The strategic planning tools in the Wallonia region still reflect in terms of areas, poles and axes inadequate concepts that do not help understanding its overall value and which leave entire areas outside the positive economic dynamics.

Regarded as a unique territorial figure, with its landscape, infrastructure and human capital, the Walloon industrial axis may be able to federate projects and actors and become a tool for sustainable development.

## An approach

### Title

The title has a threefold significance.

‘The Walloon Industrial Axis.’ This specific territory is the field of research as a part of a ‘geography of oblivion,’ which is strategic for a more balanced development of the European space.

‘Figure.’ The contemporary European city has taken on new forms, leading to a questioning of traditional urban planning practices. The concept of ‘fragment’ in contrast to ‘continuity’ is often employed to describe the nature of the contemporary city (Secchi 2001). While previously, expansion was the focus, the present goal is to reconfigure the entire urban or territorial structure based on a shared, long-term vision. ‘Figure’ refers to a specific urbanistic approach that considers the project and the design as the knowledge producers (Viganò 2017).<fnref n="3" /> First, the project requires a long descriptive process, then a prospective effort, through a new organization of space. The figure is a tool of spatial re-composition, a technical device for urban design and urban planning.

‘21st century.’ “A century never begins on the first day of its calendar and never ends on the last.” (Secchi 2005) We are already two decades into the 21st century, but the 20th century appears to have a long aftermath and still influences many of the choices made in the current planning decisions. However, the new century has starkly emphasized the impacts of climate change and the depletion of resources, as well as the resulting social inequalities (Secchi 2011). Cities and territories will need to prioritize the solving of these issues. However, tackling the environmental challenges requires long-term planning and consensus among different regions regarding a shared vision of the future. Images and metaphors serve as complementary and conceptual tools in describing and envisioning this approach. They often prove effective in fulfilling this role, as they offer both foresight and intuition.<fnref n="4" />

### Theory and practice

The theoretical framework of this research is currently being developed. Until today, I have relied on my professional experience where practice and theory have consistently intertwined, but the theoretical part has never been made explicit and described.

This research presents an opportunity to bridge this gap by defining cognitive strategies and reconstructing my personal references within the expansive realm of urban design theory.

### Hypotheses and thesis

The thesis argues that the entire Walloon industrial axis constitutes a single territorial figure capable of addressing the challenges posed by climate change and socioeconomic transition. The hypotheses are grounded in design explorations conducted within Paola Viganò’s practice (La Louvière, Val de Sambre, Herstal) as well as my own research in LAB705 practice (Liège, La

<footnote n="3">³ The importance of the project as a tool for revealing places and planning for sustainable development will be highlighted throughout the research. Indifferent to the accelerations of the contemporary city, every territory is made up of slow stratifications (Corboz 1983), traces of which inevitably remain. The task of the project is to detect them. The urban or territorial project is understood here as an instrument capable of articulating different scales of urban planning, both in its spatial and figurative aspects and in its social and economic ones, through a morphological axis (space) and a process axis (time) (Palazzo 2010).</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Today, their capacity is measured both negatively and positively. The appellation ‘Pays noir’ for the Charleroi region, for example, is a persistent image (label) that is difficult to erase; the appellation ‘Green Metropolis’ of the cross-border region between Rhur, Aachen and Limburg is an attempt to reprogram a territory, also by acting on people’s imagination; Sheffield, with its heavy industrial past, is now known as ‘the greenest city in the UK’. Jean-Louis Subileau, commissioned to draw up a report on the state of the Bassin minier in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, writes: “Il faut jouer sur tous les atouts susceptibles de provoquer ce changement d’image. La mutation ‘de l’archipel noir en archipel vert’ doit être rendue visible de façon éclatante grâce à la mise en valeur de la Chaîne des parcs et des canaux et à l’offre de véritables usages dans cette armature exceptionnelle d’espaces.” (Subileau 2017)</footnote>
Louvière, Tubize). These explorations have unveiled similar phenomena resulting from deindustrialization across distant territories<fnref n="5" />. Nevertheless, the responses to these phenomena differ, as do the spatial sequences that compose the figure. This thesis aims to demonstrate that taking a transversal design approach to the industrial axis can yield coordinated responses that are more effective than individual initiatives.<fnref n="6" />

## A portrait: social, economic, or ecological space?

The strategic location of the axis, positioned between major Belgian urban centers such as Brussels, Liège, and Charleroi, as well as its proximity to the economically prosperous European diagonal (Blue Banana, GDP 2019 in the EU), presents a range of opportunities and challenges for its development. The first part of this thesis will focus on analyzing the territorial shape. This will involve describing the existing infrastructure, transportation networks, and land use patterns, assessing their effectiveness in promoting regional connectivity, economic growth. Additionally, this study will explore the cultural heritage, landscapes, natural resources, and ecosystem services of the Walloon industrial axis, recognizing their potential as catalysts for sustainable urban development.

The urban history and morphology of the Walloon industrial axis are closely intertwined with various elements, including water and the global valley's landscape, coal, iron, heavy industry, and, more recently, the motorway and the phenomena of metropolization and dispersion. The following is an initial outline of the sub-figures that will be investigated.

### *Figure 1: The city on the water in the Middle Ages*

During the Middle Ages, the Sambre-Meuse valley was a thriving and populated space characterized by lush grasslands, orchards, and villages. The process of urbanization in this area established a unique and intimate relationship with water resources<fnref n="7" />. During the Middle Ages, a network of interconnected villages linked by *chemins vicinaux* (local paths) existed alongside the prominent water features. This can be observed through the presence of ancient farms, medieval churches, and squares, which form a small architectural heritage scattered throughout the villages along the Walloon industrial axis.

In the 18th century, the Ferraris map provided evidence of a secondary system of territorial organization that emerged during the coal mining era, marking the advent of proto-industrialization.

### *Figure 2: The ‘coal town’ and the industrial machine*

At the transition from the 18th to the 19th century, the map of the mining concessions reflected a transformative division of the territory. Urbanization followed a new trajectory as new towns emerged around mining sites, while small rural villages expanded and transformed into vibrant centers characterized by bustling commercial and cultural activities.<fnref n="8" />

From that point onward, significant infrastructure projects were undertaken to reshape the river courses, leading to the systematic channeling of the rivers. Additionally, a new network of canals was constructed to connect various industrial basins<fnref n="9" />. New railway lines were built along the main channels of the Meuse and Sambre rivers.

As a result, a dense network of railways and trams snakes through this new urban system.

<footnote n="5">⁵Currently, there are significant gaps in my understanding and depiction of the figure. New case studies, such as Charleroi and Mons-Borinage, will be incorporated into the research during the PhD. These segments of the study will draw upon the work conducted by other researchers, the existing literature, and future professional engagements.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶Recently, a pilot project called *Contrat de Bassin minier, vers une valorisation durable coordonnée du réseau des terrils wallons* was undertaken. This marks the initial step towards a comprehensive and coordinated examination of the industrial axis, with a specific focus on the *terrils*. These *terrils* hold significant cultural and historical importance, representing the unique heritage that defines the post-industrial landscape of Wallonia.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷For strategic reasons, Charleroi, Namur and Liège were originally fortified cities built on high points at confluences. In the Basse-Sambre region (between Charleroi and Namur), the watercourse of the Sambre is sinuous and its main channel (*lit majeur*) is deeper. Towns and villages were built at a distance from the minor channel of the river to protect themselves from flooding, while still being close enough to utilize the rivers as communication routes (as seen in Auvelai and Jemeppe-sur-Sambre). The Meuse River, around Liège, consists of shallow bends, and the villages settled closely to the water, forming filaments that thicken at micro-confluences with smaller watercourses.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸This settlement pattern can also be observed in the villages of the Haine River, Haine-Saint-Paul, and Haine-Saint-Pierre, located in the region of La Louvière.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹One notable example of the canal network is the Canal du Centre in la Louvière, which connects the Sambre with the Scheldt system.</footnote>
Simultaneously with the development of extensive infrastructure in the region, major steel mills<fnref n="10" /> (Charleroi and Liège), glass factories and chemical industries (Val de Sambre) were established in close proximity to the water. Like ‘stones’<fnref n="11" /> in the valley, the ‘city of steel’<fnref n="12" /> emerges as a formidable figure, with high-smoking objects and gigantic industrial buildings that gradually lose contact with the historic centers. ‘Cities within cities’ [fig. 3], with houses, schools, and gardens for their workers. The landscape is dotted with smokestacks and prominent black hills, the terrils<fnref n="13" />.

<figure><img src="image_81.png" /><figcaption>[fig. 3] Development of the metallurgy industry. Source: R. De Cooman, V. Bourgeois, *Charleroi, Terre d'Urbanisme*, 1946</figcaption></figure>

Figure 3: The Higher City and Lower City

In modern times, reliance on the automobile is endless, motorways are promoted as a more efficient means of transport than the railway. Consequently, a significant portion of the extensive rail network has been dismantled.

The *Autoroute de Wallonie* (E42), designed in the 1950s to promote the reconversion of the Walloon industrial axis, spans the region from East to West. The construction of this motorway occurred in the 1960s, marking the beginning of a new era of urbanization. The motorway nimbly crosses agricultural *plateaux* and avoids major rivers. It serves as the foundation for various new infrastructures, including the Liège, Charleroi, La Louvière, and Mons ring roads, as well as the two Walloon airports and large industrial sites. Metropolitan facilities gradually shift away from city centers and gravitate towards the newly developed road network. This period witnesses a competition between brownfield sites and greenfield sites (Halleux 2011) and the suburbanization of both economic activities and residential expansion.

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ See Leboutte’s book *Vie et mort des bassins industriels en Europe*, 1750-2000. The book begins with a description of the writer Marguerite Yourcenar as she approaches the city of Liège: “*Lors de mon séjour en Belgique en 1956, le souvenir de la gravure restée en ma possession me fit désirer voir Flémalle. Un taxi m’y mena de Liège par une interminable rue de faubourg ouvrier, grise et noire, sans une herbe et sans un arbre, une de ces rues que seul s’habitude et l’indifférence nous font croire habitables (par d’autres que nous) et dont j’avais, bien entendu, connu l’équivalent dans deux douzaines de pays, décor accepté du travail au XX siècle. La belle vue sur la Meuse était bouchée : l’industrie lourde mettait entre le fleuve et l’agglomération ouvrière sa topographie d’enfer. Le ciel de novembre était un couvercle encrassé.*” (Yourcenar 1974)</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ Stones and sponges are conceptual metaphors that have been used in various studies by Secchi-Viganò to describe the lower or higher porosity within an urban fabric.</footnote>

<footnote n="12">¹² In 2012, Studio Secchi-Viganò and CREAT conducted a feasibility study for the implementation of a tram line in Liège. During the analysis phase, four city typologies were identified at a regional scale, each associated with a specific landscape, infrastructure, and settlement pattern: the ‘dense city’, ancient and compact, located between the river and the hills, the ‘steel city’ in the main course of the Meuse River, the ‘city of mines’, around the abandoned coal deposits, the ‘emergent city’, connected to new infrastructures such as highways and major metropolitan facilities.</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ Today, the terrils not only represent are a very important spatial marker in the Walloon landscape, but they also hold great cultural and identity for local inhabitants. Furthermore, they are also spaces where nature has taken over. Biologists have discovered rare plant species on certain terrils, whose existence is intricately linked to the unique soil characteristics found on coal hills.</footnote>
As previously mentioned, some large industries still occupy space near the water<fnref n="14" />, while others close down and sell off polluted lands<fnref n="15" />. Many companies prefer setting up at the periphery of the industrial axis, benefiting from the agricultural land that is well connected to highways. Urbanization undergoes the same process. Those who can afford it buy a single-family house in new *lotissements*, far away from a heavy past. [fig. 4].

<figure><img src="image_82.png" /><figcaption>[fig.4] Productive landscape. Source: Horizontal Metropolis @studiopaolavigano</figcaption></figure>

## Planning tools

In addition, the thesis will investigate the current governance structures and planning frameworks. The regional implementation of European goals such as No net land take has encountered many difficulties. The main regulatory land use planning tool (*Plan de secteur*) is outdated and no longer adequately addresses current challenges.<fnref n="16" /> The strategic planning tool (*Schéma de développement du territoire*) has been under review for several years. Although a revision was approved in 2018, it was never adopted due to being deemed overly ambitious and unrealistic. A new version was approved in March 2023 and will soon be presented to the public.

## Exploring the border

A comparative study takes an integral part of this research, focusing on territories that are similar to and adjacent to the Walloon industrial axis. The aim of the study is to understand the similarities, differences, and potential challenges encountered by these territories, particularly in their post-industrial transformation. By analyzing these aspects, a deeper understanding of the various

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ AGC and Inovyn in Val de Sambre, NMKA in La Louvière</footnote>

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ Saint-Gobain, in Val de Sambre.</footnote>

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ The *Plan de secteur* provides the overall strategic vision and guidelines for land use planning in the Walloon Region, while the *Code du développement territorial* (CoDT) translates these guidelines into specific rules and procedures for development projects. The *Plan de secteur* sets the long-term direction, while the CoDT governs the day-to-day implementation and regulatory aspects of urban development like building permits, environmental impact assessments, urban planning, zoning regulations, and architectural requirements. The *Schéma de développement du territoire* (SDT) is another legal instrument used in Wallonia to guide and plan the long-term spatial development of the region. It differs from both the Sector Plan and the Territorial Development Code (CoDT) in terms of scale and goals. Its primary role is to define the broad orientations and overall objectives for territorial development and focuses on cross-cutting policies and priorities at the regional level, such as mobility, economy, environment, land use, housing, etc.</footnote>
dynamics and processes involved in the transition from industrial to post-industrial landscapes can be gained.<fnref n="17" />

By examining these areas, we seek to identify best practices, lessons learned, and innovative approaches that can be applied to the revitalization of the Walloon industrial axis and to design a new territorial and strategic figure. Through this trajectory, we also aim to foster opportunities for future collaboration between different territories (and research).

## Conclusion

Through a multidisciplinary approach that combines urban planning, environmental studies, cultural heritage, and governance analysis, this research seeks to shed light on the spatial potential of the Walloon industrial axis as a territorial figure of the 21st century in the heart of Europe able to become a genuine laboratory for ecological, economic, and social transition, but also an opportunity for innovation in the planning tool field. By examining its cultural heritage, natural resources, infrastructures, and governance frameworks, we seek to contribute to the ongoing discussion on sustainable urban development and provide practical recommendations for policymakers, planners, and stakeholders involved in shaping the future of the Walloon industrial axis.

