Gendered Urbanisms. Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter

Brussels, Belgium

s hu n g r y’ bab yi

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Camille Myriam Hendlisz Master (of Science) Urbanism, Landscape and Planning Faculty of Engineering and Department of Architecture Promoters: Viviana d’Auria, Jeroen Stevens

Academic Year 2021 - 2022

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Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter

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Gendered Urbanisms

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Access and facilitie s arra nger

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Activatin g diff soci ere

© Copyright KU Leuven Without written permission of the thesis supervisors and the authors it is forbidden to reproduce or adapt in any form or by any means any part of this publication. Requests for obtaining the right to reproduce or utilize parts of this publication should be addressed to Faculty of Engineering and Department of Architecture, Kasteelpark Arenberg 1 box 2431, B-3001 Heverlee.

A written permission of the thesis supervisors is also required to use the methods, products, schematics and programs described in this work for industrial or commercial use, and for submitting this publication in scientific contests.

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

Gendered Urbanisms

Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter Brussels, Belgium

Camille Myriam Hendlisz Master (of Science) Urbanism, Landscape and Planning Faculty of Engineering and Department of Architecture Promoters: Viviana d’Auria, Jeroen Stevens

Academic Year 2021 - 2022

Acknowledgments My thanks go to all those who participated in the discussion and, therefore, in elaborating on this thesis. The ideas have evolved with time, and the result has been made possible through sensitive exchanges of perceptions.

I thank my sponsors, Viviana d’Auria and Jeroen Stevens, for their efforts in guiding this thesis and for all the insightful inputs.

Finally, I am grateful for the unconditional support from my four cheerleaders at home and my two studio’s godparents.

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Abstract The Midi Quarter is composed of a constellation of different neighborhoods, located within the impact radius of Brussels South Station’s infrastructure, at the very core of successive migratory waves, translating today into a super-diverse area. The integration of these different communities has been handled differently according to the period and the policies of the two areas.

Gendered Urbanisms aims to study the following questions: Which understandings of the social interactions in these neighborhoods can be drawn using a gender lens-oriented analysis?

How to mobilize design tools to improve gender conviviality?

The Bethléem Square (Saint Gilles) and the Rosée park in Cureghem (Anderlecht) have been studied using ethnographic fieldwork (TESS method). The information about the public spaces, surrounding buildings, and their uses have been confronted with detecting gendered patterns. By identifying convivial momentums already happening in both neighborhoods, the design approach settles new instances of commoning, aiming at softening gender patterns.

The presence representation in the public spaces shows disparities between genders. Females are more likely to be represented through care work, while males are more represented in their leisure time. Combining multiple activities in the same space allows it to host a more extensive variety of uses, and, therefore, a more considerable diversity of people.

This research supports the notion that the use of public spaces in super-diverse neighborhoods shows gendered patterns and impacts access and rights to the city.

Further studies should assess the added value of instances of commoning and their sustainability over time in a continuously changing population.

Keywords: Gender, Urbanism, Super-diversity, Conviviality, Instances of Commoning, Brussels

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1/5

Preface

Acknowledgments Abstract

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Le Quartier Midi. Urban Evolution · Social Movements

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Table of contents

Le Quartier Midi. Gender · Urbanism · Super-Diversity

From swampy areas to fertile ground for newcomers Those who ended up in the middle of the bowling alley Super-diversity through division

Studying Gender, Urbanism, and Super-diversity Designing Gender, Urbanism, and Super-diversity

unfolding gender dynamics

Framing the study around the Bethléem square A diverse built fabric One dot, one person Bethléem - central definition Bethléem - lateral definition Who’s at the lead of Bethléem’s facilities?

Who’s at the lead of Bethléem’s commercial activities?

To take along with the design explorations in Saint-Gilles

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Crossing over Gender, Urbanism, and Super-diversity

Le bas de Saint-Gilles. Place Bethléem

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unfolding gender dynamics

Framing the study around the Rosée Park A densly built fabric One dot, one person Rosée - central definition Rosée - lateral definition Who’s at the lead of Rosée’s facilities?

Who’s at the lead of Rosée’s commercial activities?

To take along with the design explorations in Anderlecht 5

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design explorations

Bethléem’s Instances of Commoning Sensibly positioning the Instances of Commoning around the Bethléem Square Fabric of opportunities Grounded Strategies A Tuesday, 6pm, in Saint-Gilles A Friday, 10pm, in Saint-Gilles A Saturday, 9am, in Saint-Gilles A walk through Bethléem’s Instances of Commoning

Cureghem. Parc de la Rosée

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5/5 design explorations

Rosée’s Instances of Commoning Sensibly positioning the Instances of Commoning around the Rosée Park Fabric of opportunities Grounded Strategies A Tuesday, 6pm, in Anderlecht

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Le Quartier

Midi

Urban evolution · Social Movements

The ‘Quartier Midi’ or ‘Midi Neighborhood’ represents a big area in the South of Brussels, overlapping diverse municipalities arranged around the train South Station, and positioned under the historical pentagon on the Senne river’s old path.

This thesis refers to a mental conception that the Brussels’ inhabitants have of that area, composed of several neighborhoods surrounding the station, located within the impact radius of this infrastructure. It targets two neighborhoods: “le bas de Saint-Gilles” (literal translation, Saint-Gilles’ lower part) and “Cureghem” in Anderlecht.

Figure 1

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From swampy areas to fertile ground for newcomers The South of Brussels was characterized by a marshy area. The development of the first house in this area dates back to the 6-7th century, reflecting the agrarian economy in search of new grounds and techniques to supply the numerous urban food and industrial markets (Charruadas and Deligne 2007). Those wetlands, varying from real marshlands to humid areas, also participated in developing the textile industry, which the city was known for. The rural look of Brussels’ South area remained until the 19th century, when Napoleon ordered the demolition of the ramparts and created boulevards, favoring the suburban development.

The same period is marked by the implementation of the South Station to the local railway system a few after the Belgian independence. The new infrastructural expansion is then considered crucial in economic empowerment after a long period of occupation by France and the Netherlands (Jacquemyns 1936, 132–35). Two first dead-ending stations are constructed in the North (the “Allée-Verte” station) and South-center (“Bogards” station) of the pentagon in the 1830s’. The expansion movement continues with the densification of the Senne Valley, where the South Station is located. However, both riverbanks develop independently (CityTools 2021, 28–29). The two stations will quickly be replaced by the actual North and South station during the major public works for the railway junction. These works have opened the opportunity of having a station in the city core that the parliament decided to bury underground for safety measures (Sacré 2019).

The construction project started at the beginning of the 20th century.

Still, it was suspended several times (mainly because of the two World Wars) during the first half of the century. These interruptions have

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left the surroundings of the infrastructure heart-open for decades, implying the deterioration of the urban tissue and the life quality of the inhabitants (Walravens 2018).

The works’ finalization did not bring the neighbors’ longwished peaceful living for very long. Brussels gained visibility and popularity in the 20th century. It became the European Union’s capital, so an expansion of the South Station was undertaken in 1989 to accommodate the new high-velocity trains’ arrival. That infrastructural development era is followed up by a radical redesign of the district to transform it into an oversized business district.

Real Estate promoters and “starchitects” are flocking to the gates of Brussels’ planning development, but the region authorities took the lead for work sites that remained ongoing for over 20 years.

Around 165 houses are subject to expropriation; the region planned massive destruction of the original urban tissue to transform it into the magistral arrival station neighborhood. These works brought significant discomfort to the inhabitants, living under the threat of being ousted at any moment, living in the dirt and noise nuisance of demolition works for decades. The direct station’s surroundings quickly deteriorated, and many inhabitants decided to move out and close their shops, leaving the neighborhood scattered and deserted (Breës 2008).

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Figure 2

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Analyzing the infrastructure works and how they shaped the neighboring districts helps better understand the population movements and the political dynamics that are still resonating today. Infrastructures bring back to (un)harmonious relations that occurred in the past (Anand 2015); they are continuously “under maintenance” and the direct representation of statal politics related to their economy, revealing the subjacent socio-political systems (Larkin 2015). In a sense, they tell a lot about the future shape and vision of the neighborhood and give good hints on who is welcome to stay and who is required to leave.

Due to their proximity to the Midi Station, the adjacent neighborhoods are transit districts, a point of access to the city for new immigrants who settled there permanently or temporarily while waiting for an improvement in their economic and social conditions (de Caluwé 2013, 14).

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Situated on the right-hand side of the Midi Station, the bas de SaintGilles is marked by a sloping level, reaching the lowest part of the former Senne riverbed. The studied area is right under the junction between the highest and lower parts. The municipality is attached to the historical pentagon by the Porte de Hal (Hal’s Gate), remnants of the medieval organization of Brussels.

The Ferraris map (1777) shows a clear distinction between Obbrusel (former name of Saint-Gilles when it was still an independent village) and the city core; Brussels’ South slightly develops around agriculture small-scaled parcellation of the terrain and few housing units in the landscape, growing around the central axis – still structuring today’s municipality, approximatively following the Alsemberg Road, Waterloo Road, and Forest Road, where taxes were perceived in tolls strategically placed.

The urban tissue inherited today is characteristic of Brussels’ development in the 19th century. Streets are narrow and very structured; housing islands are large and densely built. It results from a mix of houses, shops, and large warehouses. The Bethléem square, the unique urban plaza of the perimeter, is the area’s landmark of centuries of urbanization. The urban opening was already noticeable in archives from the 13th century, framed by the castle farm of Bethléem. That place played an endeavor role in the area’s development.

The municipality knows a significant demographic growth during the industrial era; the city center and its enclosure call could not sustain the whole population, and people started to move out to the surrounding villages and neighborhoods. The bas de SaintGilles gets urbanized first in the 1860s’, and the haut de Saint-Gilles follows slightly after in the 1880-90s’, in a more prosperous way. The

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neighborhood got directly impacted by the railway infrastructural work and the area’s economic development. That period represents the reminiscences of social movements still rhyming with today’s flow in the neighborhood’s streets.

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Cureghem in Anderlecht’s municipality is located on the left-hand side of the station. Diverse water flows initially crossed that area; all were stream branches of the Senne River. The swampy area was subject to current floodings. Water management and moat constructions in the 16th century, located up North close to the medieval enclosure (current boulevard pentagon), have led to the possibility of building on those sites. The current Porte d’Anderlecht (Anderlecht’s gate) was the anchor of urban development, through which the Chaussée de Mons (Mons Road) linearly developed its premises of urbanization.

Later in the 18th century, Anderlecht and its agricultural lands were the perfect places to expand the textile industry. Implementing a canal joining Brussels and the coal industries in southern Belgium, coupled with the railway expansion, made Cureghem a strategic place for the developing industrialization of the 19th-20th century.

Between the industries, the railway and the canal were densely constructed workers’ houses. The described urban situation partially represents the current inherited urban tissue as enterprises have been permanently closed or further in the suburbs, and their structures in Cureghem, for the immense majority, have been deconstructed. That period left a significant part of the population unemployed.

Today’s situation follows the urban industrial layout; we are still discussing a very dense neighborhood. Industries have been transformed into houses, warehouses, and for a specific example, into a parc. The Parc de la Rosée represents one of the few examples where relics of the industrial era are gifted back to the whole community.

It’s a place of encounter, one of the few green openings in the neighborhood.

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Figure 13

Figure 14

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Those who ended up in the middle of the bowling alley Saint-Gilles and Cureghem have always seen migratory waves paving their streets thanks to their position attached to the Midi Station. It started with internal Belgian migrations in the first years of the station’s implementation, followed by more international waves in the following years. It was inscribed in a period of urban and industrial growth. These working-class neighborhoods around the station saw new concentrations of foreign workers from diverse nationalities (Leduc and Vicari 2015, 2). The direct surroundings of the station see many merchants and craft makers settling in shops and studios. Those first years of migration preceding World War I hosted European newcomers, principally coming from France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Moreover, antisemite discrimination encouraged a considerable Jewish community to move out of the Russian empire. The Midineighborhoods hosted substantial migratory waves from eastern European countries in the World War I aftermath, as economic conditions in these countries deteriorated.

