Liveable, safe and healthy streets.

Today, Lijnbaanstraat, an extensively paved and unattractive car park in the commercial centre of Ostend, is being transformed into a green oasis. The street thus not only serves as an appealing garden for city dwellers, but is also an important asset for combating heat stress. The project is part of the European Cool Towns project.

The N9 is an arterial route running right through Eeklo and is the first thing visitors see when travelling to the city. The bare appearance of the road verge and the redevelopment of the mobility plan prompted the city council to take over ownership and management of the road verge from the Roads and Traffic Agency (AWV).

Commons Lab Antwerp can be viewed as the spider in the web of a multitude of initiatives in Antwerp carried out by citizens, government, businesses and knowledge institutions. The collective focuses on involvement within a broad theme and a sense of urgency, with the key question: to whom does the city belong, and how can we all manage the city together?

Planned sewerage works prompted a total revamp of the Edegemsesteenweg, including a park and two school zones. Water that was previously drained invisibly underground is now afforded a very prominent place in the street scene. A number of obstacles had to be overcome to achieve this.

Garden Streets Antwerp is part of a broad vision to turn the city into a climate-resilient, high-quality environment. The garden street also promotes social interaction in the street. After an initial phase of pilot projects, the city is elevating its ambitions to the permanent green-blue transformation of streets in five Antwerp districts.

Since 2012, Ghent has been experimenting with the Living Streets programme on how an alternative street layout can create a stronger neighbourhood feeling. In 2020, the temporary living streets were expanded to include three living gardens. A living garden, just like a living street, is always created at the initiative of the local residents. The living garden at Borluut, a social housing block on Watersportbaan, was supported by the city in cooperation with Samenlevingsopbouw vzw.

The Elzestraat in St. Katelijne-Waver is the village’s central street, with a church, parish hall, catering establishments and a school. The public space largely focused on the flow of vehicular traffic, with school-aged children navigating their way in the margins. A large-scale renovation of the village centre revamped the school environment and transformed Elzestraat from a transit area to a residential area.

In the 'Vlaanderen Breekt Uit' programme, Evence Coppéelaan was the only entry in which a concrete road was completely desealed. The road will be transformed into a pleasant, experiential and traffic-safe environment. No less than 10,000 m2 of asphalt will disappear in the process.

In 2018, continued insight into the harmful effects of air pollution on our health gave rise to mass campaigns by parents, schools and children in Brussels and Flanders against unsafe and unhealthy school environments. With actions, from school gates to the A12 motorway and the Brouckèreplein, Filter Café put air quality on the political agenda.In 2019, the non-profit organisation of the same name was created, which continues to work with its Atelier on the constructive representation of a car-free, liveable and climate-proof city.

Green routes reconnecting the city and landscape

Buffering water in gardens, streets and squares relieves the burden on sewer systems

Water as a lever to build a cohesive community

Square becomes park in a water-retention strategy between high and low