## Bibliography

Berger F., 2004, *Régions, États et Communauté européenne face aux crises industrielles. Exemple comparé français et allemand dans le secteur sidérurgique. Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire*, vol. n. 84.

Bertrams, K., 2013, *Une entreprise au cœur de l'histoire. Solvay, 1863-2013*. Cambridge University Press.

Caniggia G, Maffei G. L., 1979, *Lettura dell'edilizia di base*, Venice: Marsilio editori.

Corboz, A., 1998, *Ordine Sparso*, Milan: Franco Angeli (orig, 1983: 'Le territoire comme palimpseste,' in Diogène, 121)

Desjardins, X. and Estève, P., 2021, *La lutte contre l'oubli*, in Urbanisme n. 423.

Halleux, J.-M., 2011, *Industrial land restructuring in Wallonia at the light of the English case: a (too) strong competition between greenfield development and brownfield re-development*, in Industrial urban land redevelopment, pp. 24-41, Rimini: Maggioli.

Halleux, J-M., Bianchet, B., Maldague, H., Lambotte, J-M. and Wilmotte, P-F., 2019, *Le redéploiement économique de la Wallonie face à la diversité de ses territoires?*, Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP, 2019/37-38 (n. 2442-2443).

Leboutte, R., 1997, *Vie et mort des bassins industriels en Europe 1750-2000*. Paris: L'Harmattan.

Mathieu, N., 2018, *Leurs enfants après eux*, Arles: Actes Sud.

Mangin, D., Panerai, P., 1999, *Projet urbain*, Marseille: Parenthèses.

Marot, S., 1995, *L'alternative du paysage*, Le Visiteur, 1995-1, 55-81.

Palazzo. E, 2010, *Il paesaggio nel progetto urbanistico*, Padua: Il Prato.

Pasleau, S., 2002, *Caractéristiques des bassins industriels dans l'Eurégio Meuse-Rhin*, Fédéralisme Régionalisme, Vol. 3: 2002-2003 – Mobilité et identités dans l'Eurégio Meuse-Rhin.

Secchi, B., 2000, *Prima lezione di urbanistica*, Bari: Laterza.

Secchi, B., 2005, *La città del ventesimo secolo*, Bari: Laterza.

Secchi, B., 2011, *La nuova questione urbana: ambiente, mobilità e disuguaglianze sociali*, in Crios, Critica degli ordinamenti spaziali 1/2011, pp. 83-92.

Secchi, B., Viganò, P., 2011, *La ville poreuse*, Geneva: MetisPresses.

Sorià y Mata Á., 1882, *La Ciudad linear*.

Subileau, J.-L., 2017, *Préfiguration d'un contrat partenarial d'intérêt national pour le bassin minier du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais*.

Viganò, P., 2010, *I territori dell'urbanistica. Il progetto come produttore di conoscenza*, Rome: Officina.

Yourcenar, M., 1974, *Souvenir pieux*, Paris: Gallimard.

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ Case studies in Europe: Bassin minier in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Euroregio, other cross-border European programs.</footnote>
# Designing (with) soil in circular built environment transformations

*Charlotte Timmers*ª, *Julie Marin*ª, *Sam Otto*ᵇ, *Bruno de Meulder*ª

Charlotte.timmers@kuleuven.be

This paper analyses potential roles of soil and soil-related processes in the circular transformation of industrial sites into healthy multi(eco)systems. Even though soil and soil science can play a significant role towards the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Saskia D. Keesstra et al., 2016), it is (literally and metaphorically) often overlooked in urban landscape planning processes. Design research on the Flemish industrial sites of Haasrode and Kortrijk-North, engages with soils dual function as a living system and valuable non-renewable resource in order to understand what consequences designing (with) soil can have for circular built environment transformation. By doing so this paper tries to create a bridge between urban landscape design and earth and environmental sciences. Furthermore it reflects on how little urban landscape designers know about the living system under our feet. And how to start turning this around and include soil as a regenerative living system.

In Flanders, Belgium, industrial parks are high on policy agendas for re-investment and upgrades in terms of carbon neutrality, spatial efficiency, and circular economy (CE). Conventional architecture planning, even when designing ‘eco-industrial parks’, looks at industrial park planning from a technical, economical and human-centred perspective, while having more space for businesses and economic growth on the agenda with efficient use of natural resources and cleaner production. Industrial parks are not perceived as landscapes of living (eco)systems. Open and sub-surface space, are considered as new fronts of domestication and circular economy is mostly addressed through technical innovations such as the optimization of resource flows and closing waste flow loops. Such an approach overlooks the regenerative multi-purpose potentials these mostly spatially scattered, infrastructurally oriented, monofunctional landscapes have. For example, in the case of Haasrode the visualization of water within the litho- and hydrosphere has shown a tension between the infrastructural and natural water system, and the potential of regenerating the soil for a sustainable regional drinking water network.

The methodology of this paper is based on desktop research, expert interviews and interpretative mapping. Firstly it uncovers and interprets the online available soil data from the different fields. Within a systemic transect it combines this data with the invisible natural systems, the chemical, physical and biological living systems in the soil, the carbon cycle, the water cycle, vegetation and root networks,..., that interact and co-exist on the industrial park of Haasrode. Combining this data with (historical) human and natural interactions in conceptual drawings (photocollages, interpretative maps, systemic sections,...) allows a thorough analysis of the existing canvas of the built environment to pinpoint the gap in knowledge around soil. This paper considers the soil as the connecter of different aspects of life, integrating different biogeochemical cycles in a first attempt to tackle the following questions. How to design with soil on an industrial site so that the design has a regenerative impact on all living systems present, human and non-human? What is necessary for an urbanism and architectural point of view to step away from seeing the soil as an inert and technical surface? What earth and environmental sciences soil knowledge is necessary to be able to reinforce its regenerative capacities (intrinsic value and its status) through urban landscape design on a specific site? And what then are the different steps to put the living soil (back) on the map?

<footnote>ªDepartment of Architecture, KULeuven, Belgium</footnote>

<footnote>Supervisor: prof. Bruno De Meulder, Department of Architecture, KULeuven, Belgium</footnote>

<footnote>Supervisor: dr. ir. Arch. Julie Marin, Department of Architecture, KULeuven, Belgium</footnote>

<footnote>ᵇSupervisor: dr. Sam Otto, Department of Forrest, Nature and Landscape, KULeuven, Belgium</footnote>

<footnote>Dissertation: ‘Redesign of Flemish industry parks, for a circular transition of the built environment’, jan 2022 - dec 2024</footnote>
Soil as a foundation for circular built environment transformations

<figure><img src="image_83.png" /></figure>

[Fig. 1] A plot at Haasrode industrial park showing a before and after excavation of valuable topsoil in preparation for the construction of a new industrial site and building. First image of Google maps, second image of March 2022 and interpretative drawing made by the author.

“Soil is the source of life on Earth. Everything here comes from the soil and returns to the soil. If we take care of the soil, the soil takes care of us and all our needs. The soil gives us food, trees, and water. The soil holds us and our dwellings on her back, yet she is so humble that she always remains under our feet.” (Kamur, 2023). Satish Kumar describes in a beautiful and poetic manner how soil, the upper earth layer, in conjunction with water and oxygen, form the biosphere, the very essence and origin of all life. Additionally soil is a foundation and vital (re)source for how humans inhabit the world through our built environment. Soil provides a stable foundation for plant roots, enabling them to anchor and access essential nutrients and water. It acts as a medium for the intricate web of life, supporting diverse ecosystems and serving as a habitat for countless organisms. Soil plays a significant role in environmental processes making the earth liveable for humans. It acts as a filter, purifying water as it percolates through the ground, making it suitable for consumption. Soil also serves as a carbon sink, sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and mitigating climate change. From an anthropocentric perspective, soil and the earth layers it covers serve as primary ‘matter’ for the construction sector. It is covered, cut, excavated, polluted then cleaned up, displaced, dumped, processed. It is literally a foundation, space humans build upon and widely (ab)use. For example clay-rich soils have been used for centuries in the creation of bricks, the most ubiquitous building material in Flanders. Furthermore soil materials such as sand, gravel, and crushed rock are essential components in concrete production, providing strength and stability to buildings and infrastructure. Soil’s dual functions as a support system for life and a source of materials for construction make it an invaluable but non-renewable resource. The field of earth and environmental sciences studies soil as habitat, whereas the building sector, with a few exceptions, considers soil as a resource that can be colonized. Within the field of architecture and urban design, the aspect of soil as life support system first resonated in the 1980’s with a growing social awareness about the role of soil. Around this time Architect Bernardo Secchi published ‘Progetto di suolo’ at the 13th congress of the International Soil Science Association in Hamburg. (David Peleman, 2022) More than 40 years later, in 2022, OASE – journal for Architecture - published a new issue on ‘the project of the Soil’ with the intent to “use the journal as a ‘vehicle’ to further explore the conversation on urbanism as ‘working on territory’ and the ‘role of the land in the city’”. (David Peleman, 2022) This PhD research wants to engage further into the discussion by constructing bridges between earth and environmental sciences and urban landscape design. To do this the topic of soil as a regenerative matter is studied on two case studies. With visualizations as a medium to translate knowledge between the disciplines and expose data gaps. Most urban design drawings show an ignorance towards soil by portraying it as big black line or undetermined brown blob with an indication of blue-green structures on top. This paper perceives soil as a basis, a foundation for the circular built environment transformation of two Flemish industrial sites following the traditions of landscape urbanism of ‘working with, and not against
nature'. (Bruno de Meulder, 2010) Circular economy discourses have become popular within government and corporate sectors for tackling the socio-ecological challenges of the Anthropocene and desire changing the negative impact of mining and construction processes on local ecosystems in positive ones. (Calisto Friant et al., 2020, Julie Marin, 2021) In 2019 Marin and Demeulder proposed a 'ladder of Lansink' for a circular (landscape) urbanism. Where the most reductive form of circular urbanism is fulfilled by circular (new) construction, since new demountable buildings still require material extractions and land occupation. Then in ascending order recirculating materials, repurposing buildings, not building and finally, as the foundation of circular urbanism, regenerating nature. (Julie Marin, 2021) Regenerating nature incorporates regenerating soil in circular urbanism. Regenerative design means designing in such a way that all living things benefit from it and have space to fulfil their natural cycles, to leave them in a better state than before. So what does regeneration of soil of these specific industrial sites transformation entail? For a transformation of the sites going beyond domestication and space occupancy. With the knowledge that (top)soil is in a constant flux, different at every square meter and changing every minute, every day, every season (Bardgett, 2016). But also taking into account site specific opportunities and logics such as different (historical) development patterns, contaminations and use of soil as a resource?

## Soil knowlegde from earth and environmental sciences as support for regenerative urban landscape design

The story of the soil starts with the biosphere. The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists and represents the collective of following spheres: the lithosphere (earth), atmosphere (air) and hydrosphere (water). (Kim Rutledge, 2023) Within the Earth System Sciences this zone is called the ‘Critical Zone’, described by the Critical Zones Collaborative Network ‘CZ Net’ (former Critical Zone observatories) as “the living, breathing, constantly evolving boundary layer where rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms interact. These complex interactions regulate the natural habitat and determine the availability of life-sustaining resources, including our food production and water quality.” (Frédérique Ait-Touati, 2022, CZNet, 2023). This living system, the most productive and biologically active soil layer, situates itself until a depth of approximately two meters, as the interchange between oxygen is vital for these organisms to survive and thrive. For about 3.5 billion years this zone has evolved into a complex network where food and energy are exchanged into a self-supporting and self-regulating system. Throughout time this system of bacteria, fungi and other organisms evolved into the ability to break down, decomposing, dead animals and plants. These processes release nutrients back into the soil and ocean, nutrients that are then reabsorbed by growing plants and the cycle continues. (Kim Rutledge, 2023) The formation of soil is extremely slow, and takes hundreds to thousands of years or approximately 0,1 mm a year, making healthy topsoil an invaluable resource. (Bardgett, 2016) Furthermore incredibly fascinating as soil qualities can radically differ within one square meter. Since the industrial evolution this system has been under severe pressure with the introduction of chemical fertilizers, an explosion of urban development and associated soil sealing practices in addition to the development of vast networks of subterranean pipes, wires and conduits and the extraction of soils precious metals and minerals as a resource. (Bardgett, 2016) All causing an instant transformation of materials that took the earth slow and powerful forces and vast timespans to create. (Graham, 2016) With scientist voices rising that the problem of soil degradation is even more urgent then global warming - it even adds to the effect of global warming - and that if nothing is done, the world has less than 60 years of harvest left. (Oosterheerd, 2021) However scientist and policymakers worldwide have become increasingly aware of the importance of the soil in relation to food production for a growing world population, mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, regulating the soil moisture levels and boosting carbon storage in soil. The soil is after oceans, the second largest natural carbon sink, surpassing forest and vegetation. (Bardgett, 2016, Agency, 2019)

The way how soil health is determined is also evolving. Within Earth and environmental sciences, soil scientists have made enormous progress toward understanding soil organisms, their roles in ecosystems and what to study in order to determine the vitality and health of soil (E.C. Brevik, 2015) Until recently the state of the soil was only determined by looking at the physical properties - informing about the soil structure and its particle size and water buffering capacity - and by its chemical properties such as pH value and the different nutrients within the soil. However soil
scientists are now turning to the biological properties of the soil such as soil life and biodiversity. The soil life plays a role in the numerous functions the soil has, such as the structural formation, water-storing and purifying capacity, nutrients for plant growth and climate regulation. So the position that soil life has within the biosphere is eminent. (Oosterheerd, 2021) This soil life is a vibrant bunch, as in one teaspoon of soil contains more living organisms than the amount of people on earth. (Oosterheerd, 2021) The micro-organisms range from bacteria, to fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods and many more that still are yet to be discovered. While soil-animals living in the first 100 cm of the soil can be grouped in 10 main groups: Woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, beetles, earthworms, slugs, snails and arachnids, ants and the mole. (Oosterheerd, 2021) In order to discover this soil life, few easy methods can be applied to determine the quality. For example with the teabag index, two types of tea bags are buried in the soil. This method gives insight in how rich and active soil life on that location is and of the rate of decomposition. (Bodemleven, 2023) This can also be determined by burying a cotton undergarment for two to three months. Visual examination can be done of structure of soil, the presence of visible soil animals and by linking biotic and abiotic specificities. Sampling earthworms are a good indicator group to evaluate soil health. Soil compaction can be tested through the use of a penetograph or taking soil samples. These samples can then also be tested in a lab on chemical and microbial biomass.

<figure><img src="image_84.png" /></figure>

[Fig. 3] Drawing in progress on the biosphere, the living, breathing constantly evolving boundary layer. The basis for circular built environment transformations. Made by author.