These neighborhoods already provide accommodation to much of the Belgian working class and have seen their streets transformed with the agreements between Belgium and other countries to reinforce the labor pool of booming mining companies. These diverse regulation sets facilitated the arrival of workers from Italy, Poland, and North Africa. In-and-out movements described the in-between wars, but tendencies in the 1950s moved back towards the same trends with a more extensive spectrum of nationalities: Spanish, Greeks, Italians, Portuguese, eastern Europeans (Czech, Hungarian and Yugoslavian), and North Africans are working for the Belgian employer class. The

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economic recovery depended on the revival of the coal industry, which was the only source of energy available at the time and the raw material necessary for heavy industry (Panciera and Ducoli 1976, 11).

A significant part of these labor force migratory waves has involved men as women couldn’t access the mining work. In 1947, men represented 99,72% of the foreign workers in the extracting industry, and in a more general sense, men represented 83,62% of the total foreign workers in Belgium. Women found fewer opportunities to get work permits in our countries. Moreover, until the 1960s’, foreign family reunion in Belgium was highly regulated and accepted under stringent (and often unreachable) conditions (Panciera and Ducoli 1976, 17). However, the same years marked economic thriving conditions (compared to the after-war period), and the need for a new labor force remained important. Women got re-introduced into the labor market as a direct answer to that demand (Gedolf 2016, 23). Family migration happened more systematically from the second part of the 20th century, and political migratory waves from Greece, Portugal, Moroccan and Turkish benefited from those regulations.

That period lasted until the economic crisis, when it became very complicated to officially immigrate to Belgium for working purposes (Vivre en Belgique n.d.). Many migrant workers settled over the years in Belgium, and the will for family reunions increased as the possibility faded to returning to their countries. The limitations imposed on labour migration simply forced people to look for alternative migration channels, such as family reunion and political asylum (Gedolf 2016, 26).

Today and since the 1980s’, migratory movements in Europe and, in this case, in Belgium, have exploded at rates. Dirk Gedolf attributes three main reasons to those growing migratory movements; (1) globalization, (2) regional wars, and (3) the fall of the USSR

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empire coupled with the European Union’s regulations on the free movement of labor (Gedolf 2016, 27–28).

On the prism of gender dynamics studies in those neighborhoods, it is essential to understand how those migratory waves have evolved gender-wise. Gender studies in the immigrational context started gaining importance in the 1980s’ with the rise of many feminist movements worldwide. Two tendencies have been noted, migrant women were considered whether passive and following a husband in his work query or having the same behavior as men.

As previously mentioned, the set-up of work permits in the first part of the century did not offer many possibilities for women. The family reunion opens a new door for women; however, finding opportunities in Belgium is complicated (Myria 2016, 8). Indeed, Belgium saw an increase in female migratory movements around 2000-2005, continuing to double the rates in 2015. Women represent today half of the international migrants in Belgium (Myria 2016, 3).

However, this 50% rate does not represent the reality of each migrant community in Belgium and needs to be delayered according to the people’s origins and communities.

Once arrived and settled in Belgium, diplomas are undervalued.

Most women get stuck in the sexual and ethnic division of work, positioning migrant women to work in the care field as domestic workers or caregivers (Schoenmaeckers and Rousset 2018, 8). In 2016, Women represented 73.4% of migrant domestic workers (UN Women 2016). These numbers support the gendered division of work theories – bearing out the difficulty of finding opportunities to the level of instruction or qualification of arriving women.

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Proportion de femmes parmi les immigrations internationales selon la nationalité

Figure 15

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Super-diversity through polarization It is important to note that the arriving communities have not concentrated all in the same parts of the city. As genuinely shown in Karim Douieb’s essay on data visualization exploring Brussels and its people (Douieb n.d.), a transparent community partition is present over the capital. The two studied neighborhoods appear to be the meeting area of diverse communities; however, the same idea of communities’ distribution is applied to a delayered analysis of these neighborhoods’ urban composition.

Figure 16

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Belgians

EU15

North Africans

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

EU-N13

Sub-saharan Africans

Turkish

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Europeans out of EU

South Americans

Other

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

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A significant difference between the two studied neighborhoods is how arriving communities have accommodated their new homes and surroundings. In Saint-Gilles, due to the lack of public investments for infrastructures helping newcomers to settle, the new communities have found an alternative way to integrate Brussels’ population. It is through a sizeable associative tissue, created either by the cooperation of newcomers and Belgians or exclusively by newcomers. That extended associative tissue enabled inhabitants from diverse communities to cohabitate in the area. To a certain extent, the public works in the new economic district, leaving the population integrally aside for decades, strengthened a unity feeling and solidarity movements within the people in its diversity. Although this may be true, it must be noted that a minority of inhabitants, having the economic opportunity to move out of their houses due to the public works, did it as soon as possible, regardless of the social claims left behind.

On the political level, while Saint-Gilles’ authorities never prohibited access to housing to migrant people when statal policies were not in their favor, Cureghem’s instances have banished all newcomers to settle between 1985 and 1995. The described mindset and general feeling of acclimation still stained the relations among the inhabitants today.

Cureghem has been, for a long time, left aside by the public authorities.

The urbanistic changes after the industrial era of the neighborhood took a very long time; the infrastructures stayed in terrible shape for decades. The real problems are the low income of the inhabitants, the discrimination they suffer from landlords who rent them the least comfortable housing, and the lack of interest of the local authorities in developing these areas. In the studied area around the Parc de la Rosée, the municipality owns 40% of the real estate; these structures have not been maintained and are currently in a poor state (de

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Caluwé 2013, 20). The neighborhood was stigmatized as a place for unemployed and immigrants, which aroused little interest from the public authorities. Communal investments were oriented towards repression and control, while the community would have gladly used those investments in the education sector, housing problems, etc.

Cureghem is a known place for diverse altercations with the police, directly addressing repression and discrimination punctuating the social landscape.

The revolt of the young people in Cureghem was mainly directed against police violence. The youth’s aversion to the police - and everything that represents law and order - is important because it is for them the symbol of a society in which they do not feel integrated (de Caluwé 2013, 21).

It is crucial to situate the neighborhood dynamics better and evaluate the changes in the populations and practices. Those analyses are essential when considering the gender dynamics in a specific neighborhood. Behaviors and social interactions are highly connected to cultures, habits, and customs.

In terms of numbers1, even though the masculinity ratio in Brussels is over 96,16% (meaning that there are 4,84% more women), in the bas de Saint-Gilles and Cureghem, those rates are entirely different: 105,11% in Saint-Gilles and 116,25% in Cureghem. The population density is also over Brussels’ rate, 7.440,85 habitant/km2 for the regional average, 14.740,14 habitant/km2 in Cureghem, and 25.596,05 habitant/km2 in Saint-Gilles. There is a clear masculine preponderance in those two neighborhoods. However, merging this rate with the inhabitants’ backgrounds is complicated.

1 · Numbers are issued of the Monitoring des quartiers, official data generated by the state and published online. (IBSA.brussels n.d.)

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Figure 26

18 La Tricoterie

Polyclinique France

Nadia Coiffure M&Z

Helena

Mukundji

Arshid Khan

Pizza 48

Eat Gospel

Inter Milan

2013

Auto-Win

2021

Fabric

Zone 4

A.s.s. Sicula

Diamant Vert

2007

Super-diversity in the bas de Saint-Gilles

19 Ladbrokes

Coif New Style

Alimentation Générale

Toni’s Bakery

Alimentation Generale

Pharmacie De La Sauvenière

MBK

Coif New Style Chez Mustapha

Bet Center

Boulangerie Patisserie Zohor

Cap Tingis

Figure 27

20 Maya Drinks

PTI

Brico Center

Le traiteur Libanais

2013

Sami market

Mons Night Shop

Cafe Relax

Marché Khairat Al Sham

Magasin Ahmad

Supermarche Almadina

2020

Nakch Sami

Melvin

Barbir

Magasin Larkis

Solibex

2009

Super-diversity in Cureghem

21 Marjan Market

Salem market

Produits Alimentaires Razk

Centre Medical MediSud

Depot-Grossiste

Marjan Market

BBC KM 5

Euro Sat

Automobile

Suzanne Hall, a researcher in Urban Studies on diversity, proposed an analysis of the economic tissue of the super-diverse site to decant its particularities (Hall 2021). By referring to Karim Douieb’s mapping of Brussels’ super-diversity, it is interesting to evaluate whether the polarization tendencies also happen on a smaller scale. The same methodology has been applied to the two studied neighborhoods to get a better detailing of the scene, studying signs and shapes over time that could help understand the diversity in both areas.

Depicting the movements of populations in their context, compared to historical factors, tells a lot about how the studied neighborhoods are (inter)acting today. They mark the importance of grounded frames in social movement studies.

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List of figures Figure 1. Hendlisz, Camille. The impact radius of the Midi station on its surrounding neighborhoods. 2022.

Figure 2. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Arturbain. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 3. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Enbonetat. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 4. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Dormir. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 5. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Harmonie. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 6. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Iris. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartier-midi/>.

Figure 7. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Memepasmort. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/ quartier-midi/>.

Figure 8. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Ouloger. 2008. Accessed June

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13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 9. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Region. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 10. Tête, Emmanuel. Quartier midi. Enchantier. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2022. <http://www.emmanueltete.eu/index.php/2019/10/03/quartiermidi/>.

Figure 11. Ferraris, Joseph de. Kabinetskaart [map]. 1777. Scale not given. “Brugiswebapp”. Brussels Geographic Information System. <https:// gis.urban.brussels/brugis/?#/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 12. Vandermaelen, Philippe. Carte de Vandermaelen [map]. 1846.

Scale not given. “Brugiswebapp”. Brussels Geographic Information System. <https://gis.urban.brussels/brugis/?#/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 13. Ferraris, Joseph de. Kabinetskaart [map]. 1777. Scale not given. “Brugiswebapp”. Brussels Geographic Information System. <https:// gis.urban.brussels/brugis/?#/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 14. Vandermaelen, Philippe. Carte de Vandermaelen [map]. 1846.

Scale not given. “Brugiswebapp”. Brussels Geographic Information system. <https://gis.urban.brussels/brugis/?#/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 15. Myria, Centre Fédéral Migration, 2016 ”La migration a-t-elle un genre ? ” Myriatics 6.

Figure 16. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 17. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 18. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 19. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 20. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale

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undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 21. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 22. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. <https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/> (13 june 2022).

Figure 23. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/ (13 june 2022).

Figure 24. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/ (13 june 2022).

Figure 25. Douieb, Karim. Brussels A lovely Melting-pot [map]. 2019. Scale undertermined ; generated by Brussels-diversity jetpack. https://brusselsdiversity.jetpack.ai/ (13 june 2022) Figure 26. Hendlisz, Camille. Super-diversity in the bas de Saint-Gilles. 2022.

Figure 27. Hendlisz, Camille. Super-diversity in Cureghem. 2022.

Figure 28. Declercq, Jacques. Négatif monochrome. Façades principales à front de rue. 1981. Accessed June 13, 2022. < http://balat.kikirpa.be/photo. php?path=M168021&objnr=11010140&lang=en-EN&nr=1>.

Figure 29. Hendlisz, Camille. Le bas de Saint-Gilles. 2022.

Figure 30. Valkenberg, Christine. Négatif monochrome. Façades principales à front de rue. 1982. Accessed June 13, 2022. < http://balat.kikirpa.be/photo. php?path=M171247&objnr=11010658&lang=en-EN&nr=1>.

Figure 31. Hendlisz, Camille. Le bas de Saint-Gilles. 2022.

Figure 32. Belfius postcards. Chaussée de Mons. 1920 Figure 33. Hendlisz, Camille. Parc de la Rosée. 2022.

