other companies in the neighbourhood - There is something extra, like a WIFI connection - The look of the catering establishment is unique and the style is timeless. - The company is of value for the neighbourhood - The owner of the company needs to have a well-thought business plan - The catering establishment needs to be different than the current ones, who are already settled in the neighbourhood. Stadsdeel Oost will not favour catering establishments like snack bars or coffee places, in places where these are already present. An active policy based on the catering sector can be seen as an engine within an improving economy. This is shown in the East part of Amsterdam where well-functioning catering establishments helped to the improvement of the local economy (Stadsdeel Oost, 2010). This policy is contributing to the process of commercial gentrification in the Javastraat. The municipality of Amsterdam does make restrictions for new coming catering establishment, what causes an influx of higher-quality enterprises. Additionally, the municipality of Amsterdam is in cooperation with the police to decrease criminal activities within enterprises in the Javastraat. In 2015, a Dutch newspaper named ‘Het Parool’ published an article in which is described how five shops have been closed within 2 years due to criminal activities (Het Parool, 2015). Both the restrictions and action against criminality are contributing to an improvement of the commercial landscape of the Javastraat.

28

Bridge and Dowling defined commercial gentrification as the following: “the gentrification of business premises, which leads to consumption spaces for the middle-class, even if this group does not represent the entire neighbourhood” (Bridge and Dowling, 2001, p.93). The influx of higher-quality enterprises is occurring in the Javastraat and this is promoted by the municipality of Amsterdam.

The impacts of the policy made by the municipality of Amsterdam are visible in the Javastraat. Figure 7 and 8 show two different types of catering establishments that are settled in the Javastraat. The difference is highly visible between the first one, who can be labelled as a restaurant/snackbar and the second one, a modern coffee bar who just settled in the Javastraat.

Figure 8: Restaurant/ takeaway Figure 9: New coffee bar: Hartje Oost Figure 8: http://buurtwinkels.amsterdammuseum.nl/8883/nl/restaurant-mevlana-nr-199-javastraat-foto-monique Figure 9: https://www.yourlittleblackbook.me/nl/hartje-oost-amsterdam-koffieboetiek-op-de-javastraat/

This is just one example of a new enterprise that have opened their doors in the Javastraat, but there are many more and the outlook of the complete Javastraat have been improved during the years.

All by all, the policy documents describe several ways in which the municipality of Amsterdam tried to improve the Indische buurt. This is done by focusing on the quality of the public spaces, the housing supply, the social security and the economic structure. Hochstenbach (2017) argued in his article that city governments are seeing gentrification as a policy tool to improve disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and according to Atkinson (2012), the two most important elements of gentrification are the movement by middle-class and higher- income classes to cheaper neighbourhood, and the reinvestment in the physical housing stock (Atkinson, 2012). Both gentrification processes are happening in the Indische buurt. The municipality of Amsterdam is promoting the process of gentrification and commercial gentrification, which can be defined as state-led gentrification. Unless this promotion, the municipality also aims at retaining the diversity of the Javastraat, by helping the long term shopkeepers. How the long term shopkeepers experience this promotion of gentrification and the help of the city government will be described in the analysis of the collected data.

29 7.2 What are the impacts of commercial gentrification as experienced by long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat?

Commercial gentrification does have an impact on shopkeepers within a shopping street. This impact can be different for every shopkeeper, because of the variation between the type of shops, type of products, and even the background of the shopkeeper. The experiences of those impacts by long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat can be divided into different perspectives. First, the emotional experiences of the impacts of commercial gentrification are important. Do the shopkeepers feel excluded from the shopping street after the changes? This is measured by asking, firstly, if they have any contact with other shopkeepers, including the new coming entrepreneurs, and secondly, by asking if they still think they are on the right place with their shop after the occurred changes. Do they have any intentions of moving or do they want to keep their shop in the Javastraat? This pressure of displacement is a negative effect of gentrification, but does this also occur in the Javastraat? Secondly, the impacts and experiences related to economic aspects are important. Are the long term shopkeepers still able to sell their products after the new entrepreneurs have moved into the Javastraat? Most of the new shops differ from the ones that are already located in the Javastraat, but despite this difference, it can still lead to a decrease in the amount of customers for the long term shopkeepers. This is also in relation with the changing demographics in the Indische buurt. Are the long term shopkeepers still able to attract enough customers, including the new inhabitants that moved into the Indische buurt, or are they facing a decrease in their amount of customers? Another consequence of gentrification is the rising rental prices. Is this also happening in the Javastraat and is this becoming problematic for the long term shopkeepers? Thirdly, the thoughts of the long term shopkeepers regarding the role of the municipality within this process is important, because the municipality did have and still has a role in the occurring development in the Indische buurt and Javastraat. The thoughts about this role have been asked and also the availability of subsidies has been examined.

7.2.1: Causes of changes in the Indische buurt: Before the impacts of the changes will be described, the opinion of the long term shopkeepers regarding the factors behind the changes will be discussed. How do they think the changes happened? When I asked about the reasons behind the changes in the Javastraat and the Indische buurt, the answers were quite similar. The municipality of Amsterdam has stimulated this change, but most of the respondents were not familiar with the exact way in which the municipality did promote this change. There were two respondents who had knowledge about the role of the municipality within this change. The municipality played a big role in the renovation of the old houses in the Indische buurt, what caused an increase in the attractiveness of the neighbourhood.

“Too bad you did not see the houses in the eighties. You had a landlord who did nothing about the quality of the houses so you had leakages, green walls and closed premises. But this had changed nowadays. They have sandblasted all of the houses, and now it does not have a grizzled appearance anymore. When it is renovated, you will buy a house quicker” (Respondent 9, 2018).

And, the housing associations did also play a role in the developments within the neighbourhood:

30 “I have had contact with housing associations for this premise, and they were in contact with the municipality to buy up all the premises and to renovate it with the municipality and this has, to my opinion, contributed to the improvement here. I think that the housing associations and the municipality did have a big influence in the changes” (Respondent 1, 2018).

This renovation has led to a change in the demographics of the neighbourhood. The long term shopkeepers spoken to said that these new inhabitants have contributed to the change in the neighbourhood and especially to the change in the commercial landscape in the Javastraat.

“The public have changed the Javastraat. The public is responsible for the street” (Respondent 2, 2018).

“Because of the influx of different kind of people, the street has changed” (Respondent 8, 2018).

So, the main factors behind the changes in the Indische buurt and the Javastraat, according to the shopkeepers, are the renovation of many premises leaded by the municipality and the thereby coming changing type of households that came to the Indische buurt. Next, the impacts of commercial gentrification as experienced by the long term shopkeepers will be discussed.

