Super(residential) markets

Subtitle:Transformation of supermarket sites into attractive living environments

Whereas in the Flanders Structural Plan for Town and Country Planning it was still assumed that residential areas and residential expansion areas would be further developed, albeit in urban areas and in the centres of the countryside, its successor, the Flanders Spatial Policy Plan, goes a step further by starting from the idea that housing needs can be accommodated within the existing built-up fabric. The expansion story thus becomes a radical story of transformation through reuse, interweaving and compaction. This alternative expansion objective has not yet been tested for feasibility in the field. This article elaborates a proof-of-concept of the concept of spatial yield in terms of meeting future housing needs through interweaving and compaction on supermarket sites. The feasibility has been tested with a few major market players at the supermarkets. The research shows that with limited compaction, the living requirements for the next ten years can be accommodated within existing paved space and that a greening of the neighbourhood can be achieved immediately.

Publication year:2016

Accessibility:Open