Almere Poort, The Netherlands - 2015

Status: Existing

Stakeholders: 

• Almere City Council

Almere Poort is a project built on council land as part of the city plans to provide affordable housing for low-income households of €20,000 a year. They are buit on 250 acres of council land. The aim is for Almere to eventually have 3,500 self-built homes.

Individuals can purchase a plot designated by the local authority. Once the plot is secured and a mortgage in place, the buyer is free to customise their home from a wide variety of different “ready-made” homes, many designed by in-house architects.

The development has been planned to benefit from the affordability of agricultural land and the belief that individuals, when given a certain level of responsibility, will be able to organise themselves and select the most sensible mode of development for their own particular needs.