7.2.2: Emotional experiences of the impacts of commercial gentrification Starting with the contact with other shopkeepers, the answers of the shopkeepers were very similar. The shopkeepers do have contact with each other. This contact consists of greeting and when it is needed they help each other, but they are mainly focusing on their own business because they are too busy to have more contact with the other shopkeepers.

“We are all going well with each other and I think this is important. If you can borrow something from each other and if you can do something for each other, just ask” (Respondent 1, 2018).

The shopkeepers are open for helping each other and many of them mentioned that they know each other personally and that they do not have any problems with other shopkeepers. But this contact is not based on business related cooperation between shopkeepers. They do work together in a way that they communicate about problems and issues they have in the Javastraat, but this does not lead to a direct cooperation between shopkeepers to increase their profits, which means that they do not make individual plans together to improve their situation. This cooperation is mainly based on the activities in the enterprise association which will be described later. An example is an app they created, where they can communicate about small issues to ‘keep each other awake’.

“The beauty of this street is that we know each other well and we communicate well. If there is a complaint, there is an app that we use with the entrepreneurs. An example of this morning is that there was apprehension that there was fake money in circulation in the Javastraat. We also immediately received camera images via the app with the person on it. With the message: dear colleagues and neighbours, these three people are on their way with false 50 euro notes. That's how we just keep each other awake” (Respondent 5, 2018).

This app was also created to mention any complains shopkeepers have, so that they can address this in a meeting within the enterprise association they have once in a month.

31

There are similarities between the answers based on contact with longer term shopkeepers and contact with new shopkeepers but there were also some exceptions. The contact with new shopkeepers is only based on greeting and they do not have any problems with each other but there were also some other answers:

“I do not know what kind of people these are. I have been inside some of the stores. Apparently they do not need to greet and enter shops of long term shopkeepers or perhaps my kind of shopkeepers. That is something I noticed” (Respondent 4, 2018).

Another shopkeeper also described that his contact with new shopkeepers is minimum. The respondent did know a certain group of the longer term shopkeepers but had minimum to no contact with the new shopkeepers but did not describe this as problematic. Despite these exceptions, the majority of the long term shopkeepers spoken to were positive about the contact with new shopkeepers and said that they do not make any distinction between new and old shopkeepers when it comes to contact with shopkeepers.

“There is no distinction. Someone who starts his or her business here, young or old, is welcome. It goes all well with the new shops in the street” (Respondent 2, 2018).

The contact stays on a greeting-based level, but it does not lead to a feeling of exclusion by the long term shopkeepers. The contact with other shopkeepers does not influence the pressure of displacement.

Another measurement of feeling of exclusion is, if the long term shopkeepers have any reason to move away from their current location. None of the respondents had any thoughts of moving. Reasons for this are the amount of customers they have in the Javastraat, the competition there is in other neighbourhoods and the satisfaction about the neighbourhood. All the respondents were positive about the connection they had with the neighbourhood. Their emotional connection with the neighbourhood was good, they felt like they were on the right place with their shop. Despite this positive feeling, two shopkeepers were not sure about their future in the Javastraat because of the changing neighbourhood and shopping street, but they are trying to keep their shop open on the location they are at the moment.

“There are shops everywhere, there is competition everywhere so I prefer to stay here on this spot” (Respondent 6, 2018).

Both the contact with old and new shopkeepers and the thoughts of moving do not imply that the respondent feel excluded from the shopping street they are located in. The contact with the shopkeepers does not have major differences between old and new shopkeepers. The contact they have is mostly based on greeting and sometimes helping each other with small issues. None of the respondents do have a big cooperation with anyone else in the Javastraat. Moreover, the respondents did not have any thoughts of moving, based on the contact they have with other shopkeepers. Some of the respondents did have doubts about their future in the Javastraat but this was mainly caused by economic factors what will be discussed in the following part.

32 7.2.3: Economic impacts of commercial gentrification Despite the relative small influence of the emotional factors, the economic factors do have an impact on the long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat. The economic factors can be divided into different variables. The competition between shopkeepers within the Javastraat has always been there, but with the new coming entrepreneurs in combination with the changing demographics, this competition may have increased for long term shopkeepers. This is not based on direct competition between shops, because most of the new shops differ from the shops owned by long terms shopkeepers, but some new shops may be more attractive for the new inhabitants than the shops owned by these long term shopkeepers. For the majority of the respondents spoken to, this did not happen. They did not feel that the competition between the shopkeepers had increased during the years. Instead, the shopkeepers do have problems to compete with the internet.

“Look, competition will always be there, all over the world. The biggest danger for all of us, no matter where you are located, is the internet. With one press on the button, you can order all the products of a supermarket and it will be delivered. This is a big competitor for all of us” (Respondent 5, 2018).

One respondent, who is selling Indian products did see similar shops (which are also selling international food products) arriving in the Javastraat, but did not see this as problematic. He liked the competition and this makes him even more motivated to sell his products and he is succeeding to do so. A crucial point for the shopkeepers was the fact that the shopping street had to be occupied. Empty buildings are bad for the whole shopping street, because this results in a gritty atmosphere in the Javastraat. When all of the buildings are occupied, it brings cosines to the street and this could help increase the amount of customers the shopkeepers have.

“Shopping streets have to go well. When there are empty buildings, the market will go down in the street” (Respondent 7, 2018).

Their opinion about the arrival of new entrepreneurs in the Javastraat was mostly positive. The reason why can be related to the intentions of the municipality of Amsterdam by improving the quality of the shops in the Javastraat. By doing this, the amount of people walking through the Javastraat would increase, together with the time those people would be there. This would lead to an increasing amount of customers for the shops in the Javastraat, including the ones owned by long term shopkeepers.

“There is anything and everything in the street, so people can stay in this neighbourhood for their groceries. In the evening, it is a lot busier than it used to be” (Respondent 12, Interview taken by M. Voortman, 2018).

Despite the positive opinion about the new coming entrepreneurs, the thoughts of the diversity in the Javastraat were less positive. The establishment of many higher-quality shops contributed to the positive development of the Javastraat, according to the shopkeepers, but the diversity has to be retained. Mainly catering establishments have opened their businesses in the Javastraat and this was a good development for the diversity in the street but more catering establishments would lead to a less diverse shopping street.

33 “It is only catering establishments that settle, we do not want only the same type of shops. Why only catering establishments?” (Respondent 7, 2018).

“There may have closed many old shops and established many new shops, you have to find a limit. They are going to make sure the vegetable affairs are leaving, because they think those shops are not attractive for the neighbourhood. They want more catering establishments, only those. But, you harm the current entrepreneurs with this development. And they have ensured that this street is going well. The diversity has to be retained, not only catering establishments. You do not want to make this street like ‘de Pijp’, where only catering establishments are located. This is not nice for the current entrepreneurs” (Respondent 11, Interview taken by M. Voortman, 2018).

