Vrije Universiteit Brussel 4CITIES UNICA Euromaster in Urban Studies the neighbourhood committees as well as into the current planning process of the Municipality and the region. To become such a centre, Heembeek thus has to be changed from a pure living area into a more mixed, urban area that offers urban infrastructure, such as cultural and social institutions, shops, work and public space. It needs a densification that brings more mixed-use functions and an urban infrastructure, rather than densification through the construction of large housing projects. The potential of Heembeek lies exactly in the vast spaces that are available for such an urbanization, which both serves the inhabitants and also creates an image of Heembeek in the BCR and the Flemish surrounding itself. Without a common vision for Heembeek there is a danger towards a development of singular projects that do not contribute to a functioning neighbourhood. To be consistent, it is important to draw in the near future some new spatial arrangements that define the characters of the areas. We therefore produced three different, but intersecting proposals that do answer on the one side to the three main problems we detected (Integration, Densification and Mobility) and do on the other side set a starting point for the future development of a central area of the wide city region. The three proposals are: Integration: A Socio-Cultural Hub Densification: Mixed Housing Mobility: Public Transport and Connecting to the Surroundings It is important to note that although each of these proposals is described individually, they are all interrelated, and create a sort of cycle, in which one cannot exist without the other.
4.1 Integration: A Socio-Cultural Hub We have decided on the creation of a socio-cultural hub located in the middle of the neighbourhood that will allow for the inhabitants of Heembeek and local institutions a chance to exchange ideas in one common area. Our research gave us a clear view of the mixed feelings regarding social housing projects and the fear of rapid densification without the availability of social and cultural infrastructure. We want to support those directly expressed needs for social and cultural institutions appearing from the interviews, not focusing solely on traditional institutions but ensuring a broad range of projects for all socio-economic backgrounds in order to increase integration. There is a big potential in such cultural projects to not only welcome the users to the institutions, but also incorporate them in activities and projects. Our hope is that through integration a stronger community feeling can be developed encouraging an “urban village” character that echoes that of the traditional village.
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