Attracting Knowledge Workers

HELP – a research project of the Urban Regions in the Delta research programme (NWO)

The full title of this project is Implications of location preferences of highly educated workers for spatial development of metropolitan areas.
The aim is to analyse preferences and behaviour with respect to the residential location of highly educated workers.

The attractiveness of cities to these workers is widely regarded as a key factor for the flourishing and growth of urban areas in the coming decades. A general meta-analysis will sketch the main insights from the existing literature, while paying special attention to Helsinki, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Eindhoven. Residential preferences of knowledge workers are studied on the basis of stated choice experiments. We integrate the behaviour of these workers into a general model for household location choice in an urbanised area. The model will be estimated on different spatial scales, ranging from an urbanised country (The Netherlands) to a medium sized city (Eindhoven).

The model can be used to study the consequences of urban and land use policies like transforming brownfields to high density residential areas, or the preservation of open space close to cities by decentralising residential development to growth centres. A simulation tool that calculates and visualises the model outcomes under different scenarios can be used as a decision support system for urban planning. The project will benefit from the input of stakeholders from the Netherlands and the cities of Copenhagen and Helsinki through regular meetings.

For more information, see the project website at kenniswerkers.net, visit the VERDUS project website, or download the project description.

Publications related to Attracting Knowledge Workers

Skills & Cities	Dekkers, J.E.C., Möhlmann, J., Rouwendal, J., Integration and policy simulations. Chapter 7, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2016.
Springer	Koomen, E., Dekkers, J.E.C., Broitman, D., Analyzing and simulating urban density; Exploring the difference between policy ambitions and actual trends in the Netherlands (forthcoming), in: Thill, J-C. (eds.), Spatial Analysis and Location Modeling in Urban and Regional Systems. Advances in Geographic Information Science Series, Springer, Heidelberg, 2016.
Skills & Cities	Bontje, M., Musterd, S., Rouwendal, J., Introduction to Part One. Chapter 3, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series , Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Boterman, W.R., Bontje, M., Stated choice investigation of preferences of highly educated workers. Chapter 4, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Boterman, W.R., Sleutjes, B., Bontje, M., Stated choice investigation of preferences of highly skilled international migrants. Chapter 8, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Levkovich, O., Rouwendal, J., Sa, C., International students and the Netherlands. Chapter 9, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Levkovich, O., Rouwendal, J., Location choices of highly educated foreign workers: the importance of urban amenities. Chapter 10, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J., Introduction to Part Two: the housing and location preferences of highly educated international migrants in Amsterdam (NL). Chapter 7, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J., Book introduction. Chapter 1, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J., Book Conclusion. CHapter 12, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J., Skills & Cities, Edited book volume in the Regions and Cities Series of Routledge and the Regional Studies Association, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Sleutjes, B., Meta analysis of consumer amenities literature. Chapter 2, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	Sleutjes, B., Musterd, S., Residential preferences of international migrants in creative and knowledge intensive industries. Chapter 11, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
Skills & Cities	van Duijn, M., Möhlmann, J., Mulalic, I., Rouwendal, J., Models of household location and urban amenities. Chapter 5, in: Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Rouwendal, J. (eds.), Skills & Cities, Regions and Cities Series, Routledge / Regional Studies Association, 2015.
	Bontje, M., HELP – Higher Educated location Preferences, presentation of final results, VERDUS Conference ‘Vitality in City and Region’, Rotterdam, 2014.
	Bontje, M., Reactie op case Nijmegen in sessie ‘Kenniswerkers zo lang mogelijk vasthouden’, VERDUS Conference ‘Vitality in City and Region’, Rotterdam, 2014.
	Bontje, M., Creative Shenzhen? A critical view on Shenzhen’s transformation from a low-cost manufacturing hub to a creative megacity, International Journal of Cultural and Creative Industries, 1 (2), pp.52-67, 2014.
	Bontje, M., 15 years of creative industries development and creative city strategies in Amsterdam, Lecture in postgraduate course ‘Cultural industries and development policies for city and region’, Poznan, 2014.