These new businesses, in this case many catering establishments, are not like the mainstream business and are attractive for the newcomers who differentiates themselves from the original inhabitants (Jeong et al, 2015). But, the municipality is aware of this development and tries to hold on the diversity in the Javastraat. In this way, the city government tries to keep the Javastraat attractive for the original inhabitants and to make the new inhabitants also willing to make use of the long term shops. Both the long term shopkeepers and the city government do think this is of great importance, and the municipality does adapt their policy to the current situation.

“Policy changes during the years. Firstly, we added a lot of catering establishments, but nowadays we are putting a hold on the settlement of catering establishments, mostly in the Javastraat and around this street. This also applies to terraces. First, we wanted to make the street livelier, but we are more reserved now. Some things that we allow are going really fast and then we have put a hold on it” (Area broker ‘Gebiedsmakeleaar’ Indische buurt, 2018).

The process of gentrification does bring positive developments into the Indische buurt and the Javastraat, but it also has a side effect, namely the increasing rental prices of the buildings the shop owners own. This is a more problematic aspect of gentrification for the long term shopkeepers. Most of the respondents spoken to complained about the increasing rental prices and saw this as a problem for their continuity of their shop.

“For the shop owners, it is a problem. That is why there are stores leaving the street and new stores coming in. Yes, the rental price is a problem, for the shops especially. And it is also a problem with the houses” (Respondent 2, 2018).

The rental price is the biggest cost item for a shop owner, so if this increases they will have to make more profit from their products, otherwise the shopkeepers are not able to keep up with the increasing rental prices. This can be done by attracting more customers to their shops, and this is related to the changing demographics within the Indische buurt. The Indische buurt has faced a change in the residential demographics. The process of social mixing can have, according to Davidson (2008) indirect consequences for the original shop keepers, because the higher-class income households can have different preferences than the original inhabitants of the Indische buurt, and this can lead to a decrease in the amount of customers for the original shopkeepers. The attractiveness of long term shops for the new inhabitants of the Indische buurt depends partly on the type of products the shop is selling. One of the most important aspect to attract customers is to satisfy their demands. This is in relation to the fact that the attractiveness of the long term shops is diverse due to this difference in products. The ability

34 to attract customers differed between the long term shopkeepers spoken to. One of the shopkeepers is selling hair products and the type of customers he attracts are mainly people from Surinam. The amount of people whose ethnicity is Surinam has decreased and this has consequences for the shopkeeper of this shop. He is facing a decreasing amount of customers and this causes him problems with the payment of the rental price.

“Earlier, there were a lot of Surinam, Turkish and Moroccan people, but this has changed. Nowadays, you see much more Dutch people. People with a dark skin have a high demand of the products I sell. That is the reason why my amount of customers has decreased” (Respondent 6, 2018).

For this shopkeeper, the changing residential demographics of the neighbourhood have negative consequences for his future of his shop. He has to make adjustments to his shop to make himself more attractive for the new inhabitants. The reactions to the changes in demographics will be described in the next part. One other shopkeeper was feeling the consequences of this change. From my observation, and his answers, he was not able to attract the new inhabitants of the Indische buurt, unless the adjustments he made to his type of products he is selling. Additionally, the change in the physics of the Javastraat regarding the parking spots have led to a decrease in his amount of customers (Respondent 7, 2018). The municipality of Amsterdam widened the sidewalk what has led to a decrease in the amount of parking spots. Due to these developments, he is facing problems with the rental price and is willing to do anything to increase his profits. Unless the problems some of the respondents are facing due to the changing inhabitants, there are also respondents who are able to attract customers, including new and original inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The last group is also of great importance. One long term shopkeeper spoken to mentioned that he has built a big clientele what contributes to his profit that keeps him out of financial problems.

“Yes, we do see that there are new faces coming to the shop but we also see that old faces are returning. I have got customers who are coming here for already ten years and customers who are 75 years old and also regular customers” (Respondent 5, 2018).

It is important for the shopkeepers that they are keeping the customers satisfied. In this case, they will come back to the store, and this means that they are still able to attract people to their shops. From observations made during the interviews, some respondents did have regular customers coming into their shops. It was clearly visible that they knew each other well. Thereby, some other respondents were also able to attract the new inhabitants to their shops. This was achieved by making adjustments to their shops to meet the demands of the new inhabitants. These adjustments will be elaborated in the next chapter.

“Younger people are visiting my store more often, including students” (Respondent 3, 2018).

“There comes a lot of new people, which we also have a good relationship with. A lot of young people are very funny and they do come to our shop often. They are very social and this is nice” (Respondent 4, 2018).

The last respondent was very enthusiastic about the new people that moved into the neighbourhood. This was mainly based on the arrival of students. These students are visiting his shop and the contact he has with them was very positive.

35

Overall, the attractiveness of the long terms shops, from the respondents spoken to, differs. This is partly because of the difference preferences the new inhabitants have, like Davidson (2008) argues in his paper, but also due to the different type of shop the respondents own. For one respondent, the change in inhabitants does have big negative consequences for his amount of customers, leading to problems with paying the rent. But, for the majority of the respondents, the change in demographics is not leading to a decrease in their amount of customers. With the adjustments they made, who will be discussed in the next chapter, they are still able to attract the original inhabitants but also the new inhabitants.

7.2.4: Role of the municipality The city government tries to make as much improvements as possible in the Indische buurt and is working for an increase in the attractiveness of the Javastraat. All of the respondents were positive about the overall improvement that have been done in the Javastraat. Despite this positive opinion about the overall change, two respondents had different opinions about these changes regarding their individual situation. In chapter 7.1, I described the way in which the city government tries to promote the process of gentrification and commercial gentrification. The changes in the neighbourhood were not for every entrepreneur a positive development. In the last ten years, several cheap and small enterprises had to close their doors and leave the Javastraat (Oost-online, 2018).

“The municipality has extruded small enterprises, due to innovations and increases in rental prices. For myself, the development here is not positive. The prices are increasing in the Javastraat” (Respondent 6, 2018).

According to those two respondents, the city government needs to be more active, but they were not clear about the way in which the city government has to do this. Additional to the lack of activity of the municipality, they also had critique about the access to any subsidy. When I asked about the availability of any subsidy, this was the answer:

“I have heard of that, and I did ask for a subsidy once by the city government but the ‘money- box’ was empty (there was no subsidy available anymore). I think this is a negative aspect, because I think long term shopkeepers must also have the right to get access to a subsidy” (Respondent 7, 2018).

