ABSTRACT
In 2002, a major political change took place in Rotterdam when a new party called Leefbaar Rotterdam (led by Pim Fortuyn 1 ) became the biggest political party. They formed a coalition government with the Christian Democrats and introduced new policies on immigration and housing in districts with major socio-economic problems. The new coalition defined the continuous influx of people with low incomes, often immigrants, as a major problem for such districts. From the start it was clear that, although the discussion was about low-income groups as a whole, the immigrant aspect was very important.