29

Camille Hendlisz Gendered Urbanisms. Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter · 2022

2/5

GROUND 0

Le Quartier

Midi

Gender · Urbanism · Super-Diversity

The city is the realm of sharing, of living together. However, sharing also rhymes with dividing, and it is essential to consider the matter of access and plural uses in future planning and designs while intersecting diverse communities, whether homogeneous or heterogeneous.

This fascicle has the intention to review general theories, setting the frame for the study. It will discuss matters of intersections, in subjects and methodologies, over the topic of Urbanism, Gender, and Superdiversity.

1

Crossing over Gender, Urbanism and Super-diversity The issue of gender in the public realm has become a hot topic in Brussels since 2000. Over the last 20 years, numerous theories and approaches have been tried to unfold the topic. Feminist knowledge is a built result of academic research, among others. Taking part in the movement can be carried out through different scales – field analysis and actions, in-depth studies, giving a speech in a social circle, standing as an influencer activist, etc. The bridge between the popular knowledge on gender access and rights to the city is not always fed by those in-depth studies, most probably due to a lack of coordination, vulgarization, and democratization of the vast spectrum that gender studies bring to cities.

When it comes to the popular knowledge of the intersection of gender and space, the following topics are being discussed: the insecurity feeling, the inadequacy of city infrastructures to carry the Care Work, the domestication of women, the representation of women in the public space, and ultimately, the idea that the city is designed by and for men. It is important to understand that these non-exhaustive ground base subjects are fundamental to understand some of the gender inequalities in the cities. This thesis attempts to integrate these findings into a designed approach to the city.

Discussing the insecurity of women in the city is delicate. Garance, an association in Brussels, advocating for the inclusion of gendersensitive design precautions in the urban renewal and future, also noted that the insecurity feeling is subjective. It corresponds to a vague fear that a sudden and adverse event may occur in the public space1 (Garance 2017, 6). It is not always justified by actual risks but is mainly linked to these women’s past experiences (lived or tolled).

1 · Translated by the author

2

One’s safety is also linked to other social problems that can accentuate a negative feeling about a situation. We need to consider the issue of sexism hand in hand with xenophobia, racism, validism, etc. (van den Steen, van den Bogaerde, and de Bie 2009). A city – its dangers, thrills, culture, attraction, and more – resides in the imagination as well as in its material form (Kern 2019, 11). The subjective ingredient is crucial in the equation, an action taken to prevail someone’s safety will not automatically answer someone else’s fears. However, based on several intersections of studies, researchers and field workers seem to agree on some basic measures that should be included in the inherent design of each public space (in the same way as minimum standards are included today).

An overview of these measures would be: always knowing where we are in the public space, good transparency and visibility, adequate lighting, the ability to hear and be heard, finding help quickly, the cleanliness of the public area, the accessibility to public toilets (Chaumont and Zeilinger 2012, 10–11; Klimmer-Pölleritzer et al.

2013, 55–67).

3

Carrying out the care work in the city is closely linked to the idea of women’s domestication. Decades ago, a nuclear household in our societies was determined by the father as the income producer and the mother as the housewife; however, this composition has primarily changed in the afterwar (the 50s’) and represents nowadays only a minority of family units (Kern 2019, 33). The domestication idea refers to centuries of androcentric societies, reflecting today’s definition of women’s role and place in the city. Going back to ancient Athens, “the foundations of democracy,” the woman is eternally minor (Saeger 2018), leaving the father’s house for the husband’s house, where the mobility idea is being restrained by the male authority (Zanas 2021). The woman is assigned at home, and the man holds public functions (Kuhlmann 2013).

The Care Work is commonly considered a “sub-category” work that can or needs to be compiled with a “real” – economic work. It refers to all duties that need to be done at home; taking care of the children, taking care of the house cleaning, taking care of everyone’s schedule, taking care of the groceries shopping, taking care of the cooking, taking care of family’s elderly disabled, etc.

The transition enabling women to access “economic” positions will diverge depending on the social system availability and the nature of the welfare state. However, it has been shown that when the state fails to sustain a tangible and accessible plan for developing families in the cities, people accommodate themselves through diverse means; employ caregivers working at home, rely on communitarian neighborhood-scale systems, and eventually find activities for the children while the parents are at work. Neoliberal societies, with the quest to find help for chores and home management, have turned to the employment of people from other countries where opportunities are lacking, and work conditions have different standards.

4

While professional/managerial and service positions have opened up for women in wealthier countries, those in “emerging economies” have been restricted to low-paying or rapidly disappearing agricultural and industrial work, pushing many, regardless of their educational levels and professional training, to seek service-sector jobs in wealthier parts of the country and abroad. Increasingly, this latter group has found employment as domestic workers and caregivers in rapidly growing cities and rich countries, where the rise in local or native-born mothers’ entry into the labor force, coupled with aging populations, limited welfare-state support, and the low market valuation of care work, has created a growing demand for non-family caregivers (Michel and Peng 2017, 3–4). This concept highlights the plurality of women involved in the care field. It is essential to remember that studies on women are unequal; women do not form a homogeneous group.

Talking about inequality resonates with every minority subject to discrimination. Suppose women are a targeted group for theories of social inclusion. In that case, it must be kept in mind that people from ethnic backgrounds are still strongly over-represented in socially vulnerable positions (Gedolf 2016). As Mette Louise Berg and Nando Sigona point out, ‘diversity’ holds the potential to do what ‘intersectionality’ has done within feminist scholarship, that is, conceptualising the interrelationships between gender, class, ‘race’ and other social divisions (Berg and Sigona 2015, 2; Yuval-Davis 2006).

On the other hand, gender representation offers a view of who accesses and honors the city. Crossing multiple scales, the representation can be seen as the entry sign of the public space.

Many feminist theories denounce the over-representation of male names, honored by streets named after them, statutes disposed all over the city, celebrating great men of the past centuries (cf. ‘Aux grands hommes la patrie reconnaissante’. Literal translation ‘To great men the grateful nation’, Pantheon motto in Paris). Although it may

5

seem anodyne to name a street, an accumulation of disparity in this regard is effectively representative of a dynamic that is empowering for one, exclusionary for another, and absent for a last. Since 2019, a movement of feminine reclamation of the streets has started in France, known under the name Les Colleuses (the gluers). Those collages are used as a pedological tool by marking the public realm with their complaints and denunciations of social matters in society.

Still, they are also a way to empower women and their presence in the public space (Houpert 2021).

Representation also refers to opportunities in the urban realm.

Leisure time, sports, and activities have a gendered connotation, reflecting years of non-mixed activities, relegating girls and women to more quiet, discrete, and interior occupations, while boys and men would have access to the outdoor loud urban life. Although there has been a clear evolution in recent years in the cross-over of gender norms within specific communities, these norms remain fixed in people’s unconscious, and that interchangeability remains exceptions (e.g., popular movies representing those exceptions; Bend it like Beckham (Chadha 2002), Billy Elliot (Daldry 2000)). Studies have shown that teenage females tend to abandon their sports memberships and other access to urban leisure devices after puberty. However, over 75% of the European budget for those leisure facilities benefits young males in most cases (Bacou 2004). Public infrastructures can have gender bias and sustain inequalities in accessing the public space; in a sense, they represent the concept of a room of one’s own described by Virginia Woolf (Woolf 1959).

Regarding position and political representation, the European Union has deployed different means to address gender inequalities in its member countries. On the legal side, the law of gender mainstreaming is an approach aiming to include gender dimensions

6

in the definition and implementation of public policies to reinforce egalitarian conditions. That same law integrates the obligation of gender budgeting, inducing all budget preparation to include gender notes.

The city of Vienna did significant work democratizing ground principles and facilitating security for its inhabitants based on the gender lens. Eva Kail, working in the Competence Centre Overall Urban Planning, Smart City Strategy, Participation, Gender Planning of Vienna, simplified these concepts: the inclusion of care work, the management of green spaces, a balanced density, a sustainable mobility pattern, the avoidance of heat island in the public space, comfortable conditions for the pedestrians, good visibility and the tidiness of the public space (Kail 2022).

Vienna’s manual for Gender Mainstreaming in Urban Planning and Urban Development adds to this list to preconize these entries: Strengthening a polycentric urban structure […], A city of short distances […], High-quality public space […], Promotion of environmentally friendly means of transport […], A safe city […], A barrier-free city […], planning and construction geared to the requirements of daily life […]

(Klimmer-Pölleritzer et al. 2013, 19–29).

7

Studying Gender, Urbanism and Super-diversity Ethnography, a cultural description of a place, is a way to uncover the cultural rules, beliefs, feelings and practices that make up public life. It complements quantitative survey and demographic methods by adding people’s experience of place (Low, Simpson, and Scheld 2019, 3).

Feminist in-field studies methodologies have offered a criticism of the tools used in classic ethnographic studies, exposing the need for a situated and re-situated perspective (Siddiqi 2018) and the indispensable work of destabilizing historiographical presumptions of and desires for fixity (Siddiqi 2018).

Over the multitude of possibilities that ethnographic methodologies can offer, the TESS method, Toolkit for the Ethnographic Study of Space (Low, Simpson, and Scheld 2019) has been chosen to follow and weave around. Combining several tools (photography, mapping, observations, …) spans the findings and offers a most diverse analysis.

The TESS method gives a structure to undertake those studies, giving importance to the personal reflections of the researcher; mapped behaviors, movements, and actions of people on-site; the inclusion of possible interviews; and a bridge with the history of the studied place.

Joining behaviors and interactions of people with a specific space and a historical overview enables the grounded perspective recommended by the aforementioned feminist critiques. More importantly, it allows a better understanding of all practices on-site, in every context, whether Super-Diverse or not.

As previously mentioned, the TESS method emphasizes the position of the researcher and its methodology. That questioning is essential in studying Super-Diverse neighborhoods – and in a more general sense, when reviewing a non-familiar place. As Mohanty points out, there

8

is no such generalization as saying that women form an equal group.

We are all sisters in struggle (Mohanty 1988, 65) does not represent an accurate picture of female cityscape relations. Sisterhood cannot be assumed on the basis of gender; it must be forged in concrete historical and political praxis (Mohanty 1988, 67).

The researcher should put aside all preconceptions, avoiding confirmation bias in the research development, by first identifying and deconstructing the thinking and approach to the site, writing down the thoughts, ideas, observations, and then in a second stage, separating fieldnotes’ empirical data (objective data) from the feelings and positions (subjective data).

The researcher should not be excluded from the study as its on-site presence could generate a vast spectrum of behavioral responses.

No study tool could ultimately be impact-less, and it is only by an interrelatedness understanding of its influence ray (Boisvert 2010) that any kind of accurate and fair analysis can be taken out of the study.

By questioning the approach to their study, many researchers turned to combine convivial tools in Urban Multiculture (Berg and Nowicka 2019).

Conviviality refers to Ivan Illich’s theories (Illich 1973), criticizing neoliberal hierarchies of urban development in the post-industrial era. These discussions of convivial tools in research are attempting to answer the long-probed question ‘How can we live together?’.

Conviviality as a normative idea relies on the recognition of differences, equal participation, social justice and respect for autonomous individuals. It calls for solidarity between generations and ethnic groups, and for a joint effort in regard to sustainable development. It introduces the idea of convivial settings that facilitate interaction and

9

exchange for the mutual benefit of those involved, who come together to envision a better future for all. Conviviality is thus concerned with how ‘being together’ can be successful for all parties involved (Nowicka 2019, 21).

Conducting convivial research induces diverse methodologies on site. It frames a way to gauge social setups and synergies. It finds, for instance, a significant meaning in interviewing conductions by trying to stir up boundaries, whether sociocultural, religious, ethnic or racial in nature (Nowicka 2019, 24; Phoenix 1994; Ryan and Golden 2006).

It also highlights the participatory aspect of the research, whether having the scholar interviewing and leading its agenda for a place, group decisions made by the participants lead the research on their problematics and interests. We should consider knowledge produced in research encounters as co-constitutive, emerging in relation to each other in the process of negotiation between the participants’ and researcher’s identities and positions (Nowicka 2019, 27; Rose 1997, 315). That process enables the identification of parameters without discharging the researcher’s vision on the participants (O’Neill, Giaquinto, and Hasedzic 2019, 100).

