Urban Renewal in Flanders - 2002-2011: A Particular Practice in Europe

Thirty-seven urban renewal projects in 25 Flemish towns and cities are discussed in this book that places them in a historical and European perspective, putting Flemish urban renewal on the European map. Since the end of the last century, a notable amount of urban renewal has gotten under way everywhere in Europe and, after some hesitation, in Flanders. However, urban renewal practices in Flanders differ fundamentally from large-scale European urban projects. The unique context of Flanders, with its almost total urbanization of the land and the fine, fragmented mesh of its urban sprawl, prompted the authorities and towns and cities to take an individual approach to urban renewal projects. These urban centers have been awarded grants by the Flemish authorities over the last 10 years and include large cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Kortrijk, and Leuven, as well as smaller towns such as Deinze, Geel, and Lokeren. Their story is that of a risky and sometimes unmanageable trialogue between designing and building, social emancipation, and administrative innovation. The book addresses urban planners and academics and students of that discipline, policymakers, architects, urban engineers, sociologists, and residents.

Els Vervloesem is an architect and researcher at the KU Leuven and is completing her PhD, studying the complex interaction between urban planning and urban development processes. Bruno de Meulder is a professor at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), where he heads the Urban Planning and Architecture Research Group in the department of architecture, urban planning, and spatial planning. André Loeckx is an engineer-architect and a professor emeritus at the KU Leuven, where he was head of the department of architecture, urban planning, and spatial planning from 2000 to 2008. He is currently the chairman of the jury on urban renewal projects, an initiative of the Flemish government.