## The role of soil in urban planning and design of ‘eco-industrial parks’

In Flanders we see a growing awareness towards soil through different policy programs such as ‘Grond+zaken’ and the ‘open ruimte platform’ (omgeving), through citizen science programs such as ‘CurieuzeNeuzen’ (CurieuzeNeuzen, 2023) collecting data around drought and heat in private yards and ‘Bodemleven’ (Bodemleven, 2023) collecting data on soil life in the region Limburg through the use of the ‘teabag index’. Furthermore the Flemish policy institution OVAM advocates for good soil practices on a chemical level in relation to soil contamination, and in relation to the quality of the living soil. (Ellen Luyten, 2023) However, the integration of this importance towards the urban
design field in general and on industrial sites stays more absent. Different pioneer research projects
can be found that actively integrate soil within urban areas. In the study of Atelier Track design, a
collaboration with an environmental scientist from the UHasselt led to the integration of
phytoremediation as landscape design to remediate BESIX historical soil contamination.(Joris
Moonen, 2016) In Amsterdam a research by design study of 2021 ‘BiodiverCity, A matter of vital
soil’ advocates to create, implement and upscale biodiversity-based measures in public space
directly related to soil. (Joyce van den Berg, 2021) In Brussels a co-creative interdisciplinary
research investigation ‘Super Terram’ setup to investigate Urban nature of the ‘Schaerbeek
Forming’ and the railway corridor till North station. The project was the outcome of an urban
design studio organized in the winter of 2020 at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). The site of
Schaerbeek Forming can be determined as a ‘waste-scape’, an underused former railway shunt
station, creating the perfect conditions for experimental landscape design investigations on soil and
nature based solutions. This principle of experiment is something reoccurring when looking at
post-industrial landscape design. Examples such as ‘Buiksloterham’ (Merckx, 2020), ‘Fresh Kills’
(Graham, 2016), use nature based solutions and landscape in order to address, solve and/or
control, historic industrial soil contamination and restore the land. Taking a look at economically
running industrial sites today and ‘eco’-industrial park design, the integration of in depth knowledge
of the vital soil is not taken into account. For these sites it seems that the best designers, businesses,
municipalities, decision makers around the table can, and want to do is invest in clean production
and a more efficient use of natural resources. (forum, 2021) This is also visible on the two case
study sites. One of the most recent developments on Haasrode depicts to be very sustainable and
ecological as they follow an ‘almost energy neutral’ building design, an efficient energy
management, re-use of rainwater and the implementation of more than 30 charging stations for
electric cars. (Simac, 2021) From the perspective of soil this resonates with Latour’s statement that
soil is often not even on the map, on operational industrial sites it clearly isn’t. (Latour, 2022) It
rather stays perceived as an inert and technical surface with a layered network of infrastructural
systems in it. Soil serves as a mere foundation upon which the built environment rests and was and
is meticulously shaped over and over again. (Latour, 2022, Graham, 2016, ULB, 2021) How can
urban landscape designers prioritize this reasoning and experimentation of post-industrial
transformation on operational industrial sites in need of transformation and anticipate for today’s
and future environmental challenges? This paper works on the case studies of Haasrode and
Kortrijk North in an attempt to integrate and conceptualize this reasoning. Haasrode and Kortrijk
North are located on different types of landscape with different historical backgrounds. Haasrode is
situated on a sandy plateau, an important drink water infiltration area. While Kortrijk North’s
underground has been marked with layers of archeological remnants and historical soil pollution.
To address today’s environmental challenges of drought, flashfloods and biodiversity loss, it will
not be sufficient to transform these industrial sites only by applying industrial symbioses,
additionally integrating an experimental urban landscape design in line with nature is necessary.

A reading of the soil: Haasrode and Kortrijk-Noord industrial sites.

Available soil data and knowledge to urban planning and design.

As an urban designer or planner, the first step you take embarking a new assignment, or question, is
to analyze the ‘site’. To read the landscape, topography, infrastructure’s through a first glance at
available geo datasets and aerial photographs, to quickly assess and analyze the area for interesting
and suitable data, throughout different scales. In Flanders a large amount of geodata-sets and
different viewing portals such as *geopunt*, *bodemverkenner*,… are publicly available [fig. 4]. However
some site specific information such as detailed street profiles with indication of the underground
and location of underground pipelines and cables stay difficult to retrieve. Obtaining this
information for the case studies has not yet been successful.
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">Name website</th><th rowspan="2">URL</th><th colspan="2">PLACE SPECIFIC SOIL DATA IN FLANDERS</th><th rowspan="2">For whom?</th><th rowspan="2">accessible?</th></tr><tr><th>Ownership?</th><th>For all landowners in Flanders. To quickly check whether their soil may be contaminated.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>De grote Grondvraag</td><td>https://www.degrategrondvraag.be/</td><td>OVAM - Vlaams</td><td></td><td>The soil certificate lists all relevant data known to OVAM about the soil. Linked to the above website. It informs a buyer of 'land' about its soil quality.</td><td>free</td></tr><tr><td>Bodematttest</td><td>https://ovam.vlaanderen.be/hoe-vraag-ik-een-bodematttest-aan</td><td>OVAM - Vlaams</td><td></td><td>Geocounter on: 3M site decision, 3M phased approach remediation, 3M environment, OVAM soil file information, Landfills, Type environment and litter, Recycling centres.</td><td>paying</td></tr><tr><td>OVAM Geoloketten</td><td>https://services.ovam.be/ovam-geoloketten</td><td>OVAM - Vlaams</td><td></td><td>To view a large number of files, you must first request the information and pay a sum for this. This information is often not yet digitised.</td><td>free</td></tr><tr><td>Bodemdossier</td><td>https://ovam.vlaanderen.be/inzage</td><td>OVAM - Vlaams</td><td></td><td></td><td>paying</td></tr><tr><td>Worlingpas</td><td>https://www.dov.vlaanderen.be/por-taal/fmoduleverkenner</td><td>VLAAMS</td><td></td><td>Delivers information on the underground of Flanders, the depositions and different soil formation layers.</td><td>free</td></tr><tr><td>DOV verkenner ondergrond Vlaanderen</td><td>https://www.dov.vlaanderen.be/por-taal/fmoduleverkenner</td><td>VLAAMS</td><td></td><td>The 3D SubsurfaceViewer allows you to view and manipulate 3D models of the subsurface in 2D and 3D. You can凌er the model yourself and create vertical and horizontal cross-sections or profiles. You can view the position of different (hydro)geological units in the subsurface.</td><td>free</td></tr><tr><td>Subsurface viewer</td><td>Program</td><td>VLAAMS</td><td></td><td>To prevent excavation damage, you need to know which cables and pipelines you may encounter in the ground when you want to carry out earthworks. That is why you are obliged to make a KLIP request. Apply to prevent excavation damage and because you are usually not insured for damage during excavation work if you have not applied for plans.</td><td>free</td></tr><tr><td>Kabel- en leidinginformatieportaal</td><td>https://klip.vlaanderen.be/public</td><td>VLAAMS</td><td></td><td></td><td>paying</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Fig. 4] An image of a database in progress made by author to get an overview on available soil data. Differentiating as well the incentive for whom these portals were developed.

Geodata sets with potential of learning more about the soil of the two cases and the interplay with the biosphere were used to create a first 'atlas' of maps of the cases [fig. 5]. On each site, a strategic section was delimited based on interesting soil information such as locations of landfills, quarries, contamination, vegetation, groundwater extraction, underground infrastructures and pipelines, water purification infrastructure and so on. In the book 'Terra Nova', Latour stated that since the introduction of digital mapping with the use of geodata, although map-makers try to capture the reality with geodata, have mainly been creating technical maps for soil, that are emptied of life, showing an available space that can be conquered or colonized. (Frédérique Aït-Touati, 2022, E.C. Brevik, 2015) To start repopulating the underground, interactions and integration of the different spheres, different regenerative time frames and space, this paper uses site specific photocollages and systemic transect as a basis to build upon. (Julie Marin, 2020)

<figure><img src="image_85.png" /></figure>

[Fig. 5] Left aerial map of Haasrode industrial site, on the right aerial map of Kortrijk-North. Indication of the built up of the 'atlas'. Made by author.

For the interpretation of the soil types on the different sites a closer look at the emergence of the soil association map of Flanders is needed and crucial. This map was published in 1972, after the Institute for encouragement of Scientific Research in Industry and Agriculture (IWONL) worked on a systematic and detailed recording of the soil of Belgium's territory since 1942. Soil classification was based on lithological and geomorphological criteria and had a strong agricultural focus. (R. Marechal, 1974) Because it was impossible to obtain a general overview of the soil conditions of the country, this map was accompanied with virtual soil samples across the Flemish territory. The soil association map and virtual soil samples have been digitalized over the recent years, however, they were not updated. So when we search for the soil type map of Flanders or go to the 'Databank Ondergrond Vlaanderen' (DOV) for the virtual soil samples, they still operate on samples that originate between 1950 and 1970. Providing sections, on the deeper soil parts, but have no information on actual soil life and health where important interactions occur. Furthermore, urban areas were not included in this research and stay underexplored. Through layers of historical remodeling of the environment the status of urban underground is unclear and stated as 'artificial',
‘manufactured’ ground or ‘Technosols’, built up with layers of construction debris, trash, green lawns, rock ballast and so on. (Graham, 2016) The soil association map is a commonly used map to talk about soil within urban (landscape) design, however due to its age and the aforementioned, the map does not provide a good backbone to refer to alone in terms of the ‘underground’. Other information is needed to address soil health and soil layers of (historical) development in the built environment.

## Case studies

The two industrial sites that are introduced as case studies were developed in the 1960's-1970's and are currently in need of a circular built environment transformation to comply to policy goals and requirements of the Flemish Government. Requirements to decrease CO2 emissions of the transport sector with 35% comparing to 2005 and a circular economy by 2050. (Allacker, 2019) Each site that is about to be enrolled has its own spatial character, historical background and soil qualities as living system and resource.

Haasrode industrial park (IP) is located on a sand-loam plateau in the vicinity of Leuven next to the E40 highway. Historically these dry sand-loam soils did not lack water and did not suffer from flooding. These soils were described from the soil association map as soils that were suitable for demanding crops (e.g. wheat, sugar beet) and very suitable for less demanding crops (e.g. potatoes). When the soil association map was developed the landscape of Haasrode IP knew a historical use of this land as fertile agricultural fields. With the development of Haasrode IP in the 1970's these fields were turned into big plot structures with vast spaces of concrete, monofunctional use of buildings, building functions and of (open)space, lawns. And the soils that didn't suffer from drought or flooding, are affected by it today, and this will only increase due to climate change if we don't start taking action through regenerative landscape design. This is even more important since Haasrode IP is located on a juridical protected drinking water infiltration zone. From a landscape and natural point of view making Haasrode IP an important location to maximize rainwater infiltration and recharge the superficial aquifer. However the function of the industrial park is in strong conflict with this natural opportunity to tackle future environmental challenges such as drought. From a juridical point of view rainwater falling on the enormous dimensions of pavement and concrete need to be treated as waste and today be redirected towards the sewer system to prevent contamination seeping in the soil towards the aquifer. Leaving not only soil as a neglected resource but also water within this case. A strong regenerative opportunity lies on Haasrode for a moratorium on new construction on the one hand and design of landscape as a sponge in the other. A stop on new buildings and intake of land, for maximization of water infiltration. Today's monoculture lawns, present since the first developments on Haasrode, don't have the best ability to maximal infiltrate water due to their (lack) of soil life and lack of biodiversity. These lawns often have to deal with a form of compaction, making it more difficult for water to infiltrate. On the other hand the size of the plots and unbuilt character expose a huge possibility for integrating different landscape designs and regenerative uses; permaculture, forest with circular management of wood as a resource (the time you use the resource takes at least as long as it takes to regenerate it in nature), wild grass fields. Starting from a healthy soil, providing food, wood, increase in biodiversity,... The sand(loamy) soils around Haasrode IP today also know a different use. Several active sand quarries are located around the industrial park. The sandy soils are excavated as resources for building materials. When these quarries aren't productive anymore they are set up as landfills. While some landfills are used to store displaced (top)soils from building sites, other are used to store domestic waste. The landfill south of Haasrode is used to store soil of category one, meaning non contaminated soils. With point pollution, there is sp rake of pollution from a clear core. Landfills in general, just as damaged sewers and the storage pollutants can generate point pollution within the soil.
<figure><img src="image_86.png" /></figure>

[Fig. 6] Draft indicative map of position landfills, quarries and contaminated plots in and around Haasrode IP. Made by author based on information from geoloket of OVAM.

In [Fig. 7] a first attempt to draw the current soil life on the Interleuvenlaan at Haasrode was made. However with many uncertainties concerning the soil and the underground. Going from the positioning of sewage pipes, to trying to distinguish differences in the ‘brown blob’.

<figure><img src="image_87.png" /></figure>

[Fig. 7] Visualization of the natural system of Haasrode with the imposed infrastructural system of the industrial site. For Haasrode a tension exists between these as the layout of the industrial site goes against nature and the importance the area has to be developed as a maximal natural rainwater infiltration zone. The photocollage on the right shows a section through the *interleuvenlaan*. A first attempt to visualise the different interactions within the biosphere, with many unknown factors and uncertainties. Drawings in progress, made by author.
The case study of Kortrijk-North starts from a rich historical background, anchored in the history of the built environment. Kortrijk-North today is a densely developed industrial site. However industrial activities of the past have left many sites with a historical contamination. The soil was seen as a waste pit, a 'sink' where people could dump their waste unseen and unbothered. (Tarr, 1996, Hemelrijck, 2021) This was also the case for Kortrijk. The industrial revolution of the 19th century was dominated by the heavy industry of coal, steel and steam power, ensuring that a smoke screen remained permanently in place in many cities. Intensive coal burning left the city with carbon precipitation and created acid rains. Kortrijk was mainly known for its Clay and Flax industry. The industries present on Kortrijk today are spin-offs of this historical activity. Fiberboard industry that is derived from the flax industry, Food industry processing waste from the flax industry, textile industry (bleaching, printing) and conserve and frozen vegetables. This industry however is a source of soil contamination. (Hemelrijck, 2021) Due to this historical placement of industries, on the soil association map the site of Kortrijk North is allocated as 'technosols' or 'urban soils' with no information on composition due to human alterations. An idea can be formed by looking at the direct vicinity. The industrial park is located in the West Flanders sandy loam region where light sandy loam and loamy sandy soils dominate. (Defrancq, 2016) Soils that are on the one hand too wet in winter and sometimes slightly too dry in summer. And on the other hand moderately dry light sandy loam soils with thick and well humus layers. Next to soil contamination, an archeological research was executed on the Noordlaan. In and around Kortrijk North, different archeological sites can be found, with findings from the past. Architectural heritage of rural character, neolithic finds, artefacts from the Roman period and several 'walgrachtsites' from the Middle Ages. Consequently, the discovery of walgrachtsites, medieval timber and stone construction and waste pits is to be expected. (Defrancq, 2016)

<figure><img src="image_88.png" /><figcaption>[Fig. 8] Present plots with processes of describing soil contamination (pink) and running and finished soil decontamination projects (black). On all of these plots contaminations where found and are now in the process of eventual soil remediation. Information gathered from geoloket OVAM. Made by author.</figcaption></figure>

These historical and archeological conditions create a whole different story of regenerative circular built transformation for Kortrijk North then for Haasrode. The site of Kortrijk North is saturated with concrete and industrial buildings that are side by side. It is not sure what will be found in the underground, but first gains can be made in desealing part of the industrial site. A first step for
further developing the analysis of Kortrijk North is to develop the systemic transact with the
archeological artefacts integrated.