These two respondents were the same respondents who were facing difficulties in attracting the new inhabitants to their shops, and thereby leading to problems regarding the payment of the rent. Two of the respondents did get access to a subsidy for an improvement to their shops, which will be described in the next chapter. The other respondents were either not interested in any subsidy or did not have any knowledge about the availability of subsidies.

Most common thoughts regarding the role of the municipality within the changing Javastraat were based on small issues, including the increasing parking costs and the high amount of bicycles stalled in front of the shops. One respondent argued that the increase in the parking costs and the decrease in the amount of parking spots was contributing to his decrease in customers. Many respondents mentioned that the municipality need to be more active in tackling small problems like these, in order to keep the street attractive.

When we look at all the impacts of commercial gentrification on the long term shopkeepers spoken to, the experiences of those impacts are different between the respondents.

36 Shortly, the respondents did have contact with other shopkeepers, and this was mainly based on greeting each other. Most of the respondent did not make any difference between long term and short term shopkeepers when it comes to this contact. This contact stays on a minimal level. None of the respondent were cooperating with other shopkeepers in the Javastraat, based on economic purposes. Additionally, none of the respondents had any thoughts of moving to another neighbourhood with his/her shop. The emotional impacts were not significant for the respondents spoken to. The economic impacts of commercial gentrification were bigger than the emotional impacts and there is a bigger differentiation between the respondents spoken to. The respondents did not face any increase in competition between shops due to commercial gentrification but the internet was mentioned as a bigger concurrent than the shops located in the Javastraat. The process of gentrification has led to a change in the demographics in the neighbourhood and an increase in the rental prices of not only the houses, but also the premises owned by the shopkeepers (Respondents interviews, 2018). The impacts of those development differentiated between the respondents. The type of shop is influencing this difference. This difference led to the fact that some respondents are able to attract new and old inhabitants and that some respondents are not able to attract the new inhabitants. Consequently, the increasing rental price is for some respondents already a big problem and for others not yet, but all of the respondents argued that this increase could lead to economic problems in the future.

37 7.3: What are the responses of long term shopkeepers on this process of commercial gentrification?

Long term shopkeepers experience the consequences of the process of commercial gentrification going on in the Indische buurt, but how do they respond to this process? There are different ways in which the shopkeepers respond to the changes that are happening related to the shopping street in the Javastraat. This can be divided into two different levels: the adjustments an individual long term shopkeeper makes and the cooperation of multiple long term shopkeepers in an enterprise association to respond to the consequences of commercial gentrification. First, the adjustments made individually will be discussed, followed by the responses of the enterprise association.

7.3.1: Individual responses The changing demographics of the Indische buurt, due to gentrification, has made the long term shopkeepers make adjustments to their shops. The new inhabitants are relatively younger and do have relatively more to spend than the original inhabitants, and the long term shopkeepers are aware of the fact that these new inhabitants have different preferences. An example of this is from a café located in the Javastraat. Originally, they were only selling one kind of beer and strong liquor. Nowadays, they are also selling different kind of beer and wine. The changing type of customers forces the owner to make adjustments to his products.

“We did not make adjustments, only in the products we are selling. Earlier, we only sold beer and liquor. Nowadays, we added many products. Different kind of beers, different kind of wines. We have never heard of that, but it is all part of it now” (Respondent 2, 2018).

Another example is the preference of biological food by students.

“I am selling a lot of natural products now, that is what the younger generation want. They want less sugar, less unhealthy food. I like that about the younger generation. They want to buy more biological products and, even it is only a small amount, they want to pay the price you are asking for it. They only want to biological food and I like that about them. We are learning from the new generation” (Respondent 4, 2018).

Another respondent is selling more ready to eat meals, because the new inhabitants are most of the time working till late and do not want to make dinner anymore. These are all kind of changes the long term shopkeepers have made and are still making to stay attractive for the new inhabitants in the Indische buurt. This is needed to be able to pay the rent and to keep their shop open.

“I used to have only electric products, but nowadays I am also selling household products. I have to pay the rent and I will do everything to earn money” (Respondent 7, 2018).

The most common responses of the respondents were adjustments in their products. Investments in the look of their shop are often too expensive for the shopkeepers to make. There were four shopkeepers who made these investments to their outlook in order to become more attractive. The shops that made those investments were a telephone shop, a supermarket/ take away, a restaurant and a computer/ electronica shop. Two of these investments were in cooperation with the municipality of Amsterdam. They partly subsidized the change that the shopkeeper made. The shopkeeper made his entrance bigger so that people with prams could

38 enter the shop. More people with young children are entering the neighbourhood what made this is a helpful improvement. This was partly subsidized by the municipality.

“Formerly, the entrance was somewhere else. Nowadays, the entrance is in the middle and that is the only adjustment I made to the look of my shop. Many people had difficulties to enter the shop with a pram. So, I thought, I have to make the entrance bigger to make it easier for the customers to enter the shop with a pram. I have had a subsidy. I had to make this adjustment to the façade and I received a subsidy for this. It was not much but I did receive some subsidy” (Respondent 3, 2018).

Another shopkeeper participated in a project organized by the municipality of Amsterdam, which is already described in the section of the role of the municipality. Shortly, the project leader helps long term shopkeepers to become attractive for the new inhabitants of the Indische buurt. This is to preserve the diversity of the shops within the Javastraat. Shopkeepers who participate in this projects are offered help and advice, but the investments they have to make are not being subsidized. This means that, when they want to make adjustments, they have to pay this by themselves (Indische buurtbalie, 2017).

“I am the first shop that got along with the changing shopping street. This was a project organized by the municipality. The name of the shop is made possible by the municipality of Amsterdam. The name is developed by myself and a lady who was helping me, but the municipality have sponsored the design of my shop. I am very happy with that. Nobody got along with it. Me and the neighbour across the street got along. I was actually the first one. I saw immediately potential in the project. But what I did not know is that I would improve my situation that much when it comes to customers and promotion. There has been some promotion without my cooperation, and that is nice. That is why I have seen an increase in my amount of customers. I have been in the newspaper and on the television. But, I have to adjust myself. I have to invest and I made some investments in a couple of years and I am still making changes to the shop, but I do not have the budget to make these changes at once” (Respondent 4, 2018).

With help from the municipality, this respondent was able to make an improvement to his shop what contributed to the attractiveness of the shop for the new inhabitants. But, like mentioned in the answer above, this respondent was the first and one that contributed to this project. This project is now active for three years, and a total of seven shopkeepers have taken part in this project (Area broker ‘Gebiedsmakelaar’ Indische buurt, 2018). One other respondent had plans to make an improvement to the outlook of her shop, but was not willing to share this with me. The reasons why some of the respondents did make adjustments to the look of their shops and others did not differentiated. The owner of a café spoken to, was strict in his reason for not making any changes to the look of his café. When I asked him if he made any adjustments to his café, this was his response:

“No, we will do as little as possible. It really has to be a brown café and this have to be maintained” (Respondent 2, 2018).