	Bontje, M., Creative class and creative knowledge city strategies in Amsterdam, Presentation for visiting staff and students of Université du Québec à Montréal, Amsterdam, 2014.
HELP Report No. 2	Boterman, W., Sleutjes, B., Stated residential preferences of higher educated workers in Amsterdam and Eindhoven, Report nr. 2 – Higher Educated Location Preferences (HELP), AISSR, University of Amsterdam, 2014.
City Futures 2014	Boterman, W.R., Assessing the role of cultural capital in the differentiation of stated preferences of high skilled workers in Amsterdam and Eindhoven, Paper to be presented at EURA/ UAA Conference 2014 – CITY FUTURES III: Cities as strategic places and players in a globalized world, Paris, 2014.
Platform31	Boterman, W.R., Gentrification en de terugkeer van middenklassegezinnen naar Amsterdam, in: Soort zoekt soort. Clustering en sociaal-economische scheidslijnen in Nederland, Platform31/Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Den Haag/Amsterdam, 2014.
Rooilijn	Dekkers, J.E.C., Koomen, E., Broitman, D., De verstedelijkingsparadox; verdichtingsambities in de praktijk, Rooilijn, 47 (1), pp.22-29, 2014.
	Kantor, Y., Möhlmann, J., Nijkamp, P., Rouwendal, J., Homeownership, Mortgages, Commutes and Unemployment, , 2014. Remarks: submitted, under review at Letters in Spatial and Resourse Sciences
	Möhlmann, J., van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Restricted Housing supply, House Prices and Welfare: Evidence from the Netherlands, , 2014. Remarks: in progress
	Möhlmann, J., Rouwendal, J., How Important is Consumer City? A Comparison of Expenditure Patterns of Urban and Rural Consumers, , 2014. Remarks: in progress, to be presented at the 61st Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, November 12-15, Washington DC, USA
	Möhlmann, J., Preferences of Higher Educated Households for Location Characteristics and Housing Types, Presentation for the UvA VU PBL Seminar ‘The Geography of International Knowledge Workers and the attractiveness of The Netherlands’, The Hague, 2014. Remarks: Based on joint work with Jasper Dekkers, Mark van Duijn, Or Levkovich and Jan Rouwendal
	Musterd, S., Bontje, M., Boterman, W., van Gent, W., Sleutjes, B., Project Higher Educated Location Preferences (HELP Uva VU). UvA part: meta analysis and stated preferences of (international) knowledge workers, Presentation for the UvA VU PBL Seminar ‘The Geography of International Knowledge Workers and the attractiveness of The Netherlands’, The Hague, 2014.
Wie maakt Nederland	Musterd, S., Rouwendal, J., Bontje, M., Locational preferences of higher educated workers – the HELP project, Onderzoeksseminar ‘Wie maakt Nederland’?, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam, 2014.
Rooilijn	Musterd, S., Hoogopgeleiden en de stad, Rooilijn, 47 (4), pp.256-261, 2014.
	Musterd, S., Rouwendal, J., Bontje, M., Dekkers, J.E.C., Boterman, W., van Gent, W., Sleutjes, B., van Duijn, M., Möhlmann, J., Mulalic, I., Levkovich, O., Sa, C., HELP – Higher Educated Location Preferences, URD-Dag, Utrecht, 2014.
Rooilijn	Musterd, S., Hoogopgeleiden in de stad, Rooilijn, URD-themanummer ‘Gebiedsontwikkeling 2.0’, 47 (4), 2014.
	Raspe, O., UvA VU PBL Seminar – The Geography of International Knowledge Workers and the attractiveness of The Netherlands, , PBL, The Hague, 2014. Remarks: Organised by dr. Otto Raspe from PBL together with the HELP project team under the guidance of prof. Sako Musterd, dr. Marco Bontje and prof. Jan Rouwendal
	Rouwendal, J., Levkovich, O., Location choices of highly educated foreign workers: the importance of urban amenities, in: Paper for the 54th Conference of the European Regional Science Association, ERSA 2014, St. Petersburg, Russia, 26-29 August, 2014. Remarks: This is a draft version
Springer	Rouwendal, J., Commuting, housing and labor markets. Chapter 20, in: Nijkamp, P., Fischer, M.M. (eds.), Handbook of Regional Science, Springer, 2014.
