Since the end of the last century, a notable amount of urban renewal has got under way everywhere in Europe and, after some hesitation, in Flanders too. However, urban renewal practices in Flanders differ fundamentally from large-scale European urban projects. The unique context of Flanders, with its almost total urbanisation of the land and the fine, fragmented mesh of its urban sprawl, prompted the authorities and towns and cities to take a quite individual approach to urban renewal projects.

This book shows 37 urban renewal projects in 25 Flemish towns and cities that have been awarded grants by the Flemish authorities over the last ten years. They include large cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Kortrijk and Leuven, and also smaller towns such as Deinze, Geel and Lokeren. Their story is that of a risky and sometimes unmanageable ‘trialogue’ between designing and building, social emancipation and administrative innovation.

Since the end of the last century, a notable amount of urban renewal has got under way everywhere in Europe and, after some hesitation, in Flanders too. However, urban renewal practices in Flanders differ fundamentally from large-scale European urban projects. The unique context of Flanders, with its almost total urbanisation of the land and the fine, fragmented mesh of its urban sprawl, prompted the authorities and towns and cities to take a quite individual approach to urban renewal projects.

This book shows 37 urban renewal projects in 25 Flemish towns and cities that have been awarded grants by the Flemish authorities over the last ten years. They include large cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Kortrijk and Leuven, and also smaller towns such as Deinze, Geel and Lokeren. Their story is that of a risky and sometimes unmanageable ‘trialogue’ between designing and building, social emancipation and administrative innovation.

The book puts the 37 Flemish urban renewal projects into a historical and European perspective and puts Flemish urban renewal on the European map. The book addresses urban planners, policy makers, architects, urban engineers, sociologists, residents, academics and students and anyone who is concerned with the future of the city.