*What now?*

The gaps in knowledge and data of the living soil on the two sites are evident. Actual soil samples of the two case studies are not available. The basic layers provided by geo datasets are not sufficient to determine the health of soil, but they give a first indication of what could be expected in the underground. For this the integration of earth and environmental science knowledge is necessary. Within this PhD research, the next step is to retrieve this soil data, on four to be determined locations on a specified section of Haasrode and Kortrijk-North, in collaboration with the Department of Forrest, nature and landscape. The methodology to receive this knowledge on soil life were already described above and are the following; tea bag index, visual examination, sampling of earthworms and the collection of soil samples. This sampling method will take place in the summer of 2023.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, it is evident that the soil cannot be taken for granted as a 'renewable' resource any longer, given the alarming rate at which we are losing the deep, rich soil. This vibrant soil is the basis for all life. Therefore, it becomes crucial to bridge the gap between urban landscape design and earth and environmental sciences. Facilitating the transition towards a circular built environment by integrating the knowledge on the soil as a living system and soil as a valuable non-renewable resource on the redesign of industrial sites. This integration ask for specific knowledge of the two disciplines that should be assimilated. Not only an integration of disciplines is necessary also an ambition of experiment with nature based solutions regarding regeneration of nature on industrial sites in transition, pushing it further then creating industrial symbioses. Currently, the soil remains relatively unknown due to its highly place-specific and ever-evolving characteristics. Existing geodata sets provide a certain backbone for urban landscape design in line with nature, but a gap to determine living soil still exists. To address this, we have to start getting our hands dirty and heed by the words of Bruno Latour "be explorers again and repopulate our urban design drawings". By consistently incorporating the (living) soil into our design processes and drawings, an awareness can be cultivated within in the field of urban landscape design of its existence and its indispensable role.

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# Dalmine: From Company Town to Hybridized Productive Habitat

Anna Karla de Almeida Santos

Laboratory of Urbanism
Supervisor Prof. Paola Viganò
Expected thesis defense: Feb 2024

anna.dealmeidasantos@epfl.ch

The establishment of company towns played a significant role in developing both urban and rural areas in Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By combining historical and urban research, this study provides findings about the industry's political influence on the region. Using the company town of Dalmine as a case study, it is observable that the steel pipe industry still shares today, one hundred years after its foundation, spatial, political, and social dynamics. Over the past few decades, Dalmine transitioned from a one-company town to a mixed-productive habitat, shifting from its productive hegemony to sharing space with the university, start-ups, and other productive entities. By embracing this multi-faceted composition, Dalmine exemplifies the concept of hybridization, wherein different forms of production coexist and interact. In this condition, hybridization into new forms of production demonstrates the possibility of the survivability of a company town.

## Introduction

One company town. The design of these cities followed the need to integrate the innovation induced by two productive models into the production processes. Fordism and Taylorism aimed at improving economic efficiency and labor productivity through standardized mass production. Nevertheless, the industrialist was aware that the simple implementation of these models needed to be improved per se to improve the company's productivity. The emergence of the hygiene movement in the eighteen-century sought to address the pressing need for improved living conditions and health standards. As a result, new productive areas began to sprout near watercourses, either in previously unexplored regions or ancient settlements, leading to a decentralization of production from urban centers to the countryside. The emergence of these new productive areas and the decentralization of production from urban centers to the countryside paved the way for visionary urban designers to propose alternative spatial rationalities. Ebenezer Howard and Raymond Unwin (1903) introduced the garden city concept, while Tony Garnier (1917) envisioned the *Cité Industrielle*. These examples, among many others, exemplify the diverse range of urban design and utopian visions that engaged with the evolving dynamics of this period. Indeed, company towns developed projects around the need to increase the health and safety of spaces and individuals, promoting and coordinating all the facilities, including the houses, stores, schools, and even the chapel, and attempting to provide an inhabitable environment (Garner, 1992). In this context, the company town appeared to transform rural areas into ex-novo industrial potencies. The company towns were settlements entirely owned by an entrepreneur or a company, which built and managed the community following business and production needs (Porteous, 1970).

From the end of the Second World War until the third industrial (technological) revolution of the early 1990s, the expansion of trade markets, globalization, and the growing interdependence of the world's economies lead to tremendous economic development worldwide. In turn, some large industrial sectors collapse or start to decline (Becattini & Dei Ottati, 2006). In particular, the unionization and workers' strike during the 60s and 70s and the following financial crisis led to the shrinking of several company towns. The formation of new mixed industrial districts also characterizes this period. Company towns also served as a dispositive of colonial settlement as temporary pioneering devices (Porteous, 1970) that extended these productive habitats as a worldwide economic and urban model, predominantly in nations undergoing rapid economic growth. Whether characterized by exploitative and extractive settlements in the Global South or high-tech, self-sustaining innovation hubs in post-industrialized nations, this model reflects an urban policy that showcases how the economy and the relations between work and life evolved during the last two centuries. This logic was translated into the space in order 'to concentrate; to distribute in space; to order in time; to compose a productive force within the dimension of space-time', in which the company managed the time inside and outside the production spaces. The isolation and alienation of the individual were instrumental in maintaining the community in a state
of need, a growing machine that works in favor of regulating the use of space. This space could be examined at two levels (Stanek, 2013). On a micro-scale, where biopolitics dictates the rules of working-class housing construction and forcibly enters workers' domestic lives. On a macro-scale, in which the modern city is planned as a self-sufficient container environment for the control of social action. In the company town, paternalism touched the most intimate part of people's lives: the necessity of heliotherapeutic care, or even the type of products chosen in the company store, show an incursion of biopolitics into the most intimate spheres of modern man (Orazi, 2017). The biopolitical system molded citizens' values so that the workers tended (more or less unconsciously) to reproduce discipline and norms in domestic contexts. In other words, in company towns contexts, corporate paternalism and domestic patriarchy were two sides of the same coin.

This research aims to explore company towns as significant case studies that shed light on the historical and contemporary dynamics of productive habitats. By transcending traditional forms of governmentality, these hybridized approaches offer new possibilities for the long-term viability of company towns. The study aims to examine the potential for alternative forms of governance in industrial cities and to investigate the various modes of hybridization that can enable the survival and evolution of company towns over time.

Especially from the second half of the twentieth century, existing company towns encompassed a transition process, which in some contexts led to the physical dismantling of the original company town and a shift from the industrial management of the city to more democratic forms of governability. This process contributed to a radical change in the modes of inhabiting these industrial cities. It slipped these cities into three main ends: first, the complete disappearance of the city, by the failure of the industry as well the company welfare facilities, letting behind several brownfields (a); second, by the reuse of the industrial building in other forms of production and consumption, especially associated with the services and cultural sectors (b). Nonetheless, in rare cases today, some of these company towns still produce in the same industrial area (c). One remarkable example is the city of Dalmine and the company that funded the city in 1906, Dalmine S.p.A<fnref n="1" />. The city of Dalmine in Italy is an ideal case study to substantiate these hypotheses. Remarkably, even a century after its foundation, the city, and the industry continue to share not only the name but also the physical space, as well as political and social dynamics.

## Study Design

By conducting a comprehensive study encompassing historical, archival, and urban research, the
research engages in a sort of *longue durée* (Braudel, 2009) exploration of the traces that manifest the
industry's influence and power within the territory. By examining a private business archive with
historical documents and questioning the actual condition of habitability of the city nowadays, this
study uncovers traces of the industry's influence on the territory and the changes toward different
forms of governance. The city of Dalmine serves as a primary case study due to its unique
characteristics, as it continues to bear the name, space, and political and social dynamics of the
industry, even a century after its foundation. Additionally, recent transformations in Dalmine,
characterized by a shift towards hybridized forms of production, provide insights into the potential
for the evolution and sustainability of company towns.

## Digging into a private business archive

The principal source of historical documents related to the company town of Dalmine is the
archives of the Fondazione Dalmine, an entity founded in 1999 by TenarisDalmine to valorize and
conserve the industrial heritage. The archives conserve about 140,000 files, 100,000 photographs,
5,800 drawings and sketches, 900 objects, 900 audiovisuals, 2,000 historical, and 6,000 current
volumes. Three fieldwork periods of two to three months inside the Fondazione Dalmine from
2021 to 2023 have been conducted. The primary sources contain (1) the administrative minutes of
the board of directors from 1906 to 1937; (2) The cartographical records of agriculture properties
owned by Pro Dalmine; (4) the *Affari Immobiliari* records. Among secondary sources, the entire
collection of the magazine *Conversazioni* covers the period of extensive development of the
company town from 1954 to 1981.

## Exploring the territory to find new coexistences

<footnote n="1">¹ Today known as TenarisDalmine, the multinational is a leading supplier of tubes and related services for the world's energy industry and certain other industrial applications.</footnote>
Besides the archival research, exploring the city was essential to read about the transformations the city went through in the last 100 years. The territorial exploration took a series of targeted visits to (1) blue-collar, (2) white-collar, (3) rural areas, (4) Bergamo University engineering campus and (5) Point Bergamo for Innovation. The register was done through sketches, photographs, and a travel journal, as well as through discussions with some figures of the local community. Such exploration was marked by discovering different dynamics outside exclusively industrial dynamics. While visiting both the blue-collar and white-collar neighborhoods, observing the residents who still inhabit these areas, and pondering the enduring influence of the industry on their quality of life. What would it be like to live in a company town without a clear end in sight? By examining the town's present circumstances in a general panorama not directly linked to this paper, the research investigates the underlying factors contributing to its enduring presence within the territory.

## When the industry builds the city

In the first half of the 20th century, Dalmine reflected many characteristics of a company town: (a) it has been settled on an agricultural and unexploited territory; (b) the production site was surrounded by welfare facilities for the employees, including health services, housing, and leisure utilities; and (c) this housing policy imposed residential segregation, an instrument the company used to exercise its biopower over the citizens-workers.

The steel pipe company was established in 1906 between Milan and Bergamo by the German Mannesmann Tube Company with the financial support of Deutsche Bank and the Italian Metallurgical Society. In 1920 was renamed Dalmine S.p.A, under Italian management. When the city of Dalmine became a municipality in 1927, the city's mayor was also the Manager Director of the industry, reflecting the intrinsic relation between the political power of the industry and the territory, which Mussolini strongly supported during the fascist regime.

In the early 1930s, the factory occupied an area of 650,000 m2, and the company reached about 5,500 m2 in 1940. After World War II and the fall of Fascism in Italy, the industry gradually transferred the ownership of housing and welfare facilities to the city council. However, these transformations did not lead to a radical discontinuity in its social policy (Varini, 2010). The continuous strikes of the 1960s and the industrial expansion in other Italian regions and abroad marked another important transition for the company. In the following decades, the production site of Dalmine underwent a deep technical-industrial restructuring which continues to this day (Ricciardi, 2014). Relevantly, in 1996, the Italo-Argentinian company Techint (of the Rocca family) acquired Dalmine S.p.A, changing its name to TenarisDalmine, the company's governance, and its international perspectives.

## Two hybridization phases in Dalmine

<figure><img src="image_89.png" /><figcaption>[fig.1] Smokestacks, humans, and non-humans cohabited under the governance of the industry. The agricultural business led by the industry itself used the rural areas around the plant for food production. Source: Dalmine S.p.A. (1962) Conversazioni, July – August 1962. Special edition in color. © Fondazione Dalmine.</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_90.png" /></figure>

[fig.2] Cartography from the 1940s that indicated all the irrigated and not irrigated rural properties of Dalmine. Source: Dalmine S.p.A. Planimetria indicativa Gruppi Colonici. © Fondazione Dalmine Archives. According to Fontana (2003), Dalmine has ranged from consolidated models of social works (le opere sociali) to public-private ventures in social housing to an ‘institutionalized urbanity.’ To put into practice its social project, in 1935, the company established the founded the Società Anonima Pro Dalmine (established in 1935 and then merged into Dalmine S.p.A in 1973), which managed the operations outside the factory by regulating housing, food production, and social and cultural activities in the town, e.g., health care, and leisure activities for workers and its families, which provided an articulated system of activities that constituted a real connective tissue of a strategy of consensus-building and community creation’ (Lussana & Tonolini, 2003). The company constructed welfare facilities between the 1920s and 1960s, such as food cooperatives, milk factories, and water management services. The countryside was not detached from the industrial colossus but was integrated with the project to promote quality food and the care of the city’s surrounding environment [fig.1]. These included the Agricultural Company, which produced food for city consumption and managed the agricultural spaces of sharecroppers adjacent to the city. The enterprise also built irrigation systems for its agricultural areas, with more than 20 different plant cultures and animal stables distributed in 12 colonial groups coordinated by the agricultural company of the industry [fig.2]. The industry had control over steel production and surrounding agriculture. This approach to industrial, social, and agricultural management lasted until the beginning of the 1970s, when the industry underwent significant reformulations within its industrial area.

<figure><img src="image_91.png" /><figcaption>Between old and new productive habitats</figcaption></figure>
[fig.3] One of the several research laboratories of the University of Bergamo, using the old warehouses, reconverted into classrooms.

<figure><img src="image_92.png" /></figure>

[fig.4] The multiple start-ups and high-tech enterprises share space in the former company buildings near the TenarisDalmine factory.

From the 1970s, with the adequation of a diversified market, the production plant, and the new rolling mill, the company began to expand its territorial needs and prioritize the investment in technological innovation inside the industry while selling out the properties outside the plant. The *Affari Immobiliari* records testified the sale, concession, and transfer of various assets of the industry's property within the territory, such as workers' houses and land adjacent to the industry, to private and public entities. The company also adjust its own space to the new master plans of the municipality of Dalmine in the decade of 70 and 80. In this context, the industry led the urban growth process causing meaningful changes in the local landscape and the urban ecology.

