The productive economy is invisibly present in the urban fabric of Brussels. It is hidden in warehouses, workshops and all kinds of other industrial spaces. The productive economy has long been an unwanted economy. The urban development projects of the past decades have pushed industry to the outskirts of the city, in favour of new housing and a "clean" service economy. And that while the city benefits from more job opportunities for the low-skilled, and from a more local, sustainable and circular economy. ‘Atelier Brussel: de productieve metropool’ (the productive metropolis) uses the imagination of design research to demonstrate the opportunities productive activities can offer the city, its inhabitants and a changing economy.

Open space is vitally important. We need open space to safeguard our food supply and biodiversity. The open space also provides our urban society with many other services. It mitigates the effects of climate change, has a cooling function, offers buffer capacity for water shortages or excesses and is needed to generate renewable energy. What’s more, the open space affords us moments of calm, silence and experiential aspects that serve as an essential counterweight to hectic urban living. Over the course of the past century, the open space has been under pressure. We are increasingly eroding the open space for additional urbanisation, for living and working, for recreation or infrastructure. Open space has become a scarce commodity. In Flanders, seven hectares (or ten football pitches) of open space disappear every day. Despite the ‘concrete stop’ – or ‘construction shift’ – announced in the Spatial Policy Plan for Flanders, we continue to swiftly devour the open space.  → more

As far as urban renewal is concerned, Kortrijk has long been known as one of the best students in the class. Nevertheless, the city is struggling with a stagnating population growth, while currently houses are steadily being built and open spaces still being taken over. Kortrijk decided to convert the need into a virtue, and opted for a radical upgrade of the existing urban fabric. The urban development of the grandiose - with large-scale infrastructure projects - is no longer central. It is an 'urban development of the everyday', with a lot of attention for the improvement of the daily living and working environment of the Kortrijk residents. Hundreds of residents debated with each other for a year and drew a bold vision for the future of their city.  → more

Citizens who themselves take the initiative to work on their neighbourhood. It seems like a beautiful intention, which unfortunately is rarely realized in practice. Muide Meulestede proves this to be possible! Residents are the driving force behind a broad-based participatory design process in which the future of the neighbourhood is central. They drew up a shared agenda and made concrete action plans for better mobility, affordable housing, local economy and climate. New coalitions of citizens, entrepreneurs, associations and city services continue their endeavours to actually realize these ambitions and actions. → more

The Visionaire Woningbouw Study (Visionary housing production study) is not about exemplary housing projects, which, as an exception, merely confirm the rule. The housing issue in all its complexity is central. What is needed to counter the spatial fragmentation of Flanders? How do we bring collectivity and urbanity back into living? What does living look like in the future? Insights from the study continue to live on, including in initiatives of the Vlaamse Bouwmeester, such as the Pilot Projects Collective Housing or the transformation of well-located allotment neighbourhoods.  → more