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Stadsvernieuwing en utopie in Brussel: van ideaal naar realiseerbaar?
Tijdschriftbijdrage - Tijdschriftartikel
(Only available in English)
The importance of urban projects is central to contemporary urban regeneration and urban visioning/imaging/imagining. Though much of the urban planning in Brussels lacks a profound understanding of the development processes of such an 'urban vision'. A first objective is to focus on this imaging process through the development of an extensive conceptual and analytical framework to qualify and legitimize 'urban projects'. The concepts utopia and heterotopia give an interesting point of view to coin the relationship between the abstract character of the impossible utopia and more pragmatic descriptive elements of a 'good' urban project and a powerful urban vision. This connection can be described by three interesting turning points.
In a first turning point utopia and heterotopia can be connected through a transition between impossibility and possibility. In spaces typified as 'heterotopia' an ideal situation, called utopia, can become reality. Terms like urban freezones, intersticial spaces, non-places, crax are in particular used in this context. Through processes of visioning the development of a 'good' urban project can get more legitimization and a broader support when instruments as designing research and a model called 'three-track' planning (cf. white paper) are put into practice. The relationship between visioning and project realisation can be coined in a third turning point.
This analytical framework is basic for a qualitative case-study analysis of 3 urban projects in the Brussels Region: the Zinneke Parade, a multicultural and social-artistic project, the new international art centre WIELS in the municipality of Vorst and the renovation of the State Administration Centre (Rijksadministratief Centrum). Each project was evaluated on the qualitative characteristics of a 'good' urban project proposed by Boudry et al. (2006), the subject visioning process, their heterotopian characteristics, and on their underlying utopian potential.
The comparison of these cases showed that if an urban project responds to more qualitative criteria of a 'good' urban project, the higher their utopian potential is. One of the most remarkable and challenging conclusions is that concepts like utopia and heterotopia comport strong elements to deploy a sustainable and powerful vision on urban regeneration and urban (renewal) projects in Brussels.
The importance of urban projects is central to contemporary urban regeneration and urban visioning/imaging/imagining. Though much of the urban planning in Brussels lacks a profound understanding of the development processes of such an 'urban vision'. A first objective is to focus on this imaging process through the development of an extensive conceptual and analytical framework to qualify and legitimize 'urban projects'. The concepts utopia and heterotopia give an interesting point of view to coin the relationship between the abstract character of the impossible utopia and more pragmatic descriptive elements of a 'good' urban project and a powerful urban vision. This connection can be described by three interesting turning points.
In a first turning point utopia and heterotopia can be connected through a transition between impossibility and possibility. In spaces typified as 'heterotopia' an ideal situation, called utopia, can become reality. Terms like urban freezones, intersticial spaces, non-places, crax are in particular used in this context. Through processes of visioning the development of a 'good' urban project can get more legitimization and a broader support when instruments as designing research and a model called 'three-track' planning (cf. white paper) are put into practice. The relationship between visioning and project realisation can be coined in a third turning point.
This analytical framework is basic for a qualitative case-study analysis of 3 urban projects in the Brussels Region: the Zinneke Parade, a multicultural and social-artistic project, the new international art centre WIELS in the municipality of Vorst and the renovation of the State Administration Centre (Rijksadministratief Centrum). Each project was evaluated on the qualitative characteristics of a 'good' urban project proposed by Boudry et al. (2006), the subject visioning process, their heterotopian characteristics, and on their underlying utopian potential.
The comparison of these cases showed that if an urban project responds to more qualitative criteria of a 'good' urban project, the higher their utopian potential is. One of the most remarkable and challenging conclusions is that concepts like utopia and heterotopia comport strong elements to deploy a sustainable and powerful vision on urban regeneration and urban (renewal) projects in Brussels.
Tijdschrift: De Aardrijkskunde
ISSN: 0435-382X
Issue: 3-4
Volume: 32
Pagina's: 103-112
Jaar van publicatie:2008
Trefwoorden:stadsproject, Brussel, utopie, heterotopie, visie, stadsvernieuwing