10

Designing Gender, Urbanism and Super-diversity Convivial methodologies in research are what the commons are to urbanism. The urban commons give the framework for sharing time (Petrescu 2017) and activisms. Silvia Federici dates its rise to the convergence of diverse battles, anarchists, Marxists, socialists, ecologists, and eco-feminists (Federici 2016). The commons provide space for conviviality and togetherness.

Conviviality is manifested in a broad range of daily activities in private and public spheres – cooking and eating, child rearing, dressing up, quarrelling, celebrating – each of which can become a site of boundarymaking around ethnic, religious or racial categories. Focusing on conviviality, we can thus investigate when, why and how people activate these categories as demarcation lines or alternatively unsettle them in order to bridge social and cultural boundaries (Nowicka 2019, 17).

By giving place to those convivial momentums, we’re opening the scene for the meeting point of communities and their social ecologies.

Doina Petrescu, through the experience of recommoning practices, stated that these places absorbing relations and their interrelatedness have a lot to benefit from a so-called “feminine subjectivity” that finds an area of creativity and innovation (Petrescu 2017, 101).

The convivial methods enable, as in the research process, to find trust relations inherent in the project, therefore encouraging a more extensive spectrum of communities to get involved in the process of decision-making by inventing new forms of property and shared living that are more ethical and more ecological (Petrescu 2017, 102).

There is also an interesting link to make with Eric Klinenberg’s work on the concept of Social Infrastructures. Social Infrastructures are the physical spaces and organizations that shape the way people interact (Klinenberg 2019). According to him, those places, usually

11

set up in dense urban contexts, are a fundamental tool to flatten city inequalities.

As previously explained, institutional activities and public works are essential signs of how communities are considered. Limitations and classification rule the inhabitants perceive are the hotbeds of ground disparities. In other words, the representation of social microecologies of uses (Goffman 1979) reflects broader organizations within the city. While space will define and influence social life, the communities, their habits, and customs will be inscribed in the spatial organization of the public space.

In summary, super-diverse neighborhoods, where gender disparities are added to other forms of discrimination, would benefit from convivial grounded methods and approaches to urban design and planning. It is probably the price to pay for enabling these neighborhoods’ development in the sphere of sensitive, cyclical, and authentic places.

12

Bibliography Bacou, Magali. 2004. “La Mixité Sexuée Dans L’animation.” Agora Débats-Jeunesses 1 (36): 68–74.

Berg, Mette Louise, and Magdalena Nowicka. 2019. Studying Diversity, Migration and Urban Multiculture: Convivial Tools for Research and Practice. London: UCL Press.

Berg, Mette Louise, and Nando Sigona. 2015. “Ethnography, Diversity and Urban Space.” In Ethnography, Diversity and Urban Space, edited by Mette Louise Berg, Ben Gidley, and Nando Sigona, Routledge, 1–13. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.

Boisvert, Raymond D. 2010. “Convivialism: A Philosophical Manifesto.” The Pluralist 5 (2): 57–68.

Chadha, Gurinder. 2002. Bend It like Beckham. United Kingdom: Helkon SK. Chaumont, Laura, and Irene Zeilinger. 2012. “Espace Public, Genre et Sentiment d’insécurité.” Brussels.

Daldry, Stephen. 2000. Billy Elliot. United Kingdom: Working Title Films, BBC Films, Tiger Aspect Productions.

Federici, Silvia. 2016. “Feminism and the Politics of the Commons.”

In FORMER WEST: Art and the Contemporary After 1989, edited

by Maria Hlavajova and Simon Sheikh, 379–90. Cambridge: MIT Press.

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Garance. 2017. “Femmes Au Parc ! Améliorer l’accès Des Femmes Aux Espaces Verts.” Brussels.

Gedolf, Dirk. 2016. Superdiversity in the Hearth of Euope. Edited by Uitgeverij Acco. Leuven.

Goffman, Erving. 1979. Gender Advertisements. London: Macmillan.

Houpert, Cécile. 2021. “‘The Street Is Ours’ : Feminine Urban Reclamation. How Is the Colleureuses Movement Representing an Unprecedented Strategy for Women to Claim the Right to the City? .” MONU Magazine on Urbanism, no. 34 (October): 102–7.

Illich, Ivan. 1973. Tools for Conviviality. New York: Harper & Row. Kail, Eva. 2022. “Gender Responsive Neighborhoods.” April 19.

Kern, Leslie. 2019. Feminist City. Toronto: Verso 2020.

Klimmer-Pölleritzer, Astrid, Andreas Nuss, Elisabeth Irschik, Eva Kail, Gregor Puscher, Manfred Schönfeld, and Angelika Winklet.

2013. “Gender Mainstreaming in Urban Planning and Urban Development.” Vienna.

Klinenberg, Eric. 2019. “Palaces for the People | Eric Klinenberg | Talks at Google.”

Kuhlmann, Dörte. 2013. Gender Studies in Architecture. Space, Power and Difference. Oxon: Routledge.

Low, Setha, Troy Simpson, and Suzanne Scheld. 2019. “Toolkit for the Ethnographic Study of Space.” New York.

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Michel, Sonya, and Ito Peng. 2017. Gender, Migration, and the Work of Care. A Multi-Scalar Approach to the Pacific Rim. Palgrave Macmillan. Cham: Springer Nature.

Mohanty, Chandra. 1988. “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.” Feminist Review, no. 30: 61–88.

Nowicka, Magdalena. 2019. “Convivial Research between Normativity and Analytical Innovation.” In Studying Diversity, Migration and Urban Multiculture. Convivial Tools for Research and Practice, edited by Mette Louise Berg and Magdalena Nowicka, 17–35. London: UCL press.

O’Neill, Maggie, Bea Giaquinto, and Fahira Hasedzic. 2019.

“Migration, Memory and Place: Arts and Walking as Convivial Methodologies in Participatory Research – A Visual Essay.” In Studying Diversity, Migration and Urban Multiculture: Convivial Tools for Resarch and Practice, edited by Mette Louise Berg and Magdalena Nowicka. London: UCL Press.

Petrescu, Doina. 2017. “Being-in-Relation and Reinventing the Commons.” In Feminist Futures of Spatial Practices: Materialisms, Activisms, Dialogues, Pedagogies, Projections, edited by Meike Schalk, Thérèse Kristiansson, and Ramia Mazé. Baunach: AADR. Phoenix, Ann. 1994. “Practising Feminist Research: The Intersections of Gender and ‘Race’ in the Research Process.” In Researching Women’s Lives from a Feminist Perspective, edited by Marie Maynard and June Purvis, 49–71. London: Taylor & Francis.

Rose, Gillian. 1997. “Situating Knowledges: Positionality, Reflexivities and Other Tactics.” Progress in Human Geography 21

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(3): 305–20.

Ryan, Louise, and Ann Golden. 2006. “‘Tick the Box Please’: A Reflexive Approach to Doing Quan- Titative Social Research.”

Sociology 40 (6): 1191–1200.

Saeger, Joni. 2018. The Women’s Atlas. Oxford: Myriad Editions.

Siddiqi, Anooradha Iyer. 2018. “Writing With: Togethering, Difference, and Feminist Architectural Histories of Migration.”

E-Flux Architecture. July 2018.

Steen, Isabelle van den, Ellen van den Bogaerde, and Annelies de Bie. 2009. “MONITEUR DE SÉCURITÉ 2009 Analyse de l’enquête Pour La Région de Bruxelles-Capitale .” Bruxelles.

Woolf, Virginia. 1959. A Room of One’s Own. 13th impr. London: Hogarth.

Yuval-Davis, Nira. 2006. “Intersectionality and Feminist Politics.”

European Journal of Women’s Studies, no. 13: 193–209.

Zanas, Iman. 2021. “Entre Ville et Habitat : Une Odysée de La Subordination Féminine.” Master Thesis, Université Libre de Bruxelles.v

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Camille Hendlisz Gendered Urbanisms. Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter · 2022

3/5

GROUND +1

Le bas de Saint-Gilles

Place Bethléem

unfolding gender dynamics

Disclaimer This booklet proposes a methodology repeated in the study of the neighborhood around the Rosée Park.

In this section, I have decided to focus more on the research methodologies and understandings of the Bethléem site.

In contrast, the second site covers more of a comparison of the understandings of the two sites. The two booklets can be read in parallel or independently.

All photographs and drawings are, unless mentioned, taken or drawn by the author.

Framing the study around the Bethléem Square The studied site is one of the only urban openings in the area - it has been chosen amongst others to cover encounters studies of people’s movements.

The Bethléem Square is the area’s core, and several functions come together around the plaza. The square is the ending point of diverse residential and retail streets and represents a grey enclave in Saint-Gilles’ municipality. It is surrounded by some landmark points in the South of Brussels, namely the Midi Station, Avenue du Roi, Square Jacques Franck, Porte de Hal, and the Parvis de Saint-Gilles.

Midi Station

Parvis de Saint-Gilles

Bethléem Square

Image Source: BruCiel

Avenue du Roi

Porte de Hal

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1

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These nine overlapping categories represent the inhabitants’ rhythm of activities and customs in their neighborhood.

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To understand the gendered patterns of uses and movements around the plaza, I decided to first proceed with a delayering of the urban tissue, its facilities, and commercial activities.

These are, in my opinion, the main places people would go and could be studied for the research’s sake.

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This mapping results from several fieldwork sessions undertaken at different moments of the year and the day. It attempts to give a general view of the gendered figure of the area.

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With the will to map the movements and uses of the inhabitants and district’s visitors, I was inspired by a method set up by Setha Low on ethnographic studies. The TESS method, described in the previous booklet ‘Ground 0’, emphasizes the analysis of patterns of uses and behaviors in a precise place; a plaza, a street, a park, a shop, etc.

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Déth

y

To better understand the gendered plan of uses and movement along with the site, several study entries are possible: on one side, viewing the uses in the physical layout of the area, and on the other side, looking at it through the activity lens.

The double-entry table assesses the presence of people in the urban layout through its central definition.

Urbanistically extroverted

Bethléem - central definition

The central definition assembles the urban openings to which several places converge. On-site, I noted three of them: a roundabout, an open street corner, and a plaza.

Urbanistically introverted

The Bethléem Square, economically activated and at the most extroverted position of the site, gathers the most people. The users’ presence will decrease in more introverted places.

While men and women meet in the extroverted part, women’s presence will also diminish the more we visit introverted places and will more likely be represented by movement.

Rue de P rague

The extroversion and introversion components reflect these places’ interrelatedness- whether connected to busy streets and areas or embedded in a more residential and quieter environment.

e Ru

Residential

10

ne on

isb

L de

Ru eT

hé

od

Ve rh

ae

gen

Ch

au .

de

Fo

res

t

ore

Economically activated

11

Bethléem - lateral definition The urban lateral definition of space represents the longitudinal elements of the urban tissue - in this site, they are exclusively represented by streets.

Their interrelatedness will again represent their position in the introversion-extroversion spectrum. A busy street joining a central element will be considered extroverted, while residential streets joining each other, far from the animated tissue, are considered introverted.

The idea of classifying them through their materiality attempts to depict a more diverse vision of the site’s urban system. On the lateral definition, trees and green areas are more likely to be placed in introverted streets - except for Rue Théodore Verhaegen.

On the presence vision, it is difficult to detail a pattern of use as fewer people are passing by those places, by nature more introverted than the one of central definition.

The urbanistically extroverted positions host quieter activities and are favorable for services (getting help from someone else), health-related establishments, and social services.

12

13

Who’s at the lead of Bethléem’s facilities?

The various facilities offer different activities and services and hold a gendered dimension of the work produced within their organization.

As previously mentioned, the tissue is quite diverse and suggests a spread offer - there are two schools, several medical houses, a supermarket, three laundromats, and five social aid units.

