‘Vereniging tot Verbetering der Volkshuisvesting’
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Dutch people lived in appalling conditions. During the course of the 19th century, this prompted citizens and workers to establish public housing associations.
In 1912, a committee was formed in Aalten under the leadership of Mayor Monnik to establish an association for the improvement of public housing. The establishment took place the following year.
Celebrations at Volkshuisvesting
In 1981, the Wisselink textile factory on the Dijkstraat moved to the industrial estate. On the vacated site, 120 homes were built, the current Driessenshof. However, before the former weaving mill was demolished, the ”Vereniging tot Verbetering der Volkshuisvesting’ (Association for the Improvement of Public Housing) organised an extensive programme of festivities there for the people of Aalten:
De Woonplaats
In 1995, the associations in Aalten, Groenlo, and Winterswijk, which together owned 6,700 homes, decided to merge under the name De Woonplaats. A few years later, a merger followed with De Volkswoning in Enschede (5,100 homes). Two years later, the head office moved from Groenlo to Enschede. In 2022, De Woonplaats owned almost 17,000 homes, of which approximately 2,300 were in the municipality of Aalten.