In recent decades, the relationship between the company and the town has undergone significant transformations, leading to shared efforts in democratizing the spaces.

This transition involves several actors. First, other large factories have been installed in the city of Dalmine, such as SIAD (Società Italiana Acetilene e Derivati) and the Swedish-Swiss multinational ABB.

The campus of the University of Bergamo in the 1990s used some former company buildings with different usages, such as the ex-ENEL power plant, the former worker's retirement home, and the bike storage room that became spaces for classrooms, laboratories, and offices. The campus comprises the School of Engineering, the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Department of Management, Information, and Production Engineering, each accompanied by their specialized laboratories. The University Sports Center and the small students housing with 40 rooms is nearby, and Buildings A, B, C, and D complete the complex [fig.3]. According to the current Rector of the UNIBG, this campus, however, does not fit anymore in the expansion of the University of Bergamo for the next ten years.

In 1996, the Bergamo Province Technology Innovation Pole (Point) was created using former industrial buildings to allocate 26 regional enterprise and start-up incubators for 'territorial development' [fig.4]. It demonstrates the attractiveness of the city of Dalmine to new forms of production linked to the high-tech and innovative models of diversification.

In late 2023, the establishment of a Cultural Center supported by the industry to promote industrial culture will be launched in the former labor guesthouse (ex-Foresteria) and become a center for free educational activities for the entire Dalmine community and area cities. Indeed, the prominent expression of the industrial power in the territory nowadays is the industrial culture promoted by
the industry, which spreads acknowledgment of the importance of the company in the construction of the town and builds a continuous consensus among new generations.

## Dalmine and the transition from the modern to the contemporary city

With Dalmine, the first expression of hybridization with the choice of the company to control not only the factory and the city but also the countryside in favor of another productive logic – that of providing all kinds of goods for a self-sufficient environment – in fact, searched not to detach the peasant steelwork-minded man from its origins, even if the company biopolitics transformed into a modern subject with new behaviors, rhythms, and moral ideals. The resulting biopolitical project of modernity significantly impacted citizens’ values and daily lives, blurring the boundaries between ‘social living’ and ‘biological living’ (Arendt, 1958).

The second and most recent expression from the last 30 years demonstrates the city's ability and the company's attractiveness to merge in new productive coexistences, namely the academic and innovative high-tech sectors, that dynamize the spatial uses and give different rationality to the city uses, not only anchored to the one-company model. This research shed light on the entanglement of production, biopolitics, and urban rationalities in constructing identities and spatialities within productive habitats. The case of Dalmine highlights the potential for alternative forms of governance in company towns, challenging the traditional paternalistic models of governmentality that company towns are used to be identified. Moreover, the emergence of hybridized production models demonstrates the adaptability and survivability of company towns in contemporaneity.

## Bibliography

* Arendt, H. (1958). *The human condition*. University of Chicago Press.

* Braudel, F., & Wallerstein, I. (2009). History and the Social Sciences: The Longue Durée. *Review (Fernand Braudel Center)*, 32(2), 171–203. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40647704

* Becattini, G., & Dei Ottati, G. (2006). The performance of Italian industrial districts and large enterprise areas in the 1990s, *European Planning Studies*, 14(8), 1139-1162.

* Deleuze, G. (1992). *Postscript on the Societies of Control*. October 59 (Winter).

* Fontana, G. L. (2003). Dar casa agli operai. Logiche d'impresa e ingegneria sociale nell'industrializzazione moderna. In Lussana, C. (Eds.). *Dalmine dall'impresa alla città. Committenza industriale e architettura*, 13-64, Fondazione Dalmine.

* Garner, J. (1992). The Company Town: Architecture and Society in the Early Industrial Age. Oxford University Press.

* Geddes, P. (1915). *Cities in Evolution. An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and the Study of Civics*. Williams and Norgate.

* Gregotti, V. (1997). Company town: provvedere e separare. Lettera aperta a Giorgio Agamben. *Rassegna*, 70, 4-5.

* Lussana, C., & Tonolini, M. (2003). Dalmine: dall'impresa alla città. In Lussana, C. (Eds.). *Dalmine dall'impresa alla città. Committenza industriale e architettura*, 65-127, Quaderni della Fondazione Dalmine.

* Martinelli, N. (2020). Il welfare aziendale nel secondo dopoguerra. La Dalmine Spa (1945-1970). Vita e Pensiero.

* Moonesirust, E., & Brown, A. D. (2019). Company towns and the governmentality of desired identities. *Human Relations*, 1-25.

* Molotch, H. (1976). The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place. American Journal of Sociology 82, no. 2: 309–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2777096.

* Munford, L. (1961). *The city in history*. Harcourt, Brace and World.

* Orazi, M. (2017). Tutto il mondo è Segrate. Il ritorno delle company town, le città costruite ad hoc per ospitare aziende, nate nel Diciannovesimo secolo e riportate in auge da Facebook, Apple e Google. *Rivista Studio*, 1-4.

* Porteous, J. D. (1970). *The nature of the company town*. Royal Geographical Society, 51, 127–142.

* Ricciardi, F. (2014). *La cantine au prisme du paternalisme industriel. Alimentation et consentement à l'usine de Dalmine (Lombardie) entre fascisme et république*. Le mouvement social, 247(2), 105-121.

* Sennett, R. (2008). *The Craftsman*. Penguin Books.

* Stanek, Ł. (2013). *Biopolitics of Scale: Architecture, Urbanism, the Welfare State and After*. In Stanek, Ł., Wallenstein, S-O., & Nilsson, J. (Eds.). The Politics of Life.: Michel Foucault and the Biopolitics of Modernity, pp. 106-120, Iaspis.

* Varini, V. (2010). *Firms and Welfare: Company Towns in Italy (19-20 Century)*. Presented at the European Business History Association, Glasgow, Scotland.

* Viganò, P. (2018). Spaces, in search of a new biopolitical project. Presented at the 2018 Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.
II.a
New insights into History: building and
planning

*Construction History meets Planning History* (p.156)

Verstraete Robrecht, ULBruxelles (BE)

*The anarchist thread of urban planning history: Reconstructing the continuous influence of anarchist ideas on the history and present of urbanism* (p.162)

Kuzmanić Jere, UPCatalunya (ES)

*Immanent Monuments or transcendent instruments? Four Roles for Post-war Churches in Sustainable Neighbourhood Transition*. (p.173)

Ardui Charlotte, KULeuven (BE)

*Qualitative datascaping for historic cities in conflict: A grounded theory analysis for spatial sustainability. Case of Jaffa, Israel.* (p.185)

Potdar Komal, TUDelft (NL)

*Urbanisation as land consumption, commodification and parceling out: Hybridities in spatial occupation in Bukavu* (p.197)

Gulain Amani Mushizi, ULBruxelles (BE)
# Construction History meets Planning History

*Robrecht Verstraete*

Université Libre de Bruxelles, Universiteit Gent

Promotors: Rika Devos, Michiel Dehaene

Expected thesis defence: January 2027

robrecht.verstraete@ulb.be

Urbanisation, the process of forming, expanding and restructuring the urban agglomeration, is intimately related to an act of building. Curiously however, Urban History and Planning History paid little attention to the production of the city. Despite the close interconnection between urbanism and the day-to-day practice of building, urbanists and architects are essentially engaged with the pre- and post-history of construction. Conversely, however, it is equally true that the city has not exactly grown into a central theme within the field of Construction History, since it became an independent discipline of history in the late 1980s. This research aims to establish the dialogue between Urban Planning History and Construction History. What can one discipline do for the other and what questions and opportunities arise when we invite the different histories to the table?

## Setting up a dialogue

In the spring of 1928, the city of Antwerp prepared for the Joyous Entry of Prince Leopold III and Princess Astrid of Belgium. When the princely parade passed by the city boulevard De Meir on 19 May, it is cheered by a dressed-up crowd gathered on the deck of a decorated 'ship' (fig. 1). This 'ship' makes a rather odd appearance in the prestigious boulevard. When descending below its 'waterline', however, we discover what this 'ship' is actually trying to camouflage. At the moment of the royal visit, major urban construction works were carried out at De Meir, to arch the underflowing canal with reinforced concrete. The so-called 'ship' was in other words, no less than a very luxurious site fence to keep labour, noise, dirt and dust out of the public space (fig. 2).

This short anecdote is in some way emblematic for the almost paradoxical relation between the city and the production of it. Upon today, the construction site is a place that seems to ‘invade’ or ‘interrupt’ the well-organised public realm, and its chaos and debris are hidden behind site fences and road blockages (Angillis 2022). Although the day-to-day practice of building is part and parcel of a city, “le chantier représente un interdit de penser que complète l’interdiction d’entrer placardée sur les clôtures de chantier” (Serra, 2020, 4). Indeed, architects, urbanists, planners and historians alike are essentially engaged with the pre- and post-history of construction, and not so much with the city that is in the course of being built. Nevertheless, though the production process has seldom been the focal point within Urban Planning History, it is vital to get an understanding of the city that is in the process of change. (Clarke 1992)

In 1985, the publication of the essay ‘*What is the History of Construction?*’ by the British architectural historian John Summerson, gave rise to the field of Construction History, a new independent, sub-discipline of history (Dunkeld 1987). Construction History, predominantly starts from the side of production, as it is engaged with the technological, structural and material aspects of the building practice (Broes et al. 2023). Apart from a few notable exceptions, however, (f.eg. *Building Capitalism* (1992) by Linda Clarke or *Remaking Cities* (1980) by Alison Ravetz), the city and the urban, have rather rarely, been the subject of in-depth construction history research. Therefore, this sub-discipline of history offers an interesting, new lens that bears the potential to confront Urban Planning History with urban construction activity and vice versa.

Within the framework of a larger EOS research project (*Construction History: Above and Beyond*<fnref n="1" />), this doctoral study, which started in January 2023, tries to set up the dialogue between Planning and

<footnote n="1">¹ EOS Full Proposal: Construction History, Above and Beyond. What History Can Do for Construction History. The study is part of a wider investigation, led by promotors Michiel Dehaene (UGent), Rika Devos (Ulb), Dave De ruysscher (VUB), Johan Lagae (UGent), Stephanie Van de Voorde (VUB) and Ine Wouters (VUB). The project is financed by EOS (FWo+FNRS) for the period 2022-2026 and brings 3 PhD students and 4 Post-doc researchers together.</footnote>
Urban History on the one hand and Construction History on the other. The dialogue focusses specifically on the demands produced by the process of metropolitan transformation in the 20th century, both in the formation, restructuring and expansion of the urban agglomerations of Brussels, Antwerp and Liège during the interbellum period and the Trentes Glorieuses. The specific opportunity that emerges from this dialogue is to look at the ways in which, in specific moments of construction, societal demands and urban questions converge.

<figure><img src="image_93.png" /><figcaption>[fig.1] Cloison du chantier camoufflée en bâteau décoratif. Picture of the 'ship' that was erected on De Meir on the Joyous Entry of Prince Leopold III and Princess Astrid (19 May 1928) Source: Felixarchief Antwerpen</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_94.png" /></figure>

ladsarchief Antwerpen

[fig.2] Betonnière et Gun (canon à ciment). Picture of the ‘hold’ of the ship that was used to hide machinery, dirt and dust from the public space. Source: Felixarchief Antwerpen

## Distinguishing an approach based on production

Urbanization has rarely been defined as itself a product of social human labour. Nonetheless, any hamlet, village or city exists only because it was produced and thereby replaced the ‘former space’ (Clarke 1992). In other words, building precedes the built environment. Plans, ideas and rhetoric need a pragmatic translation into asphalt, concrete and clay before they can be used and experienced. The act of building can, in a certain way, be understood as the transformation of ‘matter’ into ‘object’ by labour. Any object, however simple it may be (being a house, a hospital, a road, a park, a monument etc.), is the physical crystallisation of an immense range of possible forms and materials. When these objects are put together, they form an environment, that, once a certain critical mass of objects is achieved, we can call a ‘village’, a ‘city’, a ‘metropolis’. The conscious act of building the city, ‘city-making’, is an almost symbolic, modern supremacy that anticipates the complex reality of all the small transformations that take place in that city (Uyttenhove 1990). Following this interpretation, urbanisation – the process of forming, expanding and restructuring the urban agglomeration – is intimately related to an act of building. In this sense, the city is the collective building edifice, or – since the city is never really finished and constantly being changed – the collective construction site, of a society that relentlessly builds, transforms and demolishes.

When thinking of the city as a historical sequence of producing and reproducing space, the city becomes a fascinating image of successive social constellations. The reasons why and the (socio-economic) context wherein a community has decided to occupy, inhabit and fashion the available space, and the means, materials and tools with which it tamed the land and erected its buildings (objects), illustrates more than solely the vision of an architect or planner or the demands of a specific consumer (Lefebvre 1991). The city, evidently visualizes the complex social event of producing and reproducing space as a process that is fundamentally determined by various actors and factors that go far beyond the purely architectural.

Therefore, the specific kind of city that is being built – characterized by its appearance, its ‘style’, its use and its amenities – is not purely the result of what one wants to be built, as it is largely
dependent on what can be built (Ravetz 1980). The making of the city thus depends on the whole
available social labour process engaged in production (Clarke 1992), including both materials
(stone, sand, wood, clay etc.), matériel (technology, tools, language, land, instructions, agendas,
regulations etc.) and (skilled) labour (Lefebvre 1972).

Such an approach, where urbanization is conceived as a social production process, contributes to a
more evident dialogue between Urban Planning History and Construction History. This framework
allows us to understand the specificities and evolutions of the respective ‘construction aspects’
 material, matériel and labour) through the process of urbanisation, but also conversely, is helps us
to unravel the city’s DNA through successive construction practices. Within the context of the
process of metropolitan transformation in the 20th century, the interaction between the two
disciplines in History leads to a number of intriguing questions. To what extent is the city the result
of evolutions, constraints, capacities and opportunities within the available building process? But
also the other way around; to what extent has urbanisation itself adjusted and fuelled the way we
build? Which construction practices became dominant, and which building material is the ‘right’
one to use? Furthermore, it also raises questions about the relationships, interactions and
collaborations between contractors, wage labourers and material suppliers on the one hand and the
public (urban planning) administrations on the other. This dialogue, in other words allows us to
identify the transformations within the construction sector at the time of metropolisation.

These observations contribute to a reading of the city that goes beyond the city as one, indivisible
social-urban metabolism, and puts the city as an assembly of multiple social practices, differentiated
milieus and multiple kinds of ‘urbanisms’ to the fore (Broes et al. 2023).

