Caravan politics in the depoliticised city : Applying and opposing exceptional measures for Dutch Traveller, Sinti, and Roma caravan sites

This article analyses the depoliticisation of Dutch caravan politics, which has resulted in massive pitch shortages threatening the existence of the specific caravan housing culture of Dutch Travellers, Sinti and Roma groups. The rationality underlying the repressive governance of caravans is understood as a depoliticised affirmation of technocratic solutions to an unwanted and racialised housing culture. However, as in many other European countries, Dutch authorities have been summoned to work on Roma and Traveller inclusion programmes and address pitch shortages. The increased pressure on th... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Teodorescu, Dominic
Dokumenttyp: article in journal
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Verlag/Hrsg.: Uppsala universitet
Kulturgeografiska institutionen
Schlagwörter: Urban politics / Depoliticisation / Roma / Sinti and Travellers / Caravan politics / Netherlands / Human Geography / Kulturgeografi
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27459401
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-509231

This article analyses the depoliticisation of Dutch caravan politics, which has resulted in massive pitch shortages threatening the existence of the specific caravan housing culture of Dutch Travellers, Sinti and Roma groups. The rationality underlying the repressive governance of caravans is understood as a depoliticised affirmation of technocratic solutions to an unwanted and racialised housing culture. However, as in many other European countries, Dutch authorities have been summoned to work on Roma and Traveller inclusion programmes and address pitch shortages. The increased pressure on the Dutch government culminated in 2018 when it adopted a new framework that prohibits any further measures to repress caravan culture. In what follows, a situated account of depoliticised caravan politics – and resistance to it (i.e. re-politicisation efforts) – is presented by examining the case of Teersdijk, a large campsite in the city of Nijmegen.