Solidarité grand fr

It is important to note that these data have been gathered through three biases: the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises, the facilities’ official website, and fieldwork. The Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises is the official statal database collecting all legally arranged 5 entities: businesses, non-profit assoSolidarité grand froid ciations, etc. Data are listed through the organization’s name and address.

9

Rif Market

6

Wasserette 6

Policlinique de France 5

Solidarité grand froid 8

3

Centre Médical Bethléem

Pharmacie De La Sauvenière

En 4

11

École les 4 saisons

2

8

Dentaconfort

Centre Médical Bethléem

12

Asbl Trapèze 3

10

Séchoirs Calendre

1

Interestingly, the gender distribution4 École les 4 saisons in these facilities is similar on both studied sites. There is no evident gender distinction (Banque-Carrefour 2 Asbl Trapèze des Entreprises n.d.) except in the education field, where women are over-represented.

rmacie macie De La Sauvenière

2

Asbl Trapèze Wasserette

Formation Insertion Jeunes

1

Policlinique de France

7

Ensemble Pour 1060 !

18

Sint-Gillisschool 3

Pharmacie De La Sauvenière

7

20

Ensemble Pour 1060 !

Resto du Cœur de St Gilles

17

Mariya One

18

Sint-Gillisschool

16

Polyclinique Clémenceau

19

0

CPAS Saint-Gilles

100

14

Centre Familial Belgo-Immigré 17

Female

Mariya One

15

18

Sint-Gillisschool

Male

Polyclinique Verhaegen 16

Polyclinique Clémenceau

13

Crèche Jourdan

Centre Familia

20

Resto du Cœur de St Gilles

17

15

Mariya One 19

CPAS Saint-Gilles

14

Polyclinique Verhaegen

9

Rif Market

6

Wasserette

5

10

roid

Séchoirs Calendre

4

8

École les 4 saisons

Centre Médical Bethléem

11

Dentaconfort

12

Formation Insertion Jeunes

7

nsemble Pour 1060 !

16

Health 14

Facilities

Centre Familial Belgo-Immigré Health

Education

Education

Social Necessity

Health

Education

Social Necessity

Leisure/Gathering Crèche Jourdan

Health

Education

Social Necessity

Maintenance/Food Access Leisure/GatheringMaintenance

Education

Social Necessity

Facilities

Health

15

Health

Facilities

Polyclinique Verhaegen

Facilities

Education

Social

Leisure

13

Food access

Shops

Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Social Necessity Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Services Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access 15 Goods selling Catering industry Services

ps

Facilities

Polyclinique Clémenceau

This scheme represents the merging of different data: (1) the double-entry chart positioning the facilities in a context of introversion and extroversion, (2) the people in charge of these organizations, and (3) the people visiting the organizations.

The diagram represents how the facilities offered are laid out in the city, enabling to understand that some of them benefit from a more urbanistically extroverted position, and some the contrary. Statal facilities are, in a general sense, situated in central-definition areas. On the other hand, social aid centers hold by private entities seem to find a better place in residential and secondary streets.

Urbanistically extroverted

Repositioning facilities

19

CPAS Saint-Gilles

2

Asbl Trapèze

14

Centre Familial Belgo-Immigré

Buildings are also classified in an architectural introverted/extroverted range, characterized by different components: the inside activity is leaking onto the public space, the architectural features of the façades (transparent windows, open doors, etc.).

Urbanistically introverted

The limitation of this comparison is that it is difficult to meet many people visiting those facilities as, in a general sense, their activity is generally happening inside of the building.

Polycliniqu

18

Sint-Gillisschool 13

Crèche Jourdan

12

Formation Insertion Jeunes

Introverted building

16

7

Ensemble Pour 1060 !

4

École les 4 saisons

9

Rif Market

1

16

Policlinique de France

ue Clémenceau

15

8

Polyclinique Verhaegen

Centre Médical Bethléem

3

Pharmacie De La Sauvenière

17

Mariya One

20

Resto du Cœur de St Gilles

6

Wasserette

5

Solidarité grand froid

11

10

Dentaconfort

Séchoirs Calendre

Extroverted building

17

This analysis classifies the information not by the urban position of the buildings but by their economic aspect, with the idea of understanding the pattern of presence according to the monetary expenses.

Non-profit

Repositioning facilities

12

Formation Insertion Jeunes

19

CPAS Saint-Gilles

14

Centre Familial Belgo-Immigré

There is a clear distinction between presence quantification when it comes to a profit building. Non-profit buildings, as currently defined, require more closed-in spaces: schools, medical houses, etc.

Through this study, I realized that more extensive research over time would be needed to allow a single researcher to gather all the information necessary for an in-depth analysis of the facility’s tissue. The facilities all require ethnographic fieldwork at different moments of the day and the week. Schools would benefit from ethnographic work either early in the morning or the middle of the afternoon. Social aid centers all have different agendas. This is the main reason there is more presence noted in the profit buildings, as their activity would more likely run throughout the day.

18

Sint-Gillisschool

13

Profit

Crèche Jourdan

Introverted building

18

2

Asbl Trapèze

20

Resto du Cœur de St Gilles 5

Solidarité grand froid

4

École les 4 saisons 7

Ensemble Pour 1060 !

1

Policlinique de France 15

8

16

Polyclinique Verhaegen

Centre Médical Bethléem

Polyclinique Clémenceau

11

Dentaconfort 3

Pharmacie De La Sauvenière 6

Wasserette

17

Mariya One 9

Rif Market 10

Séchoirs Calendre

Extroverted building

19

Who’s at the lead of Bethléem’s commercial activities?

48

49

Merceraria Bar

Kozanh 50

The same method described above is applied to the analysis of the businesses in the area.

Garage International A.G.A

In the study of this site, the stores are mainly concentrated around Bethlehem Square and the two shopping streets; Rue Théodore Verhaegen and Chaussée de Forest. Stores are often placed in the most visible locations, street corners, and urban visual openings.

51

Diamant Vert 52

47

Auto-Win

Coiffure Royale 53

48

Pizza 48

49

Merceraria Bar

Kozanh

Omnitec 37

The offer is diversified, but mainly50 cafes and restaurants are gatheredGarage International A.G.A around the square. A place holds particular attention by its singularity; La Tricoterie (translation of knitting 51 Vert mill). This establishment, Diamant a former factory converted into a place for 52 47 Auto-Win events, opened in 2013 and has since Coiffure Royale offered a wide variety of events, with 53 Pizza 48 the idea of “making connections” (the institution’s motto). They offer free and paid activities every week.

54

35

54

Eat Gospel

56

27

25

55

Café Régua

Najem Telecom

22

Bylis Café 21

Café Bethléem

57

Fribel

34

58L’Artisan 24 Boulangerie 33 Mbk Balux CaféTurbohouse 4x4 Car Rental Coiffure 23

46

59

Brico Berchem

32 Toni’s Bakery

La Grillade chez N

60

Snack Al Jazeera

55

61

69

Bar Blue Corne

58

Mbk Turbohouse

Theodo

62

60

Snack Al Jazeera

61

Ladbrokes 68

Telecom

Vollaierie 48 Royale Merceraria Bar

49

Kozanh

41

43

67

Alimentation Générale

Bar Au vieu

Alimentation Générale

42

Alimentation Générale

44

Alimentation Générale

Omnite

69

Coif New Style 64

Boucherie Aharchi Ali

Pizzeria da Giovanni

37

71

JV Barbershop

70

Theodore Meuble

7

52

25 72Café Régua Gaeage Garage Tasso22

64

65Vert Pizzeria da Giovanni Diamant Boucherie Aharchi Ali Female

Male

Bylis Café

21

47

66

Coiffure Royale

Café Nino

35B Sna San

Boucherie Tanger

66

Café Nino

Auto-Win

29

Posto Al Sol

Mykonos Royale Grec Grill

Pasta 59 Toni’s Bakery Soultana 45

65

A G

28

Fribel

51

6

Telecom

Coif New Style

57

Garage International A.G.A

Ladbr

Kriti

30 Vollaierie

63

Najem Telecom

50

67

31

62

56

63

Alimentat Générale

26

La Village Tricoterie Partenaire

Village Partenaire

Snack Sania

Boucherie Tanger

La Tricoterie

Eat Gospel

The gender distribution, in this case, seems more uneven, with a clear preponderance of places run by men and women concentrated in cafés, restaurants, and alimentary retail locations.

46

Brico Berchem

46

Brico Berchem

Café Bethléem76 Nestor Vin

27 74

Coiffure Abed 75

26 Pizzeriz Pizzeria L’Artisan d’Alessio 24 BoulangerieBouch 33 23 Balux Café Saimt G 4x4 Coiffure 32

53

La Gri Gr

Pizza 48

31

Kriti

54

Eat Gospel

20

30

56

Mykonos

Tout 1 Euro 39

Omnitec 37

38

Salon Lavoir 40

35

Snack Sania

Boucherie Tanger

Car Wash Manuel 36

27

Boucherie Costela

25

Café Régua 22

34

Bylis Café

Alimentation Générale

26

L’Artisan Boulangerie 33 23 Balux Café 4x4 Car Rental Coiffure

21

24

Café Bethléem

32

La Grillade chez Nikos

31

Kriti

29

30

Posto Al Sole

Mykonos Grec Grill

28

Bar Blue Corner

45

Shops

71 Health JV Barbershop

Education

Health

Health

Education

Health

Education

Social Necessity

Education

Social Necessity

Leisure/Gathering

Alimentation Générale

Facilities

73

Becue Social NecessityBoulangerie Maintenance/Food Access Leisure/Gathering

Social Necessity

Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry 74 Coiffure Abed 72 Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Gaeage Garage Tasso 75 Catering industry Services Pizzeriz Pizzeria Maintenance/Food Access d’Alessio 77 Boucherie 76 Services SBA Mediterranée Goods selling Catering industry Saimt Gilles 78

Nestor Vin

Catering Catering industry Services industry Services

Shops

Facilities

ore Meuble

Alimentation Générale

42

Shops

70

44

Facilities

68

Alimentation Générale

Alimentation Générale

Bar Au vieux chemin

Shops

rokes

41

43

Facilities

Pasta Soultana

Services

Goods selling

Goods selling

Alimentary needs

Alimentary needs

Goods selling

Goods selling

Alimentary Alimentary needs needs

Alimentary needs

21

While men would navigate equally everywhere, women’s presence is more noted in extroverted buildings.

There is an imbalance in the representation in the public space of activities - women are counted predominantly in food stores, while men roam between leisure and groceries stores.

Urbanistically extroverted

This analysis allows noting a higher presence through different hours in the locations of urbanistically and architecturally extroverted stores.

B

70

56

La Tricoterie

Theodore Meuble 67

Ladbrokes

58

Mbk Turbohouse 77

57

Boucherie Fribel Saimt Gilles

72

Gaeage Garage Tasso 38

52

Salon Lavoir

Omnitec

Auto-Win

37

Tout 1 Euro 39

35

55

Snack Sania

Najem Telecom 76

Nestor Vin Boulangerie Becue

JV Ba

33

4x4 Car Rental

73

40

Car Wa

Urbanistically introverted

Repositioning commercial activities

48

60

Merceraria B

Telecom

61 64

Pizzeria da Giovanni 50

Garage International A.G.A

Introverted building

22

Voll Roy

23

Coiffure

30

Mykonos Grec Grill 22

43

Alimentation Générale

L’Artisan Boulangerie

25

La Grillade chez Nikos

Café Régua

Bar Au vieux chemin

53

Pizza 48

Brico Berchem

66

Café Bethléem

Balux Café

42

Alimentation Générale

Kriti

24

29

Posto Al Sole 46

49

Café Nino

41

45

31

Kozanh 21

Pasta Soultana

26

32

Bylis Café

28

Bar Blue Corner

51

Diamant Vert

59

Toni’s Bakery 54

78

Eat Gospel

SBA Mediterranée

27

Boucherie Tanger

Pizzeria 75 d’Alessio

36

Boucherie Costela

71

69

Coif New Style

arbershop

ash Manuel

Bar

laierie yale

63

74

Village Partenaire

Coiffure Abed 47

Coiffure Royale 62

44

Snack Al Jazeera

Alimentation Générale 68

34

Alimentation Générale

Alimentation Générale

65

Boucherie Aharchi Ali

Extroverted building

23

The entry of women-owned and men-owned businesses shows a significant preponderance leaning towards the male side. Most of the stores owned by women are in a more extroverted position, urbanistically and architecturally.

