ABSTRACT
Kemeny has argued that after the Second World War, ‘Western Europe came under the cultural influence of the USA and its English speaking allies’ leading to an ‘unconscious assimilation of political and ideological perspectives’. The problems of collating data concerning the number of second homes in the UK pale in comparison to the difficulties of constructing a Europe-wide picture. Throughout the 1960s, Belgium experienced a substantial increase in the number of second homes. In many areas, there was evidence of a growing social rift between the incomers and the host population. Patterns of socio-economic change had produced a new social configuration in the Belgian countryside and the divisions between social groups were clearly visible. In 1970, there were estimated to be between 140,000 and 145,000 second homes in Denmark, mainly located in coastal area. More recent Danish legislation has focused on the over-riding importance of securing a first home and maintaining the socio-economic viability of host communities.