The city as an assembly of construction practices

When we want to initiate the dialogue between Construction History and Planning History, can we
also read the city as an assemblage of building practices? What is built, with what capital, with what
materials, on what land, by what kind of contractors, for what needs and what audiences, and what
kind of environments do these practices produce?

In an attempt to find answers to these questions, this research starts with a focus on pioneering
activity in the fringe. In the urban fringes of cities like Brussels and Antwerp, new multifunctional
centralities emerged along new, easily accessible highways and ring roads. The collective
infrastructure of the welfare state, with its sports venues and cultural centres, its apartment
buildings and its petrol stations, its parks and hotels and its supermarkets and shopping centres,
typically served as catalysts for the development of a new (kind of) centrality in the urban periphery
(Vanhaelen & Leloutre 2017). When looking at some of these typical post-war multifunctional
milieus, it is striking how urbanism can almost literally be read as the juxtaposition of diverse,
specialised contractor practices (Broes et al. 2023). As a search strategy, we started from the
activities of the Belgian supermarket chain GIB. In 1961, the GIB-group, one of Belgium’s largest
conglomerates in the post-war period, comprising Grand Bazar, Innovation and Bon Marché, built
Europe’s very first hypermarkets in the Brussels periphery in Auditorghem and Anderlecht
(Grimmeau 2013). In the years to follow, GIB built several hundreds of supermarkets,
hypermarkets and shopping centres in Belgium, typically in the urban fringes. The industrialised
construction methods, which in the pre-war period were mainly used to build warehouses and
depots, proved also ideally suited to efficiently accommodate the rapid deployment of shopping
centres in the Belgian welfare state from the 1960s onwards. Next to the shopping centres,
contractors specialised in the construction of big apartment buildings (f.eg Van Kerkhove & Gilson
n.v., Etrimo, Amelinckx, Broens) built their flats, next to which specialized truss-contractors (f.eg.
Kunstwerkstede De Coene n.v.) built their sports venues, and so on. In other words, in these kinds
of milieus, urbanism can almost literally be read as an assemblage of different contractor practices.
The unprecedented scale and speed with which these new centralities came about, and the new typologies, materials and aesthetics that were used to give these milieus a ‘modern’ physiognomy, suggest that the post-war city not solely served as a testing site for architects and planners, but also as a laboratory or learning school for a construction sector in change.

## Archives

The foregoing observations suggest already several considerations, reflections and departure points that can inspire a fruitful dialogue between the different disciplines of history. In addition to a conceptual reading of the city and its relationship vis-à-vis the construction process, this research also requires effective historical 'evidence' to get a better understanding of why the city is as it is today, and to shed a light on the different structures, actors and parties that were involved in the city-making process.

Our built heritage, however, hardly tells us how it came into being; only the traces of ancient use and customs partially disclose this past to us. To get an in-depth understanding of the complex interrelation between the different spheres of this study, and in order to grasp a city that is going through a process of change, we cannot be satisfied with merely the built materials. Archival evidence will therefore be an important angle to substantiate this doctoral research.

Construction plans, pictures from the on-site developments, administrative and technical documentations, themed magazines, and the correspondence between contractors and public administrations, are only a few of the possible entries to document the production process. Urban History on the other hand is typically involved with the paper trail of urban development plans and schemes (APA/BPA). On the overlap between Urban History and Construction History, the building permit might serve as an important source which connects technology and urbanisation in a fairly straightforward manner. As the administrative ‘memory’ of urbanisation as a process of building production, the building permit bears the potential to examine a history that represents the gross national product of our built environment.

Since the GIB served as the middleman between planning and construction activities, the GIB-archive, provides a final interesting point of entry for further research. The extensive GIB-archives, preserved by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), contain a wide range of documents (settlement strategies, communication with the construction sector and the city, pictures of construction sites, etc) that allow investigation of the group's building activities.

The Belgian context, with its weakly institutionalized national and regional planning tradition and the emphasis on municipal autonomy, offers a rich context to study the local regulation of built production and the urban concerns addressed within them.

## Bibliography

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Broes, T, Dehaene M, Devos, R & Van de Voorde, S 2023, ‘Het verstedelijken van constructiegeschiedenis De stad als assemblage van bouwpraktijken?’, *Stadsgeschiedenis*, vol. 18, no. 1, pp.

Clarke, L 1992, *Building Capitalism: Historical Change & the Labour Process in the Production of the Built Environment*, Routledge, New York.

Dunkeld, M 1987, ‘Approaches to Construction History’, *Construction History*, vol. 3, pp. 3-15.

Grimmeau, J-P 2013, ‘Een vergeten verjaardag: de eerste Europese hypermarkten openen in Brussel in 1961’, *Brussels Studies*, Algemene collectie, nr. 67, viewed 14 March 2023, DOI:10.4000/brussels.1159

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# The anarchist thread of urban planning history: Reconstructing the continuous influence of anarchist ideas on the history and present of urbanism

Jere Kuzmanić

Programa de Doctorado en Urbanismo
Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura del Vallès
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech

Mentors
prof. José Luis Oyon
dr. Marta Serra Permanyer
Expected thesis defence: June, 2025
jkuzmanic@upc.edu

The thesis reconstructs the historical continuity of one of the major under-presented influences on urbanism — the anarchist roots of the urban planning movement. Leaning on the recent research from anarchist geography and planning history, the thesis deepens into Peter Hall's hypothesis presented in seminal book *Cities of Tomorrow*. Hall stated that many of the first ideals of the twentieth century urban planning movement “arose from the anarchist movement, which flourished in the last decades of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century.”. Following work offers a more panoramic, nuanced insight into the anarchist strain of the history of urban planning and further, contextualize its key ideas and figures within the field’s contemporary tendencies towards ecological urbanism. The intended outcome would define, not just one anarchist perspective on urbanism, but an interconnected network of social practices, utopian speculations and biographical references between the key actors that reframe urban planning as social ecology, not only a professional discipline.

## Anarchism and built environment: new old relevance

To reconstruct the historical continuity of one of the major under-presented influences on urbanism - the anarchist roots of the urban planning movement - means to follow an evolution of understanding how built environment and access to resources shape and are shaped by collaborative social action and pursue of autonomy – or in other words, understanding why do we build. The argument goes that the built environment is made by political subjects who tend to employ mutual aid, self-initiative and direct action to achieve social reproduction, relative individual freedom and regulate sufficiency. In that the anarchists propagators and modern day planners essentially share the same objective: decentralising the process of space making by downscaling it to each and every person's need within the resource balance. The historical thread of anarchist influences is in that sense just one of many histories of ideas on human-environment relationship. What authors presented in the following text have in common is understanding that through the freedom to build (and plan), one or many achieve control over their environment and that next to other essential needs like food, sleep and safety this one is high on priority list of human culture. This (overview) re-frames urbanism as radically different concept – a multitude of planning cultures in complex social ecology of built environment.

Leaning on the recent research from anarchist geography and planning history, the following text deepens into Peter Hall's hypothesis presented in seminal book *Cities of Tomorrow* (1988). Hall stated that many of the first ideals of the twentieth century urban planning movement “arose from the anarchist movement, which flourished in the last decades of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century. That is true for Howard, for Geddes and for the Regional Planning Association of America, as well as for many derivatives in the European continent” (Hall, 1988, pp.4.). [fig.1] Moreover, Hall noted another key area of anarchism's influence: the notion of bottom-up urbanism. “Built forms of cities should”, writes Hall, “come from the hands of their own citizens; that we should reject the tradition whereby large organizations, private or public, build for people, and instead embrace the notion that people should build for themselves. We can find this notion powerfully present in the anarchist thinking (...), and in particular in Geddesian notions of piecemeal urban rehabilitation between 1885 and 1920 (...) It resurfaces to provide a major, even a
*dominant, ideology of planning in third-world cities through the work of John Turner – himself drawing directly from anarchist thinking – in Latin America during the 1960s*" (Hall 2014, pp.9)

Nevertheless, the current state of the arts reveals even more important connections in the thread. Here on, we follow the historical thread by focusing on figures that have a pivotal role in shaping and disseminating the influence of anarchist ideas on urban planning.

<figure><img src="image_95.png" /><figcaption>Fig.1: Peter Hall’s references in the thread.</figcaption></figure>

Source: Author. Note: The diagram was previously published in Oyón, Jose Luis and Kuzmanic, Jere. 2022. ‘The anarchist strain of planning history: pursuing Peter Hall’s Cities of Tomorrow thesis through the Geddes connection, 1866–1976’. In: Welch Guerra, M., Castrillo Romón, M., Pekár and Abarkan, A. (Eds), *European Planning History in 20th century*. Routledge, New York.

## Peter Hall and state of the art

Not a few authors pointed towards this explicit connection between pioneers of classical anarchist thought and urban planning: i.e. Turner 1948; Doglio 1953; Ward 1992,1974; Pesce, 1981; Hall and Ward 1998; De Carlo and Bunčuga 2000; Masjuan 2000; White and Kossoff 2012; Ferretti 2019. However, there are significant gaps, especially in the recognition of Hall’s influential thesis, and in constituting the continuity of the thread. Since 2000s, there is a growing interest in anarchist geographies (Breitbart 2009; Ince 2012; Springer et al. 2012; Springer 2013; Araujo et al. 2017; Ferretti 2019), particularly around post-statist geographies (Springer 2012; Ince and de la Torre 2016; Kinna 2019, etc.) and critical studies of urban and political movements (i.e. (Pickerill 2007, Clough and Blumberg 2012; Rouhani 2012; Mayer 2013). Part of this interest in giving a fresh view on anarchism’s role in formation of urban planning has been pioneered in doctoral theses such as that of Mat Hern (1997) at the Union Institute Graduate School and Anthony Ince (2010) at the University of London or theses on particular authors such as Graham Purchase’s (2003) thesis on Pjotr Kropotkin’s geographical thought and Stefania Proli’s work on Carlo Doglio (2011). However, this growing interest did not yet encompass a comprehensive presentation of how anarchist ideas and experiences are rooted in the history of urban planning.
<figure><img src="image_96.png" /><figcaption>Fig.1: Elaborated thread of anarchist influences on urban planning.</figcaption></figure>

Source: Author. Note: The diagram was previously published in Oyón, Jose Luis and Kuzmanic, Jere. 2022. 'The anarchist strain of planning history: pursuing Peter Hall's Cities of Tomorrow thesis through the Geddes connection, 1866–1976'. In: Welch Guerra, M., Castrillo Romón, M., Pekár and Abarkan, A. (Eds), *European Planning History in 20th century*. Routledge, New York.

## Production of ideas: The anarchist geographers, 1866-1899

Elisée Reclus, one of the French most influential geographers and proto-ecologist, during these formative decades of anarchism and geography, writes primarily about a fusion of nature with a city that in the future will expand indefinitely through its countryside, encompassing the regional dimension of urban and rural at the same time (Pelletier, 1999, Homobono, 2013). Since his early writings in the 1860s, he explores the city as a concentration of natural capital. Cities, as he describes, are born and grow based on their natural advantages, and their immediate natural region amplifies their growth.

The future Reclusian city is an unlimited city, ‘the indefinite extension of the city in total fusion with the countryside’ interconnected through periurban spaces of cultivated nature-fields, orchards, gardens, together with the technical infrastructure that allows the city to have a life as an organism - water infrastructure, transportation, food supply. Therefore he imagines a) railways and roads as a key to achieving the nature-city fusion, b) the suburbs imagined as settlements of low-rise houses integrated with nature, without fences to separate their inhabitants, pivoting around sub-centres with large parks and public services. His ideal(ist) approach to nature-city fusion is grounded in his belief in ‘*le sentiment de nature*’ - human consciousness of belonging to natural world (Oyon, 2018a). In other words, that every person beholds a profound potential for changing the course of urbanization away from unhealthy densification and centralization. For this, Reclus is considered a proto-ecological urbanist whose influence can be traced to whole range of later authors including John F.C. Turner and Murray Bookchin as well as to the core of the discipline to Howard and Geddes (Ferretti, 2015). However recent works by historians of geography reveal Reclus as a center of a 19th century network of anarchist geographers collaborating in action-networks including transnational connections, such as to russians Mechnikoff and Dragomanov
and clarifying his connections to anarchism inspired social reformers such as Elisée's nephew Paul Reclus, Ebenezer Howard (Hall and Ward, 1989) and Patrick Geddes (Ferretti, 2016, 2020).

Since the decade of 1880, Reclus' more famous contemporary anarchist geographer, Pjotr Kropotkin developed an idea of the economic integration of the city and countryside. He imagined it as a territory where the big city and its surroundings with decentralized and industrialized, relatively self-sufficient communities reciprocally feed each other with food, goods and primary resources. The inhabitants of such an integrated spatial system are both workers and farmers, producers and consumers of their agricultural and industrial products (Purchase, 2003). Although the idea is presented in his seminal *Fields, factories and workshops* from 1899, Kropotkin's preceding book *The Conquest of Bread* (1892), as a collection of ideas on how to organize the post-revolutionary society, became the book that inspired the anarchist labour movement in Spain during the first decades of the 20th century (Masjuan, 2000). In these two works, he conceptualizes post-revolutionary reorganization and (self-)management of the city through socialized consumption established to provide basic needs ahead of restarting the production after the revolution successes. The new emancipated society he advocates is set in a new space that revolutionizes the capitalist conception of food supply, housing and municipal public services (Oyon, 2014). The anarchist society based on territorial model of social and regional cooperation was the idea that formed the foundations of the thread of anarchist influences on planning pioneers and is later referenced by Mumford and Howard, founding figures of regional planning through Regional Planning Association of America and Town and Country Planning Association of UK.

The Reclusian call for a city in harmony with nature and his region is explicitly present in the development of Geddes's ideas on the region-city, the Valley Section, and his Outlook Tower in Edinburgh (Ferretti, 2015). Mumford's regionalism and the Regional Planning Association of America projects during the 1920s and 1930s are inspired by the ideas of decentralization from Kropotkin (Meller, 1990). The influence is present as well in Howard's garden-city proposal. Both Geddes and Mumford will later mark out the generation of European architects and urban planners from the postwar period, including a range of those declaring as anarchists, creating an undeniable bridge with the old tradition of 19th-century anarchist geographers, particularly with Kropotkin. Important note is that this bridge was more than conceptual. The primary sources such as letters, documentations of visits and explicit references in correspondence and works between Kropotkin, Reclus, Geddes and then later Geddes and Mumford show a strong network of closely related authors.