It is also interesting to note that the presence of women is more noticeable in women-owned businesses - the presence of one leads to the presence of the other.

48

Woman-owned business

Repositioning commercial activities

Merce

38

Salon Lavoir

36

Boucherie Costela

40

Car Wash Manuel

On a more general note regarding the double-entry tables presented in this analysis, they compare information gathered in multiple ways; the owner data is more official as it comes from objectively reliable sources unless the owners have not updated the data.

On the other hand, the proposal to couple them with the presence of data collected in fieldwork will depend on several uncertain factors - the weather, the time of day, the time of year, and my attention as a researcher in the face of all the stimuli, the path I have undertaken.

Brico Berchem

57

Fribel

70

72

Gaeage Garage Tasso Theodore Meuble

Man-owned business

Converging this data provides some insight, which might have been different if the fieldwork had been undertaken differently. However, I have tried to cover as many of these options as possible to have as objective a view as possible.

33

4x4 Car Rental

46

Tout 1 Euro

67

39

Ladbrokes

58

Mbk Turbohouse

76

46

Nestor Vin

Omnitec 37

60

50

Garage International A.G.A

Introverted

24

Telecom 55

Najem Telecom

JV B

64

Pizzeria da Giovanni

35

Snack Sania

52

Auto-Win

51

eraria Bar

22

Diamant Vert

53

Bylis Café 30

Mykonos Grec Grill

L’Artisan Boulangerie

Boucherie Tanger 27

31

Kozanh

26

21

Kriti

49

66

Café Nino 65

1

56

La Tricoterie

Café Bethléem

Boucherie Aharchi Ali

29

Posto Al Sole

24

Balux Café

63

Village Partenaire 59

Toni’s Bakery

62

44

Snack Al Jaezera Jazeera 61

Alimentation Générale

34

Vollaierie Royale

Alimentation Générale

Barbershop Pizzeria 75 d’Alessio 54

47

74

43

69

Alimentation Coif New Style Générale 78 SBA Mediterranée

Eat Gospel

Coiffure Royale

23

Coiffure

Coiffure Abed

42

71

68

Alimentation Générale

77

Boucherie Saimt Gilles

Alimentation Générale

Pasta Soultana 45

Boulangerie Becue 73

25

Café Régua

32

La Grillade chez Nikos

41

53

Pizza 48

Bar Au vieux chemin

28

Bar Blue Corner

Extroverted

25

an d

ern

Ru eF

Be

ier

rn

héo

26

do aeg

Ve rh

thl ée

m

re

Be

Ru eT en

de

ron

Fé

mi le F

Ru eÉ

éro n

eD

ace

Pl

mi le

Ru eÉ

Ru ed an e ma rk

P

C ph ose eJ Ru In conclusion to the chapter analyzing gender dynamics at the stlevel of re Beththe neighborhood surrounding Fo e . d to note a lehem Square, it is essential au h C shift in gender representation in the public space of Saint-Gilles.

trum of users of these places. It would be a matter of reflecting on how to design our facilities, today considered only by their practical aspects, but which could carry in them a recreational part.

Women are more represented in care work activities, while men are more publicly represented in their leisure activities. Exceptions are made, however, as the attendance analysis showed two places where women are equally represented as men in leisure activities, a cafe, and a restaurant.

By shifting our perception from a facility to social infrastructure, a building such as a school could be considered more broadly than its educational aspect.

This change of consideration brings a more global vision of what the ickarchischr r e tecture can contain and and participates ue Vand leisure comin merging the R care ponents. Reducing the gaps between these categories could potentially reduce the gap between gender representations in the public space, and transform a vision, today binary, into a non-binary proposition.

Currently, the proposed spaces that allow free access are mainly Bethléem Square, where firm gender boundaries are visible.

G anz e Fr Ru

The neighboring activities influence the presence in the public space. If certain activities will gather a particular population, it is expected that their extension on the public space will be visible. It is the case, for example, of the upper part of Bethlehem Square (South located), which men mainly frequent. The surrounding stores are, in fact, mostly visited by men. Multiplying the offer of the neighboring structures and the space itself would allow a greater diversity of uses and eventually alleviate these segregations of use of this public square.

e Forest

d

iar aill

Rue d

e Pra

gue

Collective spaces and mutual social aid are undoubtedly one of the possible valid answers to promote equal access to public space as they distribute care and leisure in a different set-up of events.

Chau. d

Rue

Déth

Ru

y

The distinction between care work and leisure is currently binary. The proposals for leisure spaces are mainly profitable, which reduces the spec-

Rue

au .

de

Fo res

t

de Pr ague

Ru

Ch

e Forest Chau. d

m

'A ed Ru

ets ra oen

s lae

eC Ru

Place de Bethléem

To take along with the design explorations in Saint-Gilles

27

GROUND +2

Le bas de Saint-Gilles

Place Bethléem

design explorations

Bethléem’s Instances of commoning

Groceries & Maintenance

Education

Exchanging goods

Learning new skills

Exchanging services

A quiet place to study

Access to affordable and local products

After-school care

Shifting the scale of facilities to social infrastructures requires a method; I decided to take the five categories of facility analysis and try to break them down to fit into the framework of social infrastructures.

These instances of commoning are multiplying the actions that each category can contain, and they can eventually soften the boundaries of these categories. Some elements can be considered valid in several different categories - they are not fixed. For example, learning new skills, classified as education, can also be included in the leisure category.

Most of these proposed actions are already offered in the current situation of the neighborhood. However, they are often separated and independent.

Training for a new job

30

Health

Leisure

Social

Access to public toilets

Practicing sport

Finding help and listening

Access to nursing areas

Gather and share ideas

Finding opportunities

Recreational activities for children

Collective action and daily help

Finding accessible goods

31

Urbanistically extroverted Urbanistically introverted Introverted building Sensibly positioning the The use of places has been defined in the diagram could take place in all the previous chapter. By relating this social infrastructures, as far as pubInstances of Commoning around the Bethléem Square knowledge, I gathered some of these lic toilets and nursing areas are concommoning instances that could ben- cerned. efit from the same urbanistic and arMoreover, proposing a variety of new chitectural constraints. activities allows the creation of emSome activities on the outside left of ployment with flexible hours.

32

Extroverted building The idea is not to raze to the ground the existing system and replace it with another one, but to build on current activities and understand if the current public space could host other instances of commoning.

33

0

100

500m

Fabric of opportunities

By merging all the buildings offering qualities for the possibilities of rehabilitation, a dense and varied fabric of offer is opened to the instances of commoning.

ating a shared and convivial fabric, sustaining inhabitants in their daily activities and chores.

The instances of commoning are not definitive; they are bound to evolve Because of its multiple qualities, I with time and population changes. hope to increase the chances of cre34

The following proposal is a way to implement these instances of commoning in the urban landscape of Saint-Gilles. However, the options are multiple and, in some cases, interchangeable. They respond to today’s demand.

35

Grounded strategies

Rebalancing gender presence

The grounded strategies focus on several aspects, all based on the goal of rebalancing the distribution of gender representation.

Time Banks of the existing Social Infrastructures

The existing social infrastructures offer a wide choice of activities and different public space accesses. Including them in the strategy also ensures that new instances of commoning can be implemented smoothly.

The principle of time banks looks at how much new activity a building can hold based on its current use.

Some buildings have been vacant for more than five years. Blind first floors contribute to the feeling of insecurity.

Adaptive Reuse of Vacant Buildings

The ones listed here are mainly ground-floor retail spaces of abandoned Brussels houses. This analysis could be made thanks to the current situation and also the possibility of going back in time on “Google street view”.

36

Identifying future archirectural and urban rehabilitations

Some buildings in the Bethlehem Square area show rehabilitation and reuse over time. The roundabout at the intersection of Prague and Dethy streets has corner buildings whose first floors have been converted into housing. These units, strategically placed in an urban opening, result in blind facades due to the inhabitants’ search for privacy complicated by the large windows.

All these opportunities punctuating the landscape represent the porosities activating the public space. This allegory was set up by Paola Viganò (Viganò 2006).

As established in the Ground 0 booklet, the question of representation in public space is crucial - one idea would be to mark these new common punctuations with a discrete but present landmark, participating in urban inclusion.

A landmark for the Instances of Commoning

As established in the Ground 0 booklet, the question of representation in public space is crucial - one idea would be to mark these new common punctuations with a discrete but present landmark, participating in urban inclusion. They were inspired by the active boxes project in Cape Town under the initiative of VPUU, Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (“Active Box” 2017). The context in Cape Town is very different from the one studied in this thesis; however, the clever landmark system developed by the Active Boxes is interesting for a discrete tag.

37

Ecole Les 4 Saisons

École Les 4 Saisons

Classrooms and commons Weekday

Wed.

Summer holidays

08

09

10

11

12 13 School

19

06

05

04

03

02

01

24

13

16 17 18 14 15 Daycare / School support

07

08

09

10 School

11

12

13

24

23

19

06

05

04

03

02

01

24

17

18

07

08

09

10

11

21

20

19

06

05

04

03

02

15

16

17

18

07

08

09

10

11

23

22

21

20

19

06

05

04

03

02

12 13 14 Summer activities

15

16

17

18

07

08

09

10

Unoccupied 22 21 20

19

06

05

04

03

09

10

11

06

04

03

02

01

24

23

07 08 Open

11 09 10 School classes

12

06

05

04

03

02

01

07

08

09

10

11

12 13 14 Unoccupied

15

16

06

05

04

03

02

01

23

22

07

08

09

10

11

12 13 14 Unoccupied

06

05

04

03

02

01

07

08

09

10

11

06

05

04

03

02

05

Weekends

School holidays

Gymnasium 07

07 08 Open

12 13 School

01

24

24

24

14

23

15

16

17 18 Daycare

Unoccupied 22 21 20

Unoccupied 22 21 20

38

15

16

17

18

Circus school Unoccupied 23 22 21 20 19 14

15

16 17 18 Circus school

Unoccupied 23 22 21

20

19

14

15

16

17

18

23

22

21

20

19

12 13 14 Unoccupied

15

16

17

18

24

23

22

21

20

19

11 12 13 Summer activities

14

15

16

17

18

23

Unoccupied 22 21 20

19

02

12 13 Unoccupied

14

01

01

01

24

24

Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

39

Sint-Gillisschool

40

Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

41

La Tricoterie

42

Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

43

Village Partenaire Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

44

ASBL Solidarité Grands Froids Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

45

Séchoirs Calendre Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

46

Wasserette Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

47

Projected A Tuesday, 6pm, in Saint-Gilles

ok diner i uld co o w ho ‘W

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ter school c af

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n

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Facilitatin

cus cen con amics tum yn en re d om l ca g m ivia v on

fin wi din th c

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48

ish

I cou ld acc es

s some of the

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a

iv act an

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building trust r ela within existing ecol t o

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ity

t th ou gh ou thr

ed

tinue learning ll to con i w e Th

ay

res uctu str ra

e use of existing ptiv in a f ad

e existing facilities’

design explorations

fieldwork notes

49

Existing

50

Projected A Friday, 10pm, in Saint-Gilles

s hu n g r y’ bab yi

‘Th e

pl he of t a azz

Access and facilitie s arra nger

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Activatin g diff soci ere

51

Existing

52

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ciations sso

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Workers present h24

Projected A Saturday, 9am, in Saint-Gilles

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e’ m

‘I a m

Benefit from the extroverted position

‘Don’t go too far’

53

in look

o gf

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in orn m e

the g in

we

A walk through Bethléem’s Instances of Commoning

54

55

In conclusion, The Bethleem square is one of the epicenters of social life in the bas de Saint-Gilles as it has historically always been. This thesis’s fieldwork has highlighted a marked gendered use disparity in the public space. More precisely, analyzed patterns of females show a tendency to be publicly represented through their activity of care work, while men tend to be represented in their leisure time. Through the (re)invention of commoning instances, the projective approach tries to alleviate the gendered differences in uses and works.