From two other respondents, the reason behind the fact that they did not make any improvement to their shops was not clear. Both of these respondents were having problems with the increasing rental prices and this may have an influence on the ability to make improvements.

39 The way in which one of the respondents adjusted to the changing neighbourhood was interesting. Besides the adjustment in his products he made, which he did by looking at the preferences of the inhabitants, he made use of the changing type of households living in the neighbourhood. Besides his shop, people can hire him to come to their houses if something is broken or if they want him to install something, for example a lamp.

“I work in the evening as well, doing some small jobs. Otherwise, I cannot keep my shop profitable. I have to do these jobs. Someone comes in panic to my shop: My lamp is broken, and then I tell him: I will be at 1815 at your place” (Respondent 9, 2018).

This type of business has increased in the last couple years due to the changing type of people living in the Indische buurt.

“Yes, I can close my shop and only do those jobs. I have thought about that, but I like it too much here” (Respondent 9, 2018).

On the individual level, all of the respondents spoken to made adjustments as consequence of the impacts of gentrification and commercial gentrification. The adjustments differ between the respondents, due to their capabilities and own preferences.

7.3.2: Collective responses The previous responses were based on the individual level but there is also an enterprise association in the Indische buurt for the shopkeepers in the Javastraat. This enterprise association is directly in contact with the area broker of the Indische buurt working for the municipality of Amsterdam, which means that this association can be helpful for the shopkeepers. It is of great importance for both the municipality of Amsterdam and the shopkeepers located in the Javastraat to have an enterprise association in which many shopkeepers play an active role. In this way it is possible for the municipality of Amsterdam to have contact with someone who represents all of the shopkeepers in the Javastraat.

“I am primarily the contact person of the entrepreneurs, so I often work in interest for the entrepreneurs, but I often run into the perspective of my colleagues. You can solve this in different ways. When there are problems in whole the street, and who have consequences for everybody in the street, it is not ideal to have a collocutor who exists of 110 entrepreneurs, but one who represents these entrepreneurs and can work in their interest” (Area broker ‘Gebiedsmakelaar’ Indische buurt, 2018).

Unless the importance of having an active enterprise association, the contribution from the shopkeepers to this association is not enough. Most of the shopkeepers spoken to in the Javastraat are member of the enterprise association, but not very active.

“I am member of the enterprise association for a while and what struck me was that this enterprise association is not that active as you think. For example, from the 100 entrepreneurs there are, only ten of them show up at the meeting. That has always been the case, and you start thinking by yourself, there have to be some people who take action” (Respondent 9, 2018).

The other respondents spoken to were also member of the enterprise association but not very active. There are three reasons why the respondents are not very active in this enterprise

40 association. The first one is time. Three respondents mentioned that they wanted to participate in the meetings organized by the enterprise association but they do not have the time, because they are too busy with their own business. Secondly, two of the respondents argued that the meetings of the association are not effective. Shopkeepers come together to discuss the problems they are facing, initiatives they have or other things, but afterwards nothing happens. Lastly, two of the respondents had no need to be present at the meetings. They do not have a clear reason why they are not going to the meetings but they simply do not have the need to be there. The area broker of the Indische buurt sees this lack of activity in the enterprise association as a negative aspect and hopes that this situation will improve. This can lead for a better cooperation between the shopkeepers in the Javastraat and the municipality of Amsterdam. In this way, the preferences and motives of the municipality and the shopkeepers can be better attuned to each other, in order to keep moving improvements in the Indische buurt and especially the Javastraat.

41 Chapter 8: Conclusion and Limitations

8.1: Answering the research questions This study examined how long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat experience and respond to commercial gentrification. Additionally, the role of the municipality of Amsterdam within this process has also been researched. This was done according to the following research questions:

What is the role of the city municipality in commercial gentrification?

How does commercial gentrification affect long term shopkeepers and what are their responses to this process?

Conclusion 1: The first research question is answered by analysing several policy documents, which are mentioned in chapter 5 and the data collected due to the interview with the area broker of the Indische buurt. By the use of several policies, urban governments are trying to manage disadvantaged neighbourhoods, including the Indische buurt. These policies include: increase the social mix of a neighbourhood, decrease poverty concentration and attract middle-class residents (Hochstenbach, 2017). The municipality of Amsterdam implemented relatable policies. The main focus lay on four points, the improvement of the public space; the improvement of the quality and differentiation of the housing supply; the improvement of the social structure and security; and most important for this study, the improvement of the economic structure. In this way, the municipality of Amsterdam tries to attract middle-class and higher class household into the neighbourhood, thereby promoting the process of gentrification. The process of gentrification has also led to an increase in the attractiveness for higher-quality enterprises. This has also been promoted by the municipality of Amsterdam. The municipality is not authorized to fully decide which enterprise can, and which cannot settle in the Javastraat, but they implemented strict restrictions, among others the fact that they have to contribute to the improvement of the Javastraat. This has led to the arrival of higher-quality enterprises in the Javastraat. Despite the availability of an amount of money to improve the economic structure in the Javastraat, the arrival of the new higher-end enterprises is not promoted by giving them access to subsidies. The city government have given access to subsidies to improve the outlook of several long term shops, in order to maintain those shops and the diversity in the Javastraat, but not all the respondents had access to this subsidy.

Conclusion 2: What are the impacts as experienced of commercial gentrification by long term shopkeepers within the Javastraat? The impacts of commercial gentrification differ between long term shopkeepers. The emotional experiences, including contact with other shopkeepers and thoughts of moving do not have a big impact on the respondents. This is caused by the fact that this contact is valued as good but not seen as very important, due to the fact that the shopkeepers are mostly too busy to invest in this contact. These variables do not lead to any emotional feeling of displacement. The economic impacts are bigger and more differentiated. The main reason for this difference is the type of shop the long term shopkeepers own, including the products they are selling. The arrival of new entrepreneurs does not lead to more competition between the shopkeepers, but does have an impact on the diversity within the Javastraat, which is endangered. This

42 diversity needs to be retained, an opinion of the shopkeepers which the city government is also aware of. In order to retain the diversity, the city government made adjustments in their policy. The increase in the rental price, which is an occurring consequence of gentrification, together with the changing demographics of the Indische buurt can have a big impact for long term shopkeepers. This depends on the ability to attract the new inhabitants, which differed between the respondents. When the shopkeeper is not able to attract new inhabitants, the amount of customers will decrease. This is leading to economic problems related to the increasing rental price. The main factor behind the ability to attract the new inhabitants is the type of products the long term shopkeepers are selling and the ability to adjust these to the preferences of those new inhabitants. Moreover, the increase in the rental prices is not only causing economic problems for the shopkeepers who are facing a decrease in their amount of customers. All the respondents were mentioning that the increase in the rental price could lead to economic problems in the future.