The second thread of influences was the rich imaginary of from below territorial actions. In example, the libertarian policies during the Second Republic in Spain that had direct affiliations with the Kropotkin's territorial integration, or the recognition of direct action responses to a growing worldwide urban crisis in form of rent strikes, tenant actions and array of other grassroots tactics (Levy, 2018). A rich world of ideas of spatial imagination of libertarian communism intended to unfold with the social revolution Masjuan Bracons (2000) reduces to an anarcho-communist and anarcho-syndicalist tendencies, with essential coincidences: a) the organization from below of municipalities and communes into federations of municipalities and, especially, b) the imperative of decentralization of the big cities towards a 'stable synthesis between the countryside and the city'. The subsequent potential is confirmed by recognition of 'agro-industrial symbiosis' in land reform by the CNT Congress of the 1936 in Zaragoza. Also on a wider scale, the tactics of direct action emerged from syndicalism and feminism and dispersed throughout the world during the early 20th century (i.e. tenant strikes at the end of World War I: France, Spain, Argentina, Mexico,...) many of which were led and facilitated by transnational anarchist networks (Levy, 2018). In Spain, CNT's rent strikes in the summer of 1931 were followed by interventions on the housing market ahead of the Civil War. Spanish anarchists embodied Kropotkin's ideas on the organization from below in a municipal setting through direct action. Along these struggles the housing as organisational and territorial question entered to the central spot of planning debates in the rest of the century.
*Urbanism from below: the anarchist architects of the second post-war period, 1939-1976*

On a completely new level, the anarchist reflection on the city reaches European architects and urban planners in the second post-war period (Oyon and Kuzmanić, 2020). In this an important role play periodicals, particularly the Freedom, established by Kropotkin in 1880s, in which architect and planner Colin Ward was the editor for two important decades and John Turner, Giancarlo de Carlo and Carlo Doglio were contributors. The importance of urbanism ‘from below’ in post-war decades also spread transnationally within the rising awareness of new global urbanisation. Examples, are the American Goodman brothers, Paul and Percival and their work *Communitas* or John Turner’s work with Eduardo Neira in Peru (Golda-Pongratz et al. 2018.). It is impossible not to mention Italian circle of anarchist architects that emerged in antifascist resistance in Second World War to be shaped by several key figures involved in rebuilding Italian housing and territory in coming decades.

Overall, ideas on anarchist urbanism started to revolve around the autonomous direct action as a driving principle of the ‘anarchist solutions’ to problems of everyday life in cities. Paraphrasing Ward, in the face of capitalism, the libertarian movement must not wait for the great revolution that will change everything. The practices of freedom are for today. They are daily actions of existing revolution, that of the here and now. They are ‘anarchism in action’ (Ward, 1973). For this kind of engagements Colin Ward was a pivotal figure of that time in redefining the role of ‘pragmatic anarchism’ within wide range of fields, among which one, very dear to him, was urban planning. As a productive writer and practitioner, he developed his first interest in self-help housing with post-war squatters in 1946 and occupations of abandoned military camps (a practice that included 40 000 families in England and 5000 in Scotland). He afterwards developed a critique of the large-scale management and massive bureaucracy of state-owned/municipal housing estates. His works analyse and politicize the forms of housing production, tenure and distribution and further engage in various case studies such as: tenants associations, cooperatives and the concept of property, the self-construction, tenant self-defense and urban planning ‘from below’, which for example included appropriation of public services and some radical reflection on urban ecology and green gentrification. He updated Kropotkin’s ideas on the integration of production and consumption, especially on housing and community self-management and created a more complex set of proposals inspired by the real experiences of both pre- and post-war Britain implying the existence of *citizen controlled urbanism*. Together with Turner, Walter Segal and De Carlo and inspired by dialogues with British intellectuals and architects such as Peter Hall, David Hardy, Brian Richardson and Pat Crook, he described another important anarchist principle: *The dweller's control* or user’s involvement in all stages and aspects of making of the built environment to which he dedicated most of his around fourty books. Colin Ward’s work should be considered as pivotal for the thread as his writings bare most focus on connections created along the thread between all here mentioned figures.

During the 1960s and 1970s, another British architect, John F Turner created an engaged and open vision of self-help housing inspired by the works of Patrick Geddes in India (Oyón and Kuzmanić, 2022). Self-help housing neighbourhoods made by users over time were not finished and serialized object, but as a progressive process where the inhabitants both decide and execute their ideas. Since his first work in *Architectural Design* in 1963 about new housing solutions in Latin American countries, specifically Peru, Turner’s main concern has been to give visibility to the heterodox process of creating self-built neighbourhoods in at the time called “underdeveloped countries” (Golda-Pongratz, 2018). He describes the value and benefits of autonomy of the self-built housing for its users based on practical experiences. Turner’s vision is also a renewed subsequent turn to the Kropotkinian vision since it does not base on the simple reproductive ‘satisfaction’ of the needs of food, housing and clothing. Instead, it recognizes emancipatory power in socialized consumption and the beyond spatial meaning of housing in its complex socio-economic relation to an individual, unit, neighbourhood and the city: Housing not as an object but “as a verb”-or as direct action.
From the south of Europe in late 1940s, Giancarlo De Carlo, as an Italian architect, in his early writings for journals Volontà and Freedom, made explicit the connection between urban problems of post-war Italy and possible anarchist solutions. Later in life he becomes a known for promoting the participation of users in the construction of housing mediated by architects. Recognizing that all three phases of the architectural project (the definition of the problem, the elaboration of the building solution and the evaluation of the results) require the presence of the users (Franchini, 2020). His most noted works were along these lines are plan for San Giuliano quartier in Rimini and the Matteotti neighbourhood in Terni between 1969-1974. The references to Geddes' method of conservative surgery can most easily be recognized in his most famous project: the plethora of interventions in the historic core of the city of Urbino. De Carlo's works and thinking has to been seen in connections with Carlo Doglio's writings and regional planning initiatives in post-war Italy that trigger an hypothesis on intended collaborations of promoting regional version of anarchism through means of planning (Proli, 2017). Doglio's explicit declaration that 'urbanism is anarchism' echoes through his activities as urban planner and university professor, as a vision of urban planning based on direct action of informed citizens, intended as a tool for the creation of a new society. The two former housemates and lifelong friends form a center of a rich network of Italian anarchist planners and architects and civic militants such as Danilo Dolci, Giovanna Berneri and Cesare Zaccharia, among others. Equally important connection is made between British and Italian group through Doglio's six years of life in London and Ward's and Turner's regular visits to Italian anarchist gatherings over course of three decades facilitated by De Carlo, Amedeo Bertolo and Rossella Di Leo. During the seventies and early eighties transnational collaboration between members of this generation is most intense and could be described as informal attempt to shape 'anarchist urbanism' as a collective vision inspired by heated years of European social movements such as Autonomia Operaia, self-help housing (i.e. SAAL in Portugal), squatting and Tenant movement in UK, among many others.

*Anarchist social ecology and new mutualist geographies: 1976-onwards*

After the 1980s the interest in anarchist solutions to urban questions started to lose its attraction. Reasons can be related to birth of neo-liberal project and it's new political economy of space as well as radical changes in cultural landscape of leftist movement to which anarchism responded by radicalising and forming a new forms of countercultural alliances and militant tactics. Murray Bookchin's libertarian municipalism and the social ecology emerged in this context. New question of ecological crisis to address and 'global urbanization' urged for the rearrangement of anarchism as political project. As early as the some of the most important environmentalist publications, such as the seminal *Silent Spring* by Rachel Carson, Bookchin publishes *Ecology of Freedom* and translates the urban question into an environmental question (Venturini et al., 2019). The influence of his work extends to the *progetto locale* (Magnaghi, 2001) of Alberto Magnaghi and territorial school of planning in Italy as well as to the principle of *democratic confederalism* that is political backbone of Autonomous administration of North and East Syria and other radical municipalist movements around the end of the century. In this way Bookchin theoretically backed the reteritorialization of anarchism after almost 150 years. The critique of the process of urbanization, environmental degradation and the social disconnection it produces has a central place in the concept of social ecology that proposes radical redirection of urbanized society towards decentralization and municipalism in a sense that is very close to Kropotkinian and Reclusian visions of urban future. Bookchin's ideas in this sense present a full circle of the thread of anarchist influences on the planning, bringing the idea of urbanism from below and dweller's control of environment back to the roots of regionalist and 'grand-scale' imaginary of Kropotkin and Reclus. However, this vision is still to be translated into an influence in 'literal' sense, as for now, as it always is case with 'anarchist solutions', it just lives in 'active society' (Doglio in Proli, 2021) around the world.

**The conclusion:**

Anarchism, as a lesser-known stream of planning history, contributes to a concrete and coherent vision of what urban planning does for the human-environment relationship. As briefly elaborated above it is more than just 'being against the State and rules' that comes as the
proposition. The curiosity that two of the founders of classical anarchism, Kropotkin and Reclus, were geographers to some extent explains why anarchism is political concept grounded in territory and spatial imagination. However the rich evolution of ideas that emerged from there, and even more so, the uncountable experiences of direct action, users autonomy and cooperative non-hierarchical structure that are so dedicatedly documented by the authors above can not be explained without taking into a consideration a certain collective effort to understand, but not define, urbanism as a political concept deeply rooted in human need to control environment and pursue autonomy.

However, there is a deeper ontological implication: What if urban planning is seen as part of the broader phenomenon of social ecology? Social ecology as a spatial/territorial extrapolation of anarchism seeks to organize human-environment relationships in non-hierarchical constellations (Bookchin, 2005). The historical consideration here presented, as a conclusion, implies not one urban planning discipline as an opposition to ‘uncontrolled’ urbanization but planning cultures as heterotopian evolution of the human-environment relationship.

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# Immanent Monuments or transcendent instruments? Four Roles for Post-war Churches in Sustainable Neighbourhood Transition.

Charlotte Ardui

KU Leuven

Sven Sterken

Expected thesis defence: February, 2024

charlotte.ardui@kuleuven.be

The research project ‘Faith in the Periphery’ investigates the future of post-war churches in relation to sustainable neighbourhood transition. The project posits that due to their scale, central location, and through their radiant capacity, they can play a key role in the transformation of the suburban fabric. This paper is based on the dissertation’s concluding chapter, which identifies four active roles for post-war churches, namely that of ‘outsider’, ‘facilitator’, ‘participant’, or ‘distributor’. These four roles emanate from the theoretical framework constructed during the research, where the traditional significance of the church buildings as a sacred monument has been deconstructed and reconfigured by introducing hybrid categories such as ‘transcendent instruments’ or ‘immanent monuments’. Thus, we demonstrate that through the hybridization of an existing but connotated typology, the post-war church building can prove itself as a meaningful agent in the sustainable transition of the suburban neighbourhood.

## Introduction: parallel discourses and the untapped potential for intersection

The presence of suburban allotments in Flanders remains a contentious spatial legacy from the 20th century, accommodating approximately 20% of the region's current population (Pisman et al., 2020). Various authors, including Smets (1986), De Meulder, Schreurs, Cock and Notteboom (1999), De Decker (2011), Bervoets and Heynen (2011) and Dehaene (2015), have extensively described the historical formation and mechanisms of these areas. While some works acknowledge the potential benefits of dispersed conditions (Secchi, Vigano, 2009; Geysen, Van Daele, Scheerlink, 2018), many highlight the challenges and shortcomings related to social, ecological, economic, and cultural concerns. (Alberti, 2005; Nolf, De Meulder, 2017; Boussauw, Vanoutrive, 2017; Vermeiren et al., 2019) To address these challenges, policymakers introduced a spatial policy plan (BRV, 2018), focusing on increasing spatial efficiency, promoting multifunctional use, fostering cohesive cities and villages, advancing energy coherence, cultivating resilient open spaces, and enhancing quality of life.<fnref n="1" /> The Flemish Government Architect has initiated several concrete initiatives to implement these principles through research by design. *Klimaatwijken* (Climate Districts) links spatial innovations, energy transition, and qualitative densification.<fnref n="2" /> *Leefbuurten* (Neighbourhoods for Living) is a pilot project guiding seven local councils in redesigning future proof public spaces.<fnref n="3" /> *Verkavelingswijken in Transformatie* (Allotment Neighbourhoods in Transformation) focuses specifically on transforming low density suburban allotments, employing density, connectivity, circularity, image quality, collectivity, and diversity as analytical and transformation tools.<fnref n="4" /> All these studies share a common objective of addressing demographic, climatic, and economic challenges through integrated strategies. Furthermore, all address the neighbourhood unit as a rational scale to achieve collective benefits. Although the connection between parish churches and neighbourhood units is apparent—like neighbourhoods, parishes are organized territorially with each square meter of land assigned to a specific parish— existing research on the future of neighbourhoods lacks any consideration of churches. In summary, the transition envisioned by these studies entails neighbourhoods that are densely built, providing a wide range of housing options for a diverse population while fostering the sharing of services and amenities. Additionally, the inclusion of new small-scale facilities is expected to enhance local autonomy and reducing dependency on cars. Further, by depaving streets and establishing connected green and blue networks, safe routes for biking and walking can be created. This integration also incorporates parks and sustainable drainage systems, promoting biodiversity,

<footnote n="1">¹ BRV (Beleidsplan Ruimte Vlaanderen). The final report is accessible via https://omgeving.vlaanderen.be/nl/ruimtelijk-beleid-en-planning/ruimtelijk-beleid/beleidsplan-ruimte-vlaanderen.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Exploration phase and case study design are accessible on https://vlaamsbouwmeester.be/nl/instrumenten/pilootprojecten/verkennend-onderzoek-klimaatwijken.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ For the recently published intermediate report see https://www.vlaamsbouwmeester.be/nl/subsite/leefbuurten</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ The reports of the exploration phase and the analysis are accessible on https://vlaamsbouwmeester.be/nl/subsite/verkavelingswijken
The presentation of the case study research is expected by the end of 2023.</footnote>
improving air quality, and effectively managing storm water runoff. Through the collective renovation of existing buildings and the implementation of renewable energy systems, the energy demand is minimized, allowing for responsible solutions. All these actions contribute to the development of an autonomous neighbourhood that addresses contemporary societal challenges in spatial, ecological, social, and cultural aspects.