Those instances of commoning are based on studied momentum happening on-site and improved by new activities proposals intended to evolve over time and changes in communities.

The implementation of instances of commoning in Saint-Gilles’ neighborhood are distributed according to their most beneficial spatial position (extroverted versus introverted). For example, leisure activities, such as sports rooms, would profit from an extroverted position (urbanistically and architecturally).

References “Active Box.” 2017. Cape Town.

Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises. n.d. “Recherche Dans La BanqueCarrefour Des Entreprises (BCE) .” Accessed June 14, 2022. https:// kbopub.economie.fgov.be/kbopub/zoeknaamfonetischform. html?lang=fr.

Viganò, Paola. 2006. “The Porous City: Prototypes of Idiorrythmical Conglomerates.” In Comment Vivre Ensemble: Prototypes of Idiorrythmical Conglomerates and Shared Spaces, edited by Paola Pellegrini and Paola Viganò, Q3:335–54. Venice: officina edizioni.

57

Camille Hendlisz Gendered Urbanisms. Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter · 2022

4/5

GROUND +1

Cureghem

Parc de la Rosée

unfolding gender dynamics

Disclaimer The same methodology has been applied to the two studied sites, Anderlecht and Saint-Gilles, with the idea of being able to generate comparable data that could be combined.

The methodological framework concerning the choice of studies and the way of processing the data is explained in the booklet about the surroundings of Bethléem Square.

This booklet, treating the neighborhood around the Rosée Park, provides comparative reflections to those presented in Bethléem. The two booklets can be read in parallel or independently.

All photographs and drawings are, unless mentioned, taken or drawn by the author.

Framing the study around the Rosée Park The site of the Rosée Park is embedded in the fabric of Anderlecht, reminiscent of the industrial era. In fact, the park itself is located where an industry has been deconstructed, giving it a star-shaped figure characteristic of rehabilitation of interstices.

The space presents one of the only green openings of the dense urban fabric.

It is located at the mouth of the gate of anderlecht, itself positioned on the boulevard Henri Poincarré. To the South of the park runs the Chaussée de Mons, a large retail street crossing the whole area of Cureghem. Some points give rhythm to the surroundings: the Midi station, Midi Boulevard, Arts & Métiers, the Anderlecht’s abattoirs, and the canal.

Rosée Park Arts & Métiers

Canal

Image Source: BruCiel

Anderlecht’s abattoirs

Midi Station

Midi Boulevard

Porte d’Anderlecht

1

2

3

4

5

A densly built fabric es ed Ru

The mapping of economic facilities and structures in the Rosée park’s neighborhood shows two distinct development patterns.

s ier iss

ég

M

e

ist

The facilities, in dark purple, are spread over the whole site, while the stores (represented in light purple) are mainly found on the two commercial axes.

m hi

uC

ed Ru

The offer is multiple in both sites studied, and the same categories are represented on both sides. However, the two neighborhoods do not show the same offerings or uses.

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Health

Education

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Education

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Leisure/Gathering

Education

Social Necessity

Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Foo

Facilities

Facilities

Facilities

yère

Social Necessity

Catering Catering industry Services industry Services

Shops

Shops

Shops

Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering indu Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Services Maintenance/Food Access 100 500m Goods selling Catering industry Services

Services

Goods selling

Goods selling

Alimentary needs

Alimentary needs 6

Goods selling

Goods selling

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Facilities

Education

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Health

Alimentary n

Alimentary

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Health

Education

Social Necessity

Health

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Social Necessity

Leisure/Gathering

Health

Education

Social Necessity

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Social Necessity

Facilities

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Health

Education

Social

Facilities

Education

Facilities

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Rue Otl

Leisure

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Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Social Necessity Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Services Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access 7 Goods selling Catering industry Services

Shops

Facilities

s

en

pp

o eF Ru

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One dot, one person es ed Ru

The representation of gender in the public space of Cureghem is characterized differently than in Saint Gilles. I was able to note a first difference in the speed of passage in the district; for a great majority, the women are in movement and wander from one place to another. The men group together, sit down and spend more time in the public space.

s ier iss

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M

e

ist

m hi

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There is a marked imbalance in terms of presence in the public space; women are underrepresented.

The access and use of public space depend on many factors: it can refer to the offer of urban activities, the state of the infrastructures, and their disposition in the city. The use of public space is also cultural; some communities will be more used to living outdoors than others.

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Rue Otl et

Urban lateral definition

Urban central definition

9

oretus

Rue M

Rosée - central definition The Rosée district is articulated around a linear element - the Chaussée de Mons. This lateral heart organizes meetings and exchanges.

Places with a central definition are fewer.

Alphonse Lemmens Square is embedded in the residential fabric of the neighborhood. Only a few streets, also residential, converge there. The square is activated by a few stores, a pharmacy, and a crèche.

The square is quiet; however, it is a place of mainly male gatherings.

The Rosée park, the second element with a central definition, is stretched to join the Chaussée de Mons, the Boulevard Poincaré, and the Place Lemmens. The park meets different uses, mainly recreational. Women come here to accompany their children, often several mothers at the same time. Men also come with their families and friends or alone to enjoy the sports facilities.

These two locations may be comparable in their urbanistically introverted/extroverted position, yet their design offerings elicit completely different uses.

10

11

Rosée - lateral definition The lateral spaces of Cureghem are centered around the main shopping street - the Chaussée de Mons, connecting the district to the Brussels ring road. The Rue de Liverpool is also a structuring axis because it intersects the neighborhood towards the canal to the north.

The passage is mainly concentrated around the Chaussée de Mons.

The boulevard on the right is not comfortable to walk; it is wide and very frequented by fast-moving cars.

The residential streets are narrow, and the fabric is dense. They serve mainly houses and some facilities.

12

13

Who’s at the lead of Rosée’s facilities?

17

The facilities offer in the district is more diversified than in Saint-Gilles; it is also more specific. Facilities are located throughout the study area on residential streets and major roads.

Centre Anderlechtois de Formation 16

European Center for Local Initiatives Development and Services SCRL

The health tissue is composed of several pharmacies and a medical house. In terms of education, there are two training centers, a technical secondary school, and a kindergarten/primary school. There is only one big supermarket. I also noted several citizen social initiatives, which I interpreted as a mark of the place’s specificity and the citizens’ commitment to their community.

Arbre à Pap

9

Rif Market

8

Les Tourterelles

6

Wasserette 6

Wasserette

5

10

Solidarité grand froid

One element that caught my attention was the Circularium. This former car dealership has been reallocated by an ecological collective that has set4 École les 4 saisons up a redistribution of the premises according to different activities, all under the sign of circularity. The 2 Asbl Trapèze center offers offices to new companies, as well as a free store on the ground floor, which supplies goods that the 2 inhabitants no longer need and could Asbl Trapèze please others.

3

rmacie macie De La Sauvenière

Séchoirs Calendre

5

9

Solidarité grand froid

Le Foyer Feminin

8

Centre Médical Bethléem

10

Academie Islamique 11 Asbl de Bruxelles

4

École les 4 saisons

8

Dentaconfort

Centre Médical Bethléem

12

12

Formation Insertion Jeunes

Pharmacy Dohy

1

Policlinique de France

7

Ensemble Pour 1060 !

14

3

Pharmacie De La Sauvenière

7

Circularium

13

Anderlecht Pharma

Ensemble Pour 1060 !

18

Sint-Gillisschool

16

Polyclinique Clémenceau

0

100

Union des Fem pour l’Egalité

14

Centre Familial Belgo-Immigré 17

Female

Mariya One

15

18

Sint-Gillisschool

Male

Polyclinique Verhaegen 16

Polyclinique Clémenceau

13

Crèche Jourdan

Centre Familia

20

Resto du Cœur de St Gilles

17

15

Mariya One 19

CPAS Saint-Gilles

14

Polyclinique Verhaegen

6

Cedicol 5

pillon Crèche Communale

7

Parc de la Rosée Wardens

4

Lenapharm 3

Institut de la Providence

1

Marjan Supermarket

2

Centre Médical MediSud

11

Salon Lavoir Amine

Health

Education

Social Necessity

Health

Education

Social Necessity

Leisure/Gathering

Health

Education

Social Necessity

Maintenance/Food Access Leisure/GatheringMaintenance

Education

Social Necessity

15

Facilities

Health

Education

Social

Leisure

Food access

Shops

Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Social Necessity Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access Catering industry Services Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access 15 Goods selling Catering industry Services

ps

Facilities

mmes Libres é des Droits

Facilities

Health

Facilities

Education

Facilities

Health

The nuance of introversion and extroversion is less clear. It seemed to me to be more accurate to consider the busiest place as being urbanistically extroverted.

14 15

8

10

16

Urbanistically introverted

The site is structured differently than in Saint-Gilles; the facilities are also distributed according to another figure in the public space.

Urbanistically extroverted

Repositioning facilities

17

Introverted building

16

7

1

13

11

12

5

4

3

16

9 2

Extroverted building

17

Unlike in Saint-Gilles, the presence is more noticeable in the non-profitable buildings. In the diagram, in general, the gender trends are equal. However, women and men do not seem to mix.

Non-profit

Repositioning facilities

Taking the example of (3) Providence Institute (technical high school), most women left the institution after classes. I observed the opposite trend in the institution (16) Cedicol, a training center. The training courses offered by the two institutions include courses that are still overrepresented by women on the one hand (care assistant, social worker, etc.) and men on the other (plumber, electrician, etc.).

8

15

16

10

17

Profit

17

Introverted building

18

16 7 3

9

5

2

13

12 4

11

1

Extroverted building

19

Who’s at the lead of Rosée’s commercial activities?

82

La Grange

Most of the stores are located along with the Chaussée de Mons. However, the offer is similar all along the street.

There is a majority of restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores in the street with some services. A few stores are also located in the Lemmens square.

83

Anwar Export sprl

Only six women on the site are listed as premises owners - all in restaurants except for one woman at the Universal Church. As a reminder, I observed the same pattern in Saint-Gilles.