Conclusion 3: What are the responses of long term shopkeepers on this process of commercial gentrification? The most common response to the impacts of commercial gentrification is the adaptation of products in order to meet the preferences of the new inhabitants. When the preferences of the new inhabitants differ to much from the products a shopkeeper is selling, it is difficult to succeed. Additional to the change in products, long term shopkeepers can also respond by improving their look of their shop. This can be done individually or in cooperation with the municipality of Amsterdam, who organized a project in which the long term shopkeepers are helped to increase their attractiveness, but not all shopkeepers are suited to join this project due to strict restrictions. Additionally, the city government did give access to subsidies to improve the shops of long term shopkeepers but not all the respondents in the Javastraat were included. The lack of money for some shopkeepers is leading to no improvements to their shops. Not only can the long term shopkeepers respond individually to the changes, but there is also an enterprise association in which they can share their problems and ideas they have. This association is of great importance for the municipality of Amsterdam. In this way the city government can cooperate with people who represent the voice of the shopkeepers in the Javastraat, which can lead to better solutions for problems the shopkeepers are facing. Despite this importance, the majority of the respondents were not really active in the enterprise association, and both the shopkeepers and the city government see the importance to improve this situation.

8.2: Conclusive thoughts To conclude, the municipality of Amsterdam did encourage the arrival of higher-quality enterprises into the Javastraat, thereby promoting the process of commercial gentrification. The impacts as experienced and responses to commercial gentrification differed between the respondents. This is mainly because of the difference in type of shops, the products they are selling and thereby the ability to adjust to the preferences of the new inhabitants. The respondents were either welcoming the process and enthusiastic about the future or facing problems and not sure about their future in the Javastraat.

8.3: Discussion The process of gentrification occurring in the Indische buurt can be characterized as state-led gentrification. Hochstenbach (2017) argues that urban governments are trying, with several policies, to increase social mixing, decrease poverty concentration and to attract middle-class residents to manage disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Moreover, Uitermark et. al (2007)

43 describe that gentrification is a policy tool through which urban governments try to attract middle-class households into disadvantaged areas to civilise and control these neighbourhoods. The municipality of Amsterdam has, with several policies, accomplished the elements of state-led gentrification as described by Hochstenbach. The housing supply has been adjusted which increased the social mix of the neighbourhood and attracted middle-class residents to the Indische buurt, which was characterized as a disadvantaged neighbourhood. These are also similar with the two most important elements of gentrification according to Atkinson (2012), namely the adaptation of the housing stock and the attraction of middle- class households into disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The literature lacks of information related to these consequences for long term shopkeepers. Jeong et al (2014) examined the consequences of commercial gentrification on long term shopkeepers in Gyeongridan. Results from this research were that these shopkeepers reacted different. They were welcoming to, accepting of, and frustrated with the process (Jeong et al, 2014). The results from this research based on the experiences of and responses to commercial gentrification of long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat has similarities with the results based on the study in Gyeongridan. The impacts as experienced differed between the respondents. All of the respondents saw the arrival of higher-quality enterprises as a positive development for the whole street, but their experiences differed based on their individual situation. The results based on the changing demographics do have similarities with the argument of Davidson (2008). He argues that the changing demographics can have consequences for the long term shopkeepers because the preferences of these new inhabitants differ from the original inhabitants. Long term shopkeepers in the Javastraat are also facing this change and the ability to respond to this process differs between the respondents. So, along with respondents who were facing economic problems due to the commercial gentrification, other respondents were welcoming the process.

8.4: Limitations and recommendations The results of this thesis are based on semi-structured interviews and the analyzation of policy documents from the municipality of Amsterdam. There are some limitations that one need to keep in mind. First, the amount of respondents was based on the willingness of long term shopkeepers to participate in this research. The Indische buurt is an interesting neighbourhood for many studies and this has led to difficulties in finding respondents. Moreover, my colleague student was also doing a research in the Javastraat, which had much similarities with this research. This contributed to the difficulty in finding respondents, but in the end we shared some of the data. The limited amount of respondents had consequences for the validity of the research. The results could be different if more long term shopkeepers were interviewed. In further research, more respondents need to be interviewed to find more valid results. Secondly, the circumstances in which the interviews were taken were not always optimal. Some respondents were rushing because of the limited time they had. Moreover, I got the intention that the interview with two respondents was influenced by a language barrier. The questions were not completely understood and the answers they were given were short and not always in relation with the questions asked. Third, due to the limited time, not all contextual factors are included. The role of the municipality is mainly based on historical policy documents. The current policy regarding the Indische buurt and Javastraat can be of influence on the impacts and responses of long term shopkeepers, and this has not been researched in depth in this thesis, which can be done in further research. Additionally, due to limited time, a limited amount of characteristics of the shops and shopkeepers have been examined. The intention was to include the influence of the

44 ethnic background of the long term shopkeepers into the research but I was not able to do so. This might have an influence on the impacts of commercial gentrification. Moreover, the new entrepreneurs can also play a role in the way long term shopkeepers are responding to commercial gentrification. Shortly, additional contextual factors need to be further examined. This can be of great importance for both the shopkeepers and the municipality of Amsterdam. It can help the long term shopkeepers to find out in which way they can respond to commercial gentrification in order to stay in the Javastraat. It can help the city government to form their policies in order to keep improving the Javastraat, while retaining the diversity, because that is what characterizes the street. Last, I was not able to find more shopkeepers who own grocery stores than one to participate in this research. There are a lot of grocery stores owned by non-Western migrants who are located for many years in the Javastraat. For this research, these were very interesting shopkeepers, because their customers are mostly people with a non-Western ethnicity. Due to the demographic change in the Indische buurt, the amount of inhabitants with a non-Western background have decreased and this could lead to a decrease in their amount of customers. If this is really happening and how they are responding towards the process of commercial gentrification can be examined in further research.

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48 Appendix:

Interview questions: Perceptie en ervaring van de buurt: - Woont u zelf in de Indische buurt en zo ja, hoelang woont u hier dan al? - Hoe zou u de Indische buurt beschrijven? - Voelt u zich verbonden met deze buurt? - Doet u uw boodschappen hier in de Indische buurt? Welke winkels maakt u dan vooral gebruik van? - Gaat u wel eens wat drinken of eten hier in de INdische buurt? En zo ja, waar dan? - Maakt u ook gebruik van andere nieuwe faciliteiten hier in de Indische buurt? - Hoe is uw relatie met de bewoners in de buurt?

Karakteristieken van de onderneming: - Wanneer heeft u zich gevestigd op deze locatie en waarom? - Welk type onderneming is het? Welke producenten of service verkoopt u? Waarom heeft u hiervoor gekozen? - Hoeveel mensen heeft u werkzaam in uw winkel en werken zij hier fulltime of parttime? - Welke doelgroep heeft u wat betreft klanten? - Kunt u uw voornaamste klanten omschrijven? En is dit veranderd in de Jaren dat u hier zit? - Bent u bekend bij andere winkeleigenaren in deze straat en werkt u samen met deze ondernemingen? Is hier onderscheid in tussen de nieuwe en oude eigenaren? Doet u zaken met de nieuwe of oude eigenaren? - Wat zijn problemen die u ervaart als winkeleigenaar hier in de Javastraat?

Gentrification within the Indische buurt: - Denkt u dat de Indische buurt veranderd is en zo ja, op welke manier en waar merkt u dat aan? - Wat heeft, volgens u, deze verandering in gang gebracht? - Wat vindt u van de rol van de gemeente in dit process? - Voelt u zich nog thuis in deze buurt na de veranderingen die hebben plaatsgevonden? - Is de huurprijs gestegen voor dit pand, en zo ja, ervaart u dit als problematisch? - Heeft u enige problemen gehad met woningbouwcorporaties of met de gemeente waarmee in samenwerking bent gegaan om dit pand te huren? - Zijn er subsidies beschikbaar voor nieuwe of oude ondernemers hier in de javastraat? - Ontvangt u subsidies voor dit bedrijf? - Hoe staat u tegenover dit beleid van de gemeente? - Wat zijn uw ervaringen met het veranderde winkelaanbod in de Javastraat? - Er is een instroom van nieuwe hippe ondernemingen terwijl er oude ondernemingen worden gesloten. Wat vindt u hiervan? - Ervaart u de laatste Jaren meer competitie dan eerst? En zo ja, wie ziet u als opkokmende concurrenten? - Heeft u enige relaties met de nieuwe winkeleigenaren? - Hoe ervaart u het veranderende klantenaanbod in de Javastraat?

49 - Heeft u aanpassingen aangebracht aan uw bedrijf in relatie tot deze veranderingen? Zo niet, waarom niet? - Bent u lid van een ondernemingsvereniging? Werkt u samen met andere winkeleigenaren als reactive op de veranderingen in de Indische buurt? Kunt u uitlegen waarom? - Hoe denkt u dat de buurt in de komende Jaren zal veranderen? - Denkt u dat u de veranderingen in de Indische buurt met uw bedrijf kan overleven? Wat zou er moeten gebeuren zodat u hier in de Javastraat kan blijven? - Heeft u plannen om ergens anders heen te verhuizen met uw bedrijf?

Individuele kenmerken: - Wat is uw leeftijd? - Wat is uw oorspronkelijke afkomst? - Wat is uw hoogst genoten opleiding? - Wat is uw samenstelling van uw huishouden? - Mag ik vragen wat ongeveer uw inkomen is per maand?

Dit waren al mijn vragen. Heel erg bedankt voor uw tijd. Heeft u zelf nog vragen voor mij?

50 List of respondents:

Respondent Type of ethnicity Age Level of Composition shop education household Respondent 1 Restaurant Dutch 49 Cookery - training Respondent 2 Bar Dutch 65 Catering Single- school household Respondent 3 Repair Afghanistan 38 ICT training Married with shop two children electronic devices Respondent 4 Grocery Pakistani 43 HTS Living with store parents Respondent 5 Telephone Turkish 39 Havo Single- shop household Respondent 6 Drugstore, Pakistani 42 - - hair and beauty cosmetics Respondent 7 Electronica Indian 49 None Single- household Respondent 8 Fish shop Dutch 37 Mavo Married with two children Respondent 9 Hardware Dutch 63 Technical Living with store training girlfriend Gebiedsmakelaar Dutch economie, Indische buurt. Gemeente Amsterdam Respondent 11 Bakery Turkish 43 HBO Married with two children Respondent 12 Clothing Turkish 41 None Married with maker/ dry two children cleaner

Respondent 11 and respondent 12 are respondents from Marieke Voortman. The research she did has much similarities with my research. I used two quotes from her interview, which were helpful to substantiate my argument. The transcriptions of these interviews are added in the document with all the transcriptions.

51 Time schedule:

Week 44 29-31 Oktober Improving my proposal Week 44 1 – 4 November Interview questions Week 45 5-7 November Mapping commercial landscape Week 45 8 – 11 November First research question: What is the role of the city municipality in commercial gentrification? Week 46 12 – 18 November Doing interviews and transcribing Week 47 19 – 25 November Doing interviews and transcribing Week 48 26 November – 2 December Doing interviews, transcribing and analyzing interviews Week 49 3 – 9 December Analyzing interviews and answering sub-questions Week 50 10-12 December Answering sub-questions Week 50 13 – 14 December Final improvements Week 50 14 December Deadline draft versions thesis Week 51 – Week 2 17 December – 14 January Working on feedback and working to the final deadline

52 Characteristics of all single shops located in the Javastraat:

Number Name Type Year of Ethnicity establishment shopkeeper

1 Café Gijs de Rooy Café 1947 Dutch 2 Bahia Beauty Center Beauty salon 2008 Moroccan 3 Majesteit Taart Bakery 2015 Dutch 4 Mozaïek Carpet shop 2011 Turkish 5 Saeeds Curry House Food products 1997 Pakistani 6 Yakhlaf Supermarket 1990 Moroccan and take away 7 New World Nails Nail salon 2006 Vietnamese 8 Smart Laundry Laundry service 1998 Pakistani 9 Toko Man Li Ho Food products 1985 Surinam 10 Hartje Oost Coffee bar 2013 Dutch 11 Furkan Impex Retail trade - - 12 Bakkerij Kardas Bakery 2000 Turkish 13 GSM King Telecom shop - Afghani 14 Tanger Meubelen Furniture shop 2013 Moroccan 15 Easytell Telecom shop 2004 Egyptian 16 Durmaz Telecom Telecom shop 2003 Turkish 17 Fantast-world Household store 2013 Chinese 18 Boutique Asiya Clothing shop 2013 Moroccan 19 Ricardo’s Restaurant 2007 Surinam 20 Fondue Oost Restaurant 2015 Dutch 21 The Other guys Clothing shop 2016 Somalia 22 Melitene Mortgage and 2004 Turkish insurance business 23 Venkel Lunchroom 2018 Dutch 24 Welch Optiek Optician 1978 25 Lara Drugstore, hair 2006 Pakistani and beauty cosmetics 26 Topkapi Juwelier Jewelry store 1998 Turkish 27 Gallizia Restaurant 2015 Dutch (Italian roots) 28 Kapsalon Saidi Barber - - 29 Cape de l’eau Fish shop 1998 Moroccan 30 Humus en zo Restaurant - - 31 Shop in the name of Clothing shop after 2012 Dutch love 32 Fred’s Tabakshop Tobacco shop 1983 Dutch

