InclusiVaart. (Re)defining shared neighbourhood spaces

Cities and dense urban areas are dynamic environments, always adapting to changing circumstances and shocks, such as the recent Covid-19 pandemic. The Canal Bowl (or de Vaartkom in Dutch), a neighbourhood in Leuven, provides an interesting case study, having undergone a drastic transformation in the past two decades from a dilapidated industrial zone to residential quarter and cultural hotspot. This has introduced a demographic shift, which inevitably influences the use of public and private space in the neighbourhood, creating new areas for inclusion and exclusion. Our research focuses on how the use of public space has changed under Covid-19. We employed various methods - such as interviews, site visits, stakeholder and physical mapping exercises - and worked with community members to explore these changes. Our findings highlight the conflicting expectations about the present and future use of public space. These opposing opinions surface the tensions that exist among community members about how shared spaces are used and who is it for. This suggests there are multiple understandings of the Canal Bowl. These multiple understandings were drawn from responses collected during a public engagement activity, which we recognize as having been influenced by temporal and spatial facets – that is, we acknowledge that the selected locations at which we engaged with community members, and the time of day, played a role in who we reached in the community and the responses we collected. This highlights the degree of awareness and participatory effort required to be truly inclusive. We therefore propose that future engagements involve the creation of a ‘Third Sphere’ - a space for open, transparent and neutral dialogue – allowing the opportunity not only to imagine a collective future, but also to build bridges and help community members feel heard and empowered to contribute to the creation of a more inclusive post-Covid-19 environment.

Publication year:2021

Accessibility:Open