Within Urban, the teams of the Urban Renewal Department (Direction de la Rénovation Urbaine - DRU) are responsible for several regional policies aimed at improving the situation of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, using a variety of tools:
- The Sustainable Neighbourhood Contracts (SNC) (Contrats de Quartiers Durables - CQD): in a single municipality.
- The Urban Renewal Contracts (URC) (Contrats de Rénovation Urbaine - CRU): spread over several municipalities.
- Urban Policy (Politique de la Ville - PdV): one-off actions in most Brussels municipalities.
Renewing the city also means improving its accessibility, both in terms of ease of access and practicality for everyone.
Towards more accessible and more inclusive neighbourhoods
The urban renewal programmes go through a study and research phase. Residents are consulted about the future of their neighbourhoods in a variety of ways (meetings, surveys, exploratory walks, etc.), enabling the design office, which is made up of architects, urban planners, geographers, sociologists, etc., to develop the programmes that will be implemented.
Residents at the heart of the process
In this context, everyone’s opinion is wanted, especially of those that are most vulnerable, whether they have a disability or not (the elderly, young people, women, children, etc.). Every target group matters. The more a space is designed for the most vulnerable people, the easier it will be for everyone to use it.
- "For instance, a member of the neighbourhood committee (CoQ) for the Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract (SNC) Biestebroeck had in fact a disability, and the comments this member made on the lack of adapted housing, complicated access to public transport, but above all the poor accessibility of certain public spaces like parks, roads or pavements, etc., were incorporated into the diagnosis and made it possible to plan improvements to some of these spaces in the context of the CQD."
More accessible public equipment
These urban renewal programmes aim to create or renovate infrastructure mainly for the neighbourhood: in this context, every effort is made to make as many spaces as possible accessible to people with reduced mobility (PRMs).
- "For example, an external access ramp and a lift have been installed in the former Laeken Station, which falls under the Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract (SNC) Bockstael."
- "The SNC Biestebroeck has also made it possible to bring the Maison des Artistes (Artists’ House) up to PRM accessibility standards. The work on this is still in progress. The lift of the Maison des Artistes is conjoined with the lift of the daycare centre built on the plot next to it (also a CQD project), etc."
Public spaces thought out for everyone
In all redevelopments of public spaces, the question of accessibility is studied, so that as many target groups as possible are taken into account.
- "For instance, as part of the Urban Policy – Axis 2, the municipality of Berchem-Sainte-Agathe has created an additional pathway that is accessible to PRMs between the Rue des Combattants towards the social housing complex in the Rue Jean-Christophe and the Rue de la Gérance."
Adapted and inclusive housing
These programmes are also intended to create municipal housing: many projects have therefore incorporated the notion of accessibility by making these dwellings adapted or adaptable.
- "A good example is the SNC Masui, where several projects included PRM flats, a one-bedroom flat on the ground floor in Rue Masui 96, a three-bedroom flat in Rue de la Reine 178, as well as two two-bedroom flats and a three-bedroom flat on the corner of the Chaussée d’Anvers and the Allée Verte."
- "As part of the Urban Policy programme – Axis 2, the municipality of Ixelles has also redeveloped an area for community housing, comprising 8 housing units suitable for senior citizens, adjoining a community space, lounge, kitchen and guest room, for the benefit of the group of residents."
- "Also in Ixelles, 8 intergenerational housing units will be created via the SNC Petite Suisse, ranging from studios to five-bedroom units, all of which will be accessible, adapted or adaptable to PRMs."
Expertise, regulatory framework and practical tools
To respond more effectively to the challenges of accessibility in urban development projects, the DRU has a reference person within the team who monitors this issue and regularly attends training courses on the subject, in particular those given by the Collectif Accessibilité Wallonie Bruxelles (CAWaB). This Brussels non-profit organisation brings together 22 associations that are directly or indirectly involved in accessibility issues for people with reduced mobility. This enables the reference person to advise and guide their colleagues on more complex projects.
All these development projects are mostly subject to planning permission, the accessibility aspect of which is monitored by the Urban Planning Department (Direction de l’Urbanisme).
These few examples illustrate the accessibility of the developments in the urban renewal policies, but this ambition also extends to all projects supervised by Urban, as demonstrated by the Public Spaces Manual.
Inclusive urban planning is based on a requirement that is both ethical and functional for our societies. It favours urban planning aimed at creating spaces that are accessible to all, regardless of age, disability, gender or socio-economic situation, thereby guaranteeing social cohesion and togetherness.