84

48

49 Eglise Universelle

85

Merceraria Bar

Kozanh

Omnitec 37

Madina Legue 50

Garage International A.G.A

86

35

Abouzeid

Snack Sania

Boucherie Tanger 27

25

Café Régua

51

22

Diamant Vert

34

Bylis Café

52

L’Artisan 24 Boulangerie 33 Balux Café 4x4 Car Rental Coiffure

21

Café Bethléem

47

Auto-Win

Coiffure Royale

Alimentat Générale

26

23

46

Brico Berchem

32

53

La Grillade chez N

Pizza 48

31

Kriti

54

29

30

Eat Gospel

Posto Al Sol

Mykonos Grec Grill

56

La Tricoterie 55

Najem Telecom

57

28

57

Fribel

Nour Bar Blue Corne al-Sham

58

Mbk Turbohouse

Pasta 59 Toni’s Bakery Soultana 45

60

Snack Al Jazeera 63

Village Partenaire

61

Ladbrokes

49

Kozanh

52

68

Telecom

Vollaierie 48 Royale Merceraria Bar

50

69 Al Omda

50

Alimentation Générale

Alimentation Dagher Générale

Coif New Style

Le Cedre

Boulangerie

JV Barbershop

45

Aswak Souss

Jablawi Sweets 48

47

Coiffeur Alhambra

Le Petit Marche

46

25

Boucherie Aharchi Ali

52

Auto-Win

Pizzeria da Giovanni

Female

Male

21

47

66

Coiffure Royale

Café Nino

46

Brico Berchem

Café Bethléem76 Nestor Vin

Boucherie

Boucherie Tanger Al Hoda 27

72Café Régua Gaeage Garage Tasso22 Bylis Café

64

51 65Vert Diamant

37

44

71

Beyrouth

49 Meuble Theodore

Garage International A.G.A

5 étoiles

44

56 Bar Au vieu

Le P'tit Alimentation Boucher Agh Générale Alimentat 55 Entre Gener 2 Cotes Omnite4 42

54

Libanis Alimentation Générale 53

51

70

41

43

67

62

7

35B Sna San

74

Coiffure Abed 75

26 Pizzeriz Pizzeria L’Artisan d’Alessio 24 BoulangerieBouch 33 23 Balux Café Saimt G 4x4 Coiffure 32

53

La Gri Gr

Pizza 48

31

Kriti

54

Eat Gospel

20

30

56

Mykonos

78

Super Lavage Auto

77

Bar Melodu Melody

76

noAarchitecten 81

Boulangerie 79

Alimentation Générale 75

Marjan Trade 74

Auto Pieces Bxl

73

D-Stock Electro 72

80

Cafe Naghma Chamalia

Friterie Anderlechtoise

71

A.s. Parts

70

68

Informatique Techsat Sprl

Cafe Yasmine Acham

69

63

60

Health

Facilities

Aswak Damas 58

Facilities

59

Magasin Ahmad

Education 37

Ms Coiffure

Bob's Pizza city chicken 38 ha's 36 Social Necessity tion Orient Snak 39 40 rale Bab Mazagan 42 Alhara Lounge

Facilities

Health

Barbir Auto

26 Health Tipico Club

Dayaa dayaa

Comercio Education

de Al Karam

Chicken Ky

24

22

EducationLa Tour

Pizza Alep

23

25

27

19

Delicias Tetouan 20

La Tour 2

Salon de Coiffure

Social Necessity Expres Pneus

Restaurant Al Karam 89 Social Necessity Leisure/Gathering Boucherie Marjan Alimentation Générale 29

Espanol

32

Education Poissonnerie

18

67

Le Roma

21 Health Art Food

28

30

33

35

65

64

Facilities

Van Belle Hotel

Dépot Grossiste Maya Cafe Drinks Relax

62

61

Salem Market

66

Marché Khairat Al Sham

31

Coiffure Social Necessity Boulangerie Coiffure XXè Leisure/Gathering Chasyl Patisserie siècle

Maintenance/Food Access 88

34

Catering Catering industry Services industry Services

Shops

Shops

Shops

Shops

Al Daiaa Maintenance/Food Access Leisure/Gathering Catering industry 41 Leisure/Gathering Maintenance/Food Access La Couronne 43 Catering industry Services Bab Al-Hara Maintenance/Food Access Goods selling Catering industry Services

Services

Goods selling

Goods selling

Alimentary needs

Alimentary needs

Goods selling

Goods selling

Alimentary Alimentary needs needs

Alimentary needs

21

Hamama Voyage

Using the spectrum of woman-owned and man-owned was not helpful in this case because of the few womenowned businesses.

First, the observation made in SaintGilles that men walk around quite freely is confirmed in this case study.

Women go to the bakery, to the supermarket, and have lunch with their families at the local restaurant.

Urbanistically extroverted

Repositioning commercial activities

79

Alimentation Générale 81

Boulangerie

73

D-Stock Electro

Secondly, it should be noted that given the repetitive range of store and their spatial proximity, I found it difficult to find particularities of uses on site.

66

Cafe Naghma Chamalia

Dépot Grossiste

25

Expres Pneus

72

65

70

Maya Drinks

Inform Techsat 71

A.s. Parts

68

74

Cafe Yasmi Acha

78

Super Lavage Auto

Auto Pieces Bxl 75

74

Auto Pieces Bxl Marjan Trade

62

Barbir Auto

83

Urbanistically introverted

Anwar Export sprl

86

Abouzeid 85

Madina Legue

82

La Grange 80

Friterie Anderlechtoise

Introverted building

22

45

44

Le Petit Marche

29

Boulangerie

Alimentation Générale

77

Bar Melody 54

5 étoiles Libanis

28

Poissonnerie 36 de Al Karam Snak Bab Alhara

31

61

37

Coiffure XXè siècle

Van Belle Hotel

41

La Couronne 59

Le Roma

18

63

Marché Khairat ine Al Sham am

22

Chicken Ky 24 Pizza Alep

56

50

64

Al Omda

La Tour 2 Cafe Relax

30

Dayaa dayaa

Salon de Coiffure

Orient 40

Nour al-Sham

Boulangerie Patisserie

49

46

Boucherie Al Hoda

53

Aswak Souss 52

Dagher

Le Cedre 55

75

Marjan Trade

32

Coiffure Chasyl

Entre 2 Cotes

51

88

Beyrouth

Hamama Voyage

84

60

Eglise Universelle Salem Market

35

57

Le P'tit Boucher

La Tour 20

23

69

39

Mazagan Lounge

Aswak Damas

67

matique t Sprl

Bob's Pizza

Jablawi Sweets 48

26

Tipico Club

Ms Coiffure

47

Coiffeur Alhambra

38

27

Restaurant 19 Delicias Tetouan Al Karam

58 Magasin Ahmad city chicken

Agha's Alimentation Generale 42

89

Boucherie Marjan 34

Al Daiaa

Extroverted building

23

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R To take along with the design explorations in Anderlecht

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s en

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m em

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This neighborhood’s challenge is bringing nuance to the patterns of care work, domesticity, and leisure activities. Residents have a preference for activities that gather to be indoors.

The women in the neighborhood confided that they prefer introverted places. They do not like to be seen from the outside.

Souma, the project owner of Foyer Féminin and a neighborhood resident, told me that she felt a lack of activity since her children left home.

ns

Mo

in ant

e Pl Ru

u Cha

de ssée

As stated earlier, the community around the dew is quite supportive and likes to get together. This motivation is real quality in the projects of recommoning as the will The Foyer Féminin, a literal to share life moments is present, but translation of the women’s house, the current infrastructures do not is open every afternoon to offer the enable that use. inhabitants a place of exchange.

Souma cooks there every day and takes pleasure in chatting with retus ue Mo R whoever passes by to exchange a little company. She told me:

let Rue Ot

25

idi

an aberm

Rue H

The woman appeared to be on the move, running errands or picking up the kids from school. Daily activities still seem to represent an older pattern of women at home and men at work.

On the other hand, men have access to public space in a more diversified way. They go to the park when the weather permits, take the children for a walk and play. Their presence is also strong in the various stores along the shopping street, with larger gatherings in the cafes, restaurants, and caterers.

rd du M Bouleva

‘I created this place to avoid boredom; I don’t want to stay at home all day waiting for time to pass.’ e eri t o Recreational aopportunities for P el adults and children are limited and d ue are mainly e R located in the parks. The u R inhabitants themselves have made up for this lack by creating meeting places. These spaces boast each time a particular population: women for the Foyer Féminin (although everyone is welcome), the Islamic Academy of Brussels, which will gather people of Muslim faith, and the Universal Church gathers people of the Catholic faith.

After having noted in Saint-Gilles a gendered difference between care work and leisure activities, I find it fair to say that this distinction of representations in the public space is also present in Cureghem but does not justify the same factors.

In the second chapter, I explained the proximity between care work and women’s domesticity. It seems to me that this is the case in this neighborhood.

te Por lecht r nde d’A

GROUND +2

Cureghem

Parc de la Rosée

design explorations

Rosée’s Instances of Commoning

Groceries & Maintenance

Education

Exchanging goods

Learning new skills

Exchanging services

A quiet place to study

Access to affordable and local products

After-school care

The same categories of events will be developed for this site. However, it is essential to note that those instances of commoning are in such a small spectrum of what the commons are in reality.

The aim of taking the same approach is to comprehend how the needs in both sites, each endowed with nuances, can propose a different vision based on simple tools.

In the case of this district of Anderlecht, the educational fabric is weak.

The children are not included in the internal activity scheme of the uses; these do not support the activity of their childhood. That would be the first strategy to carry.

On the other hand, proposed formation centers are hotbeds of gendered use because of their course program. If this couldn’t be directly addressed by design means, there is still the possibility of reintroducing their structure activities and places that gathers a more considerable diversity of people.

Training for a new job

28

Health

Leisure

Social

Access to public toilets

Practicing sport

Finding help and listening

Access to nursing areas

Gather and share ideas

Finding opportunities

Recreational activities for children

Collective action and daily help

Finding accessible goods

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Urbanistically extroverted Urbanistically introverted Introverted building Sensibly positioning the Instances of Commoning around the Rosée Park

Through the analysis of the practices give them a central place in the area as, on-site, the instances of commoning today, the major part of the care work would be distributed differently than is related to their development. in Saint-Gilles.

As for adults’ leisure time, we must Children-related activities would pay attention to the need for women’s benefit from an extroverted position introversion because it is part of in the neighborhood. It is essential to today’s practices that are culturally 30

Extroverted building influenced.

customs and commons.

However, the population continues to evolve, getting more and more diverse. The proposition needs to include a manner to involve newcomers to the neighborhood to interact with and co-develop future 31

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The focus of activity is today In the same idea as in Bethléem, the concentrated on the linear following proposal emerges from the development of the shopping street. discussions and needs of the current situation. As practices and customs However, several buildings on the change with the times, this fabric is side streets have great qualities for designed to be as resilient as possible. developing the network of instances of commoning.

32

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Grounded strategies

Rebalancing gender presence

The main areas to consider are Lemmens’ square, the right side of Rosée Park, and the section of Liverpool Street in front of the urban park.

Time Banks of the existing Social Infrastructures

The industrial heritage of the neighborhood offers spaces that are, on the one hand, cramped, on the other hand, wider.

Adaptive Reuse of Vacant Buildings

The lack of infrastructure investment in the post-industrial period has left many buildings deteriorating, which should be included in the overall strategy.

34

Identifying future archirectural and urban rehabilitations

A landmark for the Instances of Commoning

35

Quite interestingly, vacant buildings in that area already offer the rehabilitation process wanted for the spotted development areas.

This process could eventually be implemented in rehabilitating one building in Lemmens’ square and another in Liverpool street.

Circularium

36

Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

37

Institut de la Providence

38

Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

39

Ecole Les Tourterelles

40

Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

41

Foyer Féminin Current activities

42

Islamic academy of Brussels Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

43

Cedicol Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

44

Euclides Current activities

Inclusion of timebanking and proposed additional activities

45

design explorations

fieldwork notes

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In conclusion, Cureghem presents similarities and discrepancies as compared to SaintGilles’ neighborhood. Contrary to the Bethleem square, the Rosée Park has never historically been at the core of the area’s public life. It represents a late effort of public space implementation in a highly neglected environment. Also, on this site, the fieldwork gave the same impression of a gendered figure.

Social facilities are currently less diversified than in Saint-Gilles. However, the big communities inhabiting the neighborhood are politically engaged and already arrange amongst themselves commoning instances. Cureghem forms a fertile ground for commons’ development.

The significant difference with Saint-Gilles lies in the spatial position of new commons implementations. To take the same example as in SaintGilles’ conclusions, leisure activities such as sports facilities would benefit from a more introverted position. This difference lies in the cultural uses of the site.

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Camille Hendlisz Gendered Urbanisms. Designing Conviviality in the Midi Quarter · 2022

5/5

In conclusion, Gendered Urbanisms suggests a differential use of the public space through the analysis with a gender lens. This study takes place in super-diverse neighborhoods where it is essential to acknowledge the cultural uses of the infrastructures.

Similarities and differences between the two neighborhoods underline the importance of grounded studies, setting a framework emphasizing specificities in use and interaction model and enabling a tailored proposal in each site. One of the feminist studies’ strengths lies in their comprehensiveness and attention to detail in deconstructing preconceived ideas.

Hopefully, sensitive implementations of instances of commoning would generate convivial momentums, benefitting the population regardless of gender, ethnicity, and cultural differences.

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE