More Dutch Residents Feel Their Neighbourhoods Are Declining
A new study shows 1.4 million residents feel worse off, feeling unsafe with a worse quality of life. However, Groningen reports stronger social ties and community life.
Nearly 1.4 million people in the Netherlands feel that their neighbourhoods have become less pleasant in the past two years. A new report by Atlas Research, commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior, shows that residents notice more nuisance, feel less safe, and are seeing more empty buildings and fewer local amenities.
The researcher behind the study, Marten Middeldorp, points out that this change partly reflects the end of the coronavirus years. “During the last study, many people were still indoors. Now that people are going out again, feelings of nuisance and unsafety have increased. Crime figures, after years of decline, have stopped falling.”
Politics and quality of life
The findings are being picked up in political debates. Parties like the VVD argue for stricter measures against problem residents and squatters, while GroenLinks-PvdA links livability to climate goals such as more trees and better home insulation. Other parties stress mobility, migration, or the presence of asylum centres as key factors.
Despite the recent decline, over a million residents still report improvements in their neighbourhoods. Middeldorp notes that overall livability in the Netherlands remains strong.
Groningen stands out in local surveys
In Groningen, recent surveys paint a more positive picture. The Wijkenquête Leefbaarheid 2024, which collected responses from nearly 15,000 residents, shows that most people are satisfied with their living environment. Civic participation is growing, people are more active in sports and community life, and relationships between students and long-term residents are described as increasingly positive.
These findings suggest that Groningen maintains a strong sense of social cohesion, even as other Dutch cities face rising complaints about safety and nuisance.
Livability in the north
National data also confirm that the northern provinces, including Groningen, remain relatively strong in livability scores. Between 2020 and 2022, all Dutch regions improved in areas such as housing quality and the physical environment. The “nuisance and safety” dimension did not show much progress, but the north continues to rank above average compared to many other parts of the country.