Samenvatting

In recent years there is an increasing trend towards semi-public space. This article seeks to explain this trend. As the heterogeneity of society grows, it becomes more difficult to deal with different groups within one's living environment. Residents prefer a sheltering living environment that attracts similar groups and excludes those they would rather avoid. Social engineering through architecture has a long history: municipalities used to combine the design of neighbourhoods and public spaces with a social agenda of community building. Later, as society evolved, the prevention of friction between people and the creation of public meeting places became leading principles, but never exclusion. However, public housing associations and developers are increasingly accommodating preferences for sheltered living environments by the creation of collective space, appropriating public space and the temporary use of undeveloped space. Three cases illustrate this.