Variable Arrangements Between Residential and Productive Activities: Conceiving Mixed-Use for Urban Development in Brussels

Abstract

Mixing productive economic activities with housing is a hot topic in academic and policy discourses on the redevelopment of large cities today. Mixed-use is proposed to reduce adverse effects of modernist planning such as single-use zoning, traffic congestion, and loss of quality in public space. Moreover, productive city discourses plead for the re-integration of industry and manufacturing in the urban tissue. Often, historical examples of successful mixed-use in urban areas serve as a guiding image, with vertical symbiosis appearing as the holy grail of the live-work mix-discourse. This article examines three recent live-work mix projects developed by a public real estate agency in Brussels. We investigate how different spatial layouts shape the links between productive, residential, and other land uses and how potential conflicts between residents and economic actors are mediated. We develop a theoretical framework based on earlier conceptualisations of mixed-use development to analyse the spatial and functional relationships within the projects. We situate them within the housing and productive city policies in Brussels. From this analysis, we conclude that mixed-use should be understood by considering spatial and functional relationships at various scales and by studying the actual spatial layout of shared spaces, logistics and nuisance mitigation. Mixed-use is highly contextual, depending on the characteristics of the area as well as policy goals. The vertical symbiosis between different land uses is but one example of valid mixed-use strategies along with good neighbourship, overlap, and tolerance. As such, future commercial and industrial areas will occur in various degrees of mixity in our cities.

Evaluasi Konsep Pengembangan Taman Bisnis Berdasarkan Karakteristik Kawasan Campuran

“…Sehingga dari keragaman fungsi tersebut menghasilkan kawasan pergudangan tersebut menjadi sesuatu yang lebih baik dan menjadi daya tarik baru bagi kota tersebut. Dampak positif dari penggunaan konsep pengembangan penggunaan campuran tersebut juga terjadi di Kota Brussel yang diteliti oleh Ryckewaert et al (2021) yang mengemukakan bahwa dengan penggunaan konsep pengembangan "live-work" yang terbatas untuk kawasan permukiman dan aktivitas produktif maka sesuai dengan tujuan perencanaan tata ruang yang valid akan berhasil mendapatkan esensi "good neighbours" dan "tolerance" dari pencampuran kedua kegiatan tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi konsep pembangunan kawasan campuran Taman Bisnis CIBIS, apakah sudah memenuhi kriteria karakteristik kawasan campuran khususnya kriteria keanekaragaman penggunaan (diversity of use) dan kriteria desain (design).…”

Landscape-Based Transformation of Young Industrial Landscapes

“…These principles also shaped the suburban context across Europe and North America. Other studies have identified, investigated or mentioned similar post-industrial landscapes in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, and the USA [14,[21][22][23][24][25]. Given that YILs cover vast expanses of land-up to 25% of the total area in some Danish suburbs-our understanding of these landscapes is astonishingly limited [15,26].…”

Construction of 3D Design Model of Urban Public Space Based on ArcGIS Water System Terrain Visualization Data

“…According to the experience of western developed countries and the development of my country, since the reform and opening-up policies are introduced, the process of rapid urbanization is usually accompanied by the transformation of urban spatial form and the intensification of various conflicts within the society. It has been found that it is quite common for the quality of urban public life to deteriorate due to improperly designed physical spaces [20].…”