53 33 Ijs van Oost Ice cream shop - - 34 Zeeman Clothing chain 2008 re- Dutch store opened 35 Meester Schoenmaker Shoemaker/shop 1988 Dutch Hillie’s 36 Vishandel El Pescado Fish shop 2006 Moroccan 37 Ristorante Lago Restaurant - Turkish 38 Kruidvat Drugstore 2002 Dutch (chain) 39 PL Professional Telecom shop 2009 Moroccan 40 Asgül Dry cleaning and 1991 Turkish clothing repair shop 41 La Fucina Restaurant 2015 Italian 42 Lale Kasabi Supermarket 1993 Turkish 43 Dierenkliniek Indische Animal clinic 1983 Dutch Buurt 44 Rainer dierenwinkel Pet shop 2015 re- Dutch opened 45 Nour Restaurant 2009 Iraqi 46 Ocakbasi Cinar Restaurant - Turkish 47 We Are Pets Pet shop 2018 Argentina 48 De Balkonie Plant and gift 2018 Dutch shop 49 Blitskikker Toy store, 2018 Dutch childern’s clothing shop, hairdresser and cafe 50 Hodo Mobile Telecom shop 1997 Turkish 51 Divan Patisserie Bakery 1998 Turkish 52 Casa Repair Telecom shop 2014 Moroccan 53 Haarstudio Royal Barber 2000 Moroccan 54 Supermarkt Het Lange Supermarket 2014 (but Moroccan Mes and butcher already located in street since 1993) 55 STØV Gift shop and 2018 Indonesian home accessories shop 56 Licht en meubels Furniture shop 2009 Dutch 57 Rum Barrel Café 2015 Dutch 58 Java Bookshop Book shop 2010 Dutch 59 Java Boulevard Café 2004 Turkish 60 De Jonge Admiraal Cafe and bakery 2014 Dutch 61 Saray Snackbar 1994 Turkish

54 62 Eltheto Protestant - - church 63 Safari Kids Daycare - - 64 t Reizen Travel agency - - 65 Vrije kids Daycare - - 66 Feliz Plant and gift 2018 Dutch shop 67 Coffeeshop Warda Coffeeshop 1988 - 68 Gogun & Son 2006 Indian 69 Div. Damesboudoir Clothing shop 2015 Dutch 70 Volendammer Fish shop 1953 Dutch Vishandel 71 Kapadokya Bakery - - 72 Wasserij & Stomerij Laundry service, - Pakistani dry cleaning and clothing repair shop 73 Sunay Household store 1992 Moroccan 74 Bar Basquiat Bar and 2015 Dutch restaurant 75 Liquor store Late Night Liquor night - - store 76 Amsterdam Oost Fried Restaurant 2018 Indian Chicken 77 Saber Nuts Nut shop 2018 Syrian 78 Efe Food Supermarket 2008 - 79 Victoria Tapijt Carpet shop 1995 Turkish 80 Sushito Restaurant 2018 - 81 Ashes to snow Hairdresser and 2014 Dutch art gallery 82 Nour shop Household store 2012 Moroccan 83 Sfifa Azahraa Clothing store - - 84 Afrah Fes Bakery 2010 Moroccan 85 Tarbush Syrian and 2018 Syrian Lebanese restaurant 86 Kapper uit Oost Hairdresser 2018 Moroccan 87 Tugra Baklava Bakery 2013 Turkish 88 Slagerij Atlas Butcher 1994 Moroccan 89 Burger ‘n Shake Burger 2018 Moroccan restaurant (chain) 90 P&M Elektronica Household 2005 Indian appliances shop 91 ZiZo Mobile Telecom shop 2016 Pakistani

55 92 Hilal Reizen Travel agency 1993 Turkish 93 Basirco Vlees Butcher 1996(Eventueel Egyptian gesloten???) 94 Walter Woodbury Bar Bar and 2014 Dutch restaurant 95 Fyrre Restaurant 2017 Dutch 96 Matrassenwinkel Matress store - - 97 Mosha Haarstudio Hairdresser - - 98 Derya Shoarma Grill - - Room 99 Slagerij Marrakech Butcher - Moroccan 100 Couscour Bar Couscous - - restaurant 101 Star BBQ Restaurant 2010 Iraqi 102 Blokker Household 1949 Dutch appliances shop 103 Tigris & Eufraat Supermarket 2003 Egyptian and take away 104 La Rambla Household 2010 Algerian appliances shop 105 Oz Yildiz Supermarket 1988 Turkish 106 Computer Reparatie Repair shop 2005 Afghani electronic devices 107 Haq’s International Telecom shop 2005 - 108 Div. Herenkabinet Men clothing 2012 Dutch shop 109 Lyca Mobile (part of Telecom shop 2005 - Haq’s Mobile) 110 Albert Heijn Supermarket - Dutch

56 Codes used in ATLAS. Ti:

Adjustments to shop Change in future Change in type of customers Change in type of inhabitants characteristics of the neighbourhood characteristics of the neighbourhood earlier

characteristics restaurant and others characteristics shop

collective action old shopkeepers competition with internet

competition between shopkeepers connection with neighbourhood

contact with municipality contact with new shopkeepers

contact with other shopkeepers diversity neighbourhood

diversity shops economy as driving factor behind neighbourhood change

employees enterprise association

events by enterprise association improvement of public spaces

income customers increasing rental price

individual skills municipality as main driver of neighbourhood change

needed change of neighbourhood opinion about change in shops

opinion about contact with other opinion about Javastraat shopkeepers

opinion about organized events opinion about role of municipality

Personal characteristics positive change in neighbourhood

prices new shops problems within Amsterdam

problems within Javastraat project by municipality

reason for not joining events by enterprise reason for change of neighbourhood association

reason for settlement relation with inhabitants

relation with municipality role of municipality

57 subsidy thoughts of moving

type of customers use of new shops use of shops visible change in neighbourhood

well-known in neighbourhood year of moving into the neighbourhood

year of settlement

58