Kortenbos' main function is living. In earlier days there were a lot of small companies and some larger companies, for example the Zuid Hollandse Bierbrouwerijen (South Holland Brewery) located on the Noordwal. Typically its population used to consist of some of the poorer inhabitants of the city. Only in the area of the Westeinde (West End Street) to the Prinsegracht (Prince Canal) you would find more exclusive residences. The neighbourhood was partly reorganised in the early 1930s, with a second, more intense reorganisation in the 1970s. A lot of old houses and industrial buildings were demolished and replaced with new buildings, mainly socialised housing. The two 'hofjes' in Kortenbos were tidied up; the monumental 'Hofje van Nieuwkoop' and the 'Hofje van Vredebest'. The renovation was officially finished in 1991, although a new project was started immediately after, involving housing on the former location of the bathhouse on the Torenstraat.