Expatbeleid	Rouwendal, J., Reactie op case Nijmegen in sessie ‘Kenniswerkers zo lang mogelijk vasthouden’, VERDUS Conference ‘Vitality in City and Region’, Rotterdam, 2014.
	Sleutjes, B., Deelname aan discussiebijeenkomst over de woonvisie in Eindhoven, , The Strip Conference Center, Hightech Campus Eindhoven, 2014.
HELP Report No. 1	Sleutjes, B., Boterman, W., Stated preferences of international knowledge workers in The Netherlands, HELP International report nr. 1 – Higher Educated Location Preferences (HELP), AISSR, University of Amsterdam, 2014.
HELP Report No. 4	Sleutjes, B., Settlement patterns of international knowledge workers in The Netherlands, HELP International report nr. 4 – Higher Educated Location Preferences (HELP), AISSR, University of Amsterdam, 2014.
City Futures 2014	Sleutjes, B., Stated residential preferences of highly-skilled migrants in The Netherlands, in: Paper to be presented at EURA/ UAA Conference 2014 – CITY FUTURES III: Cities as strategic places and players in a globalized world, Paris, France, 18-20 June, 2014.
Platform31	van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Locatiekeuze van hogere inkomens: de rol van stedelijk erfgoed en soortgenoten, in: Soort zoek soort. Clustering en sociaal-economische scheidslijnen in Nederland, Platform31/Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Den Haag/Amsterdam, 2014.
JORS	Vermeulen, W., Rouwendal, J., On the value of forgone open space in sprawling cities, Journal of Regional Science, 54 (1), pp.61-69, 2014.
	Weijschede-van der Straaten, W., Rouwendal, J., Möhlmann, J., The Impact of Education and Household Composition on Commutes and Location Choice, , 2014. Remarks: submitted
	Bontje, M., Housing needs and housing preferences of creative workers in Shenzhen, Presentatie on conference ‘Rethink the city of tomorrow’, Shenzhen, China, 2013.
	Bontje, M., At home in Shenzhen? Housing opportunities and housing preferences of creative workers in a wannabe creative city, Presentatie at the RC43 Conference ‘At home in the housing market’, Amsterdam, 2013.
	Bontje, M., Creative Shenzhen? A critical view on Shenzhen’s transformation from a low-cost manufacturing hub to a creative megacity, Presentation at AESOP / ACSP Conference, Dublin, 2013.
Wiley	Bontje, M., Kepsu, K., Creative knowledge strategies for polycentric city-regions, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place Making and Policies for Competitive Cities , Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
TESG	Bontje, M., Lawton, P., Mobile policies and shifting contexts: city-regional competitiveness strategies in Amsterdam and Dublin, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 104 (4), pp.397-409, 2013.
	Bontje, M., Where creative knowledge workers (want to) live: stated and revealed residential preferences of creative knowledge workers in European city-regions, Presentation in CIRCLE seminar, Lund University2013.
	Boterman, W.R., ) Locatiegedrag van middenklassegezinnen in Nederlandse steden, Presentatie op workshop ‘Soort zoekt soort: sociaal-economische scheidslijnen in Nederland’, Amsterdam, 2013.
Urban Studies	Boterman, W.R., Dealing with diversity: middle-class family households and the issue of ‘black’ and ‘white’ schools in Amsterdam, Urban Studies, 50 (5), pp.1130-1147, 2013.
	Boterman, W.R., Hochstenbach, C., Marginal gentrification and starters on the housing market: migration dynamics and real estate values, Presentation at the RC43 Conference ‘At home in the housing market’, Amsterdam, 2013.