At the same time, the adaptive reuse of churches is a topical challenge. Everywhere in the Western world, adherence to the Christian faith is declining, a phenomenon that manifests itself in the rapidly increasing number of redundant parish churches. In Flanders, of the almost 1800 parish churches, 142 have already been desecrated (data from end 2022) and it is estimated that on the short term, 30% will need to be adapted for reuse. (Visienota, 2022) The historical reasons behind this massive reconversion wave (amongst which the unique state-church relationship in Belgium and the territorial dimension of the Roman Catholic church), as well as the various voices in today's debate have by now been amply explored in the literature (Coomans, 2006; Danckers, Jaspers, Stevens, 2016). Other authors look at future options for parish churches from perspectives as varied as architectural theory (De Ridder, 2021), conservation theory (Coomans, 2014), interior architecture (Callebaut, 2022) and intangible heritage (Vande Keere, Plevoets, 2018). All agree that parish churches play an important role as spatial beacons, cultural markers and social nuclei. At the policy level, the *Projectbureau Herbestemming Parochiekerken* (Agency for the Adaptive Reuse of Parish Churches, founded in 2016 on initiative of the Flemish Government)<fnref n="5" />, has given a serious boost to design expertise in the repurposing of churches through no less than 141 feasibility studies conducted over a period of 5 years.<fnref n="6" /> One of the provisional conclusions from this experience is that modern churches in the suburban areas are more ‘vulnerable’ than their 19th C counterparts as the debate about their future use is hampered by the fact that municipalities tend to prioritize more ‘historical’ and centrally located churches; moreover churches from the 1960s are generally considered too utilitarian in their aspect, and little loved by the general public. By contrast, some of these buildings possess incontestable heritage values, and have often been built on initiative of, and even by the local population.

This research seeks to go beyond the focus on adaptive reuse as an interior job and seeks to approach the issue of church repurposing from the perspective of urban development. More specifically, we ask if, and how the adaptive reuse of post-war churches can support the sustainable transformation of the suburban tissue. Up till now, both fields are not, or only marginally linked in practice, research, and policy. The coupling of both therefore constitutes the originality of the research project ‘Faith in the Periphery’ (2019-2024). It is our hypothesis that churches, given their multiple significance at the neighbourhood level (social, cultural, spatial), can play a crucial part in the process of neighbourhood transformation. Throughout the research, this hypothesis has been tested through design assignments for master students, as well as through various collaborations with architectural offices. Part of the concluding chapter of the doctoral dissertation, this paper identifies four roles post-war churches could play in the desired neighbourhood transformation at the suburban level, namely that of ‘outsider’, ‘facilitator’, ‘participant’, or ‘distributor’. The paper comprises three main sections. First, it introduces a theoretical framework that seeks to challenge the conventional idea of churches as sacred monuments. Secondly, it zooms in on a specific case study with a view to determine the distinctive characteristics, issues and potential of post-war churches. Lastly, it illustrates how the four aforementioned roles could become implemented in the form of conceptual design proposals.

## Navigating the Shift from Transcendent Monuments to Immanent Instruments

Throughout history, churches have always symbolized the presence of divinity. Until the mid-20th century, this symbolism relied on the theological belief in the transcendent nature of God's 'wholly otherness', which was physically expressed through monumental structures. (Was, 2017) This inherent sense of transcendent monumentality reflected the image of God, and through the accompanying liturgy, it found expression in various physical elements. Typically, the grand scale,

<footnote n="5">⁵ The Project Agency was a partnership between the expertise centre for religious art and culture PARCUM (a joint initiative between the dioceses and the Heritage Agency), the Expertise Centre for Flemish Cities and Towns (VVSG), the Flemish Heritage Agency, the Flemish Government Architect and the Flemish Ministry for Public Governance. Today the agency is substituted by a Platform for the Future of Parish Churches. See https://www.vvsg.be/omgeving/platform-toekomst-parochiekerken.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ A publication with substantial contributions by Charlotte Ardui and Sven Sterken, focusing on the design results of the Project Agency, is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2023.</footnote>
dim lighting, intricate decorations, symbolic references, and the carefully organized spatial layout
shaped the liturgical practice. Moreover, the physical position of churches within city centres
enhanced the visual and symbolic impact. Often placed on elevated sites or prominent locations,
these architectural landmarks stood tall, commanding attention and shaping the skyline. These
interior, architectural, and urban characteristics possessed the ability to evoke specific emotions in
those who inhabited these spaces, while also conveying theological understandings and
interpretations. For instance, a long and narrow space intentionally organized with a main entrance
at one end and a significant focal point at the other end, can be seen as "representing a spiritual
pilgrimage through time and space" (Torgerson, 2007, p. 3).

As traditional churches can be seen as the ultimate prototype of monumental architecture (Bekaert,
1967), it is pertinent here to explore the concept of monumentality in architectural theory with a
particular focus on how it is brought in relation with the urban fabric. Rossi (1982; 2009) for instance,
associates monuments with the notion of permanence. He believed that significant, long-standing
structures, or what he refers to as ‘permanences’, structure the urban tissue. As a result, the city, with
all its permanences, acts as a backdrop for human life. Similarly, Kahn (1944) explores the permanent
and static nature of monuments, acknowledging their spiritual and eternal essence. According to him,
monuments ‘resist’ alteration or modification; this had to do with certain enigmatic qualities, a
specific materiality, lightning effects, the ensemble value, and the integrity of construction which he
recognizes as typical features of monumentality. Koolhaas (1997) acknowledges form as a substantial
attribute of monumentality (Hartmann, 2019, p.94-96). His understanding centres around the
symbolic gestures and the significance of scale. Lastly, Aureli (2011; 2016) praises the autonomy and
‘obstructive qualities’ of monuments, acknowledging the capacity of historical churches to trigger
activity and urbanity: like monuments, churches not only embody their distinctive position, they also
operationalise it.

Much of the above does not easily applies to post-war churches however, for they exhibit a distinctive
expression of theology, liturgy, and architecture (Doevendans, 2010). Indeed, as the 20th century
progressed, a fundamental theological shift occurred within the various Christian churches,
acknowledging the divine presence *within* everyday life rather than as something sacred and therefore
exterior from it (Torgerson, 2007). As a result, the liturgy was also fundamentally adapted, with the
aim to democratize the practice of faith by fostering the active involvement of the laity during
services. This liturgical shift, which required open, flexible and well-lit spaces where the faithful could
take place around the altar, resonated strongly with a modern approach to building design, which
accordingly, led to a fundamental rethinking of the church building as a type (Morel, Van De Voorde,
2012). The use of new materials and techniques enabled architects for example to break away from
limited spans and narrow naves and thus architecturally accommodate the new liturgical practices
(Kidder Smith, 1964). Deviating widely from existing church typologies and often without overt
religious symbolism, post-war churches were often conceived as multifunctional community
infrastructures and often smaller in scale than conventional churches (Sterken, 2013). Moreover, in
the urban fabric, churches no longer held the prominent positions they once did: their location within
the new or soon-to-be subdivided areas depended on land prices, the benevolence of the local
administration, of the charisma of the local parish priest. Yet, the dioceses installed various incentives
(mostly financial in nature) to ensure the presence of the Church in the suburban expansion (Sterken,
2013).
<figure><img src="image_97.png" /><figcaption>[fig.1] overview of 30 post-war churches in the diocese of Antwerp showing the versatility in plan layout and the relation between the church building, the plot, and auxiliary buildings parish infrastructure. Drawing by the author, 2021.</figcaption></figure>

In opposition to earlier church types which in most cases fall under the category ‘transcendent monuments’, and with a view to capitalizing on the ‘otherness’ of the post-war churches (in the theological, liturgical, architectural and urbanistic sense as explained above) as a positive quality, we suggest a conceptual twist: what if we look at them not as ‘transcendent monuments’ but as ‘immanent instruments’? Indeed, most 1960s churches were designed to serve the community in the first place, by offering a place for encounter embedded within their daily routines. Consequently, they don’t possess the ‘permanence’, ‘enigmatic qualities’, ‘large scale’, or ‘autonomy’ associated with monumentality in architectural theory (cf. above) but are rather designed to encourage participation, social encounter, and pragmatic use. Given the fact that this type of churches exists in significant numbers —roughly 25% of the churches in Flanders were built after World War II, and almost 15 % after 1965 ⁷ —, our call for a conceptual reversal in the appreciation of church buildings is not a mere academic exercise, but an attempt to name, recognize and qualify the essential characteristics and potential of this built heritage. Thus, we tackle two interrelated challenges: first, the lack of vocabulary to discuss and assess the value of modern churches⁸; and second, the received idea that these buildings are mere functional spaces that can be easily repurposed. As we state, such indifferent and pragmatic attitude overlooks their original intention (and current potential) as ‘houses for the community’.

Yet, it could be argued today, both the idea of the church as a transcendent monument or an immanent instrument have not only lost their intrinsic significance, but also their conceptual relevance. Indeed, the irreversible trend of secularization has made the concept of a church as a transcendent monument obsolete; on the other hand, the idea of the church as an immanent instrument has also lost its appeal for in many instances, it has been mistaken for simplification and unconcealed pragmatism, resulting in buildings of utmost banality and lacking any formal strength. In an attempt to overcome this dead-lock opposition, we propose to take the reasoning developed above one step further: what if we stop looking at church buildings through the lens of these established categories, and introduce hybrid categories instead? What, for example, could it mean to think of church building as a ‘transcendent instrument’, or an ‘immanent monument’? Moving beyond binary oppositions broadens one’s perspective and creates a fertile field of tension from which unexpected new insights may arise. Is it possible, for example, to combine the formal capacity of a monument with the need for embeddedness of a community centre? Or can the etheric ambiance traditionally linked with the concept of transcendence be coupled with the performativity of technical infrastructure? The four ‘roles’ discussed later in this paper originate from such cross-pollinations; on the one hand, they consist of architectural interventions geared at unlocking the building’s latent qualities and increase its cultural significance as a monument; on the other hand, they serve as
instruments in sustainable neighbourhood development, thus consolidating their societal relevance and meaning. In both cases, the objective is the same, however, namely to reconnect the church, spatially and socially, with the neighbourhood and its inhabitants.

## St. Joseph's Church in Berg, Meerhout: A Case Study of Post-War Church Architecture and Community Dynamics

St Joseph's Church in Berg, Meerhout is one among the 428 churches built in Flanders after 1945.<fnref n="9" /> It holds particular significance for two reasons. Firstly, it serves as a prime example of the contemporary challenges. Secondly, its creation, location, and architectural style symbolize the tangible transformation of the (religious) landscape in the aftermath of war. Hence, already in the late 1950s, the seeds of a new church began to sprout in the neighbourhood of Berg. Following the post-war trend of demographic explosion and the spatial policy (or rather, the lack thereof), Berg grew from a small hamlet with a handful of farmhouses, into a neighbourhood consisting of scattered family houses surrounding a school and few services. (Cuypers, 1988). These rapid social and spatial changes posed a major challenge to the organisation of pastoral care. Parish boundaries were redrawn, and churches and associated infrastructure were systematically provided to newly developed peripheral neighbourhoods. (Sterken, Weyns, 2022) Likewise in Meerhout, where the new parish of St. Joseph was officially established in 1964. (Cuypers, 1988) The responsibility of designing the church fell into the hands of the local architect duo Lou Jansen and Lode Schiltz, who were assigned a plot that was selected with the intention not to obstruct the further development of the allotment.<fnref n="10" /> (Smeets, 1971) The construction and financing of the church became a collaborative effort within the neighbourhood. A 'building club', a group dedicated inhabitants, organised successful funding initiatives. They received direct financial and organisational support from Domus Dei, the diocesan fundraising organization. In 1969 the church was festively consecrated. (Cuypers, 1988) Today, the St. Joseph's church stands as a testament reflecting the combined effort of the community that helped it built and the vision of church authorities.

<figure><img src="image_98.png" /><figcaption>[fig.2-3] The St. Joseph's Church in Berg anno 1988, from Cuypers, 1988.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_99.png" /><figcaption>[fig.4] The Joseph's Church in Berg anno 2021, elaborated by author, 2021.</figcaption></figure>

<footnote n="9">⁹ Boone, Böröcz, Tansen, 2008</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ Jansen and Schiltz were prominent figures of the Turnhoutse School—a local architectural movement known for its late modernist and functionalist principles. See De Bont, Y. (2012) ‘Lou Jansen and Rudi Schiltz’ in *Architectuur in de golden sixties. De Turnhoutse School* Strauven. F. (ed) (Tielt; Lannoo) 152–155.</footnote>
Accordingly, the church exemplifies typical characteristics of post-war churches in terms of its location, architecture, and interior. The site where the church building stands is now centrally situated within the new neighbourhood. Typically, it exhibits minimal hierarchical differentiation from neighbouring plots. The church is situated on a spacious plot, where the residual space is full of street clutter and mainly serves as a parking area. Post-war churches often feature a distinct and clear geometric design, with a freestanding structure that is commonly placed in a random arrangement among residential plots. In Berg, this translates into an introvert, straightforward, box-shaped volume, where the structure is visible from the outside through repetitive columns along the side facades. The entrance is marked by a modest bell tower. In terms of plan layout, post-war churches typically prioritize maximal flexibility. They often provide a large open space, devoid of vertical structural elements, and accompanied by a few servant spaces. In the case of St. Joseph's church, this is accomplished with 20-meter-long pre-stressed concrete beams, spanning a generous space capable of accommodating up to 400 worshipers. Servant spaces are situated above a small Baptist chapel adjacent to the main entrance. Also, in terms of interior ambiance the St. Joseph's church is emblematic. The space is devoid of excessive ornamentation, creating a sense of simplicity and tranquillity. In addition, the incorporation of zenital lighting, separating the walls from the ceiling, the careful articulation of the structure, and the use of simple everyday materials, here concrete blocks, all contribute to its distinct atmosphere.

<figure><img src="image_100.png" /><figcaption>[fig.5] The Joseph's Church in Berg today, elaborated by author, 2021.</figcaption></figure>

Furthermore, the St. Joseph's church serves as a pertinent and illustrative case, encompassing not only its physical attributes but also its utilisation and stakeholder dynamics. As stated earlier, the church was constructed and financed through the active involvement of the community. The intention was to create a church as an open, flexible, non-functionalist and non-capitalist, space for social encounters and public engagement. However, already shortly after its completion, a decline in church attendance became apparent, resulting in a gradual decrease in income for the church fabric. In 2010, the church underwent a renovation to address structural and moisture-related issues, but it also included pragmatic interventions to enhance the church's versatility in use. Notably, a heating system was installed, fire exit doors were added to meet the regulations for public buildings, and the Baptist chapel was repurposed as storage space. Additionally, the concrete altar was substituted with a movable wooden one and original liturgical furniture was removed to enable a multipurpose use.<fnref n="11" /> From then on, Mass celebrations were combined with sporadic concerts, exhibitions, or neighbourhood dinners. Due to a further decline in attendance, the church hosted its last service in

<footnote n="11">¹¹ This information was provided by Jos Huysmans, chairman of the church fabric. Conversation with J. