The informal governance of LEGO urbanism: Temporary housing in the Netherlands

Daan Bossuyt; Abigail Friendly; Femke van Noorloos; Miguel van Zevenbergen

doi:10.1177/00420980261427646

The informal governance of LEGO urbanism: Temporary housing in the Netherlands

Daan Bossuyt^*
, Abigail Friendly
, Femke van Noorloos
, Miguel van Zevenbergen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This article interrogates how temporary housing in the Netherlands is shaped by informal governance. It argues such practices enable a new state-led paradigm, termed LEGO urbanism, which transforms housing from place-bound infrastructure into modular, relocatable assets. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of the Dutch flexwonen policy, the study shows how LEGO urbanism is realized through three key mechanisms: trust-based networks, discretionary flexibility, and the public absorption of private risk. By theorizing the link between modularity, temporariness, and informal governance, this work extends theories of urban informality to the Global North. It raises urgent questions about the role of the state in temporary urbanism, modularization within urban development, and the normalization of housing impermanence.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-19
Number of pages	19
Journal	Urban Studies
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980261427646
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 22 Mar 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Urban Studies Journal Limited 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Keywords

flexwonen
informal governance
modular housing
temporary housing
the Netherlands

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10.1177/00420980261427646Licence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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title = "The informal governance of LEGO urbanism: Temporary housing in the Netherlands",

abstract = "This article interrogates how temporary housing in the Netherlands is shaped by informal governance. It argues such practices enable a new state-led paradigm, termed LEGO urbanism, which transforms housing from place-bound infrastructure into modular, relocatable assets. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of the Dutch flexwonen policy, the study shows how LEGO urbanism is realized through three key mechanisms: trust-based networks, discretionary flexibility, and the public absorption of private risk. By theorizing the link between modularity, temporariness, and informal governance, this work extends theories of urban informality to the Global North. It raises urgent questions about the role of the state in temporary urbanism, modularization within urban development, and the normalization of housing impermanence.",

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AU - van Noorloos, Femke

AU - van Zevenbergen, Miguel

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Urban Studies Journal Limited 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

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N2 - This article interrogates how temporary housing in the Netherlands is shaped by informal governance. It argues such practices enable a new state-led paradigm, termed LEGO urbanism, which transforms housing from place-bound infrastructure into modular, relocatable assets. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of the Dutch flexwonen policy, the study shows how LEGO urbanism is realized through three key mechanisms: trust-based networks, discretionary flexibility, and the public absorption of private risk. By theorizing the link between modularity, temporariness, and informal governance, this work extends theories of urban informality to the Global North. It raises urgent questions about the role of the state in temporary urbanism, modularization within urban development, and the normalization of housing impermanence.

AB - This article interrogates how temporary housing in the Netherlands is shaped by informal governance. It argues such practices enable a new state-led paradigm, termed LEGO urbanism, which transforms housing from place-bound infrastructure into modular, relocatable assets. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of the Dutch flexwonen policy, the study shows how LEGO urbanism is realized through three key mechanisms: trust-based networks, discretionary flexibility, and the public absorption of private risk. By theorizing the link between modularity, temporariness, and informal governance, this work extends theories of urban informality to the Global North. It raises urgent questions about the role of the state in temporary urbanism, modularization within urban development, and the normalization of housing impermanence.

KW - flexwonen

KW - informal governance

KW - modular housing

KW - temporary housing

KW - the Netherlands

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DO - 10.1177/00420980261427646

M3 - Article

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SP - 1

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JO - Urban Studies

JF - Urban Studies

ER -

The informal governance of LEGO urbanism: Temporary housing in the Netherlands

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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