VERDUS	de Boer, Y., Werkgelegenheid en huisvesting sleutelfactoren voor trekken en behouden van hoogopgeleiden. Interview met Bart Sleutjes (URD-project Locatievoorkeuren kenniswerkers), 2013.
	Dekkers, J.E.C., Rouwendal, J., Boter, J., The role of different urban amenities in attracting knowledge workers. Presenting the research design and first results, in: Proceedings of the 53rd conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 27-31 August, 2013.
Wiley	Egedy, T., von Streit, A., Bontje, M., Policies towards multi-layered cities and cluster development, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place Making and Policies for Competitive Cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
	Gatto, M., Locational Choice and Preferences with Costly Relocation, Masters thesis Spatial Economics, VU University Amsterdam, 2013. Remarks: Supervisor: van Duijn, M.
Reg. Sci. & Urb. Econ.	Koster, H.R.A., Rouwendal, J., Agglomeration, commuting costs and the internal structure of cities, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 43 (2), pp.352-366, 2013.
Wiley	Kovacs, Z., Musterd, S., The importance of place and place branding, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place making and policies for competitive cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
Wiley	Kovacs, Z., Musterd, S., Personal networks, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place making and policies for competitive cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
	Levkovich, O., Rouwendal, J., Location choices of highly educated foreign workers: the importance of urban amenities, Presentation for the 53rd conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 27-31 August, 2013.
	Möhlmann, J., Weijschede-van der Straaten, W., Rouwendal, J., Waarom zijn woon-werkverkeer reistijden van ’powercouples’ relatief kort? Een analyse van heterogene locatievoorkeuren van huishoudens, in: Abstract en Presentatie voor de Voorjaarsdag van de Regional Science Association, Den Haag, 18 april, 2013.
	Möhlmann, J., van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Restricted housing supply, house prices and household preferences, Presentation for the 53rd conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 2013.
	Möhlmann, J., van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Restricted Housing Supply, House Prices and Household Preferences, Abstract and Poster presentation for the Nederlandse Economen Dag (NED), Centraal Planbureau, Amsterdam, 2013.
Wiley	Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z., Prevailing policies versus new tailored policies, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place making and policies for competitive cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
Wiley	Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z., Policies built upon pathways, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place making and policies for competitive cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
Wiley	Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z., Tailored – context-sensitive – urban policies for creative knowledge cities, in: Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z. (eds.), Place making and policies for competitive cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
Wiley	Musterd, S., Kovacs, Z., Place Making and Policies for Competitive Cities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2013.
	Musterd, S., Lecture on Place-Making and Policies for Competitive Cities, Japan Foundation and University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 2013.
	Musterd, S., Presentatie over URD-HELP voor VerDUS delegatie, , Den Haag, 2013.
	Musterd, S., Interview met de Gelderlander over het belang van studenten voor de stad, 2013.
	Musterd, S., Interview met ANP nieuws over het voornemen om de sociale huursector drastisch te verkleinen, 2013.
	Musterd, S., Interview met het Parool over de toename van het aantal stedelijke gezinnen met kinderen, 2013.
ERSA 2013	Rouwendal, J., Highly Educated Workers and Urban Development, Special session S_ZZ for the 53rd Conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 2013.
	Rouwendal, J., Möhlmann, J., How important is consumer city? A comparison of expenditure patterns of urban and rural consumers, Abstract and Presentation for the Nederlandse Economen Dag (NED), Centraal Planbureau, Amsterdam, 2013.
	Rouwendal, J., HELP – Location preferences of higher educated workers, Presentation for the Geodesign Summit Europe, Herwijnen, the Netherlands, 2013.
	Sleutjes, B., Attracting and retaining knowledge workers: the strengths and weaknesses of Northern-European cities, Presentation at the 53rd conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 27-31 August, 2013.
	Sleutjes, B., The hard and soft side of European knowledge regions, Report nr. 1 – Higher Educated Location Preferences (HELP), AISSR, University of Amsterdam, 2013.
	van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Sorting based on amenities and income, Presentation for the Seminar of Utrecht School of Economics, Utrecht, 25 September, 2013. Remarks: Shortened versions of this presentation wer also given at the workshop “Soort zoekt Soort” (13 June 2013) and at the 53rd Conference of the European Regional Science Association (Palermo, Italy, 29 August 2013)
	van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Sorting based on amenities and income: insights on social interactions and multiplier effects, Abstract for the 53rd conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 27-31 August, 2013.
JEG	van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Cultural heritage and the location choice of Dutch households; a residential sorting model, Journal of Economic Geography, 13 (3), pp.473-500, 2013.
	van Duijn, M., Belang van stedelijk erfgoed voor locatiegedrag van huishoudens met een hoog inkomen, Presentatie op workshop ‘Soort zoekt soort: sociaal-economische scheidslijnen in Nederland’, Amsterdam, 2013.
Platform31	van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Cultureel erfgoed en het vestigingsgedrag van huishoudens, in: van Dommelen, S., Pen, C-J. (eds.), Cultureel erfgoed op waarde geschat, Platform 31, VU, UT, 2013.
Platform31	van Duijn, M., Lazrak, F., Cultureel erfgoed en de waardeontwikkeling van vastgoed, in: van Dommelen, S., Pen, C-J. (eds.), Cultureel erfgoed op waarde geschat, Platform31, VU, UT, 2013.
JUA	van Heerden, S., Bontje, M., What about culture for the ordinary workforce? A study on the locational preferences of the creative class in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Journal of Urban Affairs, 2013. Remarks: first published online as ‘Early view’ 25 September 2013
	van Loon, R., van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Urban Revival: Store Location Dynamics and Cultural Heritage, Poster presentation for the Nederlandse Economen Dag (NED), Centraal Planbureau, Amsterdam, 2013.
	van Loon, R., van Duijn, M., Rouwendal, J., Urban Revival: Store Location Dynamics and Cultural Heritage. Working paper, in: Proceedings of the 53rd conference of the European Regional Science Association, Palermo, Italy, 27-31 August, 2013.
E&P A	Boterman, W.R., Residential mobility of urban middle classes in the field of parenthood, Environment and Planning A, 44 (10), pp.2397-2412, 2012.
Housing, Theory & Society	Boterman, W.R., Deconstructing coincidence: how middle-class households use various forms of capital to find a home, Housing, Theory and Society, 29 (3), pp.321-338, 2012.
VERDUS	de Boer, Y., Precieze kennis over woonoriëntatie kenniswerkers ontbreekt nog. Interview met Sako Musterd (URD-project Locatievoorkeuren kenniswerkers), 2012.
Eur. Urban & Reg. Studies	Musterd, S., Gritsai, O., The creative knowledge city in Europe: structural conditions and urban policy strategies for competitive cities, European Urban and Regional Studies, 20 (3), pp.343-359, 2012.
Ashgate	Musterd, S., van Gent, W., Residential Location and Housing Moves of Immigrants and Natives in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Context, in: Finney, N., Catney, G. (eds.), Minority Internal Migration in Europe, Ashgate, Surrey, 2012.
	Musterd, S., Project HELP (Higher Educated Local Preferences), Presentation at the start meeting of Urban Regions in the Delta – phase 2 (URD2), The Hague, 2012.
	Musterd, S., Rouwendal, J., Bontje, M., Dekkers, J.E.C., Boterman, W.R., van Gent, W., Rietveld, P., Sleutjes, B., van Duijn, M., Möhlmann, J., HELP – Higher Educated Location Preferences (Locatievoorkeuren van kenniswerkers en gebiedsontwikkeling in de regio’s Amsterdam en Eindhoven), Presentatie voor de Raad van Toezicht van VerDUS, The Hague, 2012. Remarks: This event was cancelled at the last minute, the presentation was already prepared
CREAURBS	Musterd, S., Keynote lecture on Place Making and Policies for Competitive Cities, Seminar Creativity and Knowledge: Basis for a New Urban Competitiveness, CREAURBS Conference, Barcelona, 2012.