district renovation Westerkwartier

A lot of research had already been done for the Westerkwartier in Ostend, one of the most densely populated and multicultural districts of this coastal city. The city council sought support (via a Concept Subsidy from the Flemish government) to integrate all this research material with the various ambitions and ongoing initiatives into a coherent spatial framework and investment programme for the revaluation of the city district. In co-creation with the city services and various stakeholders, including social workers who know the social fabric of the neighbourhood very well, we went in search of the most connecting concepts for this place. As an underlying framework to create more space for people and nature, we first translated the ‘superblock’ principle to the local urban fabric. Afterwards, the topic ‘water’ was picked up quite quickly to build a transversal story for this neighbourhood. For example, we proposed a cascade in which rainwater from the surrounding roofs (approximately 7 million litres per year) is drained to a new water square with an underground water buffer that then irrigates a network of ‘greened’ streets. This chain of ‘creek squares’ functions as a series of cool spots to combat heat stress and as a connecting public space for different target groups (including educational water playgrounds for children, a hand pump where residents can collect rainwater and a linear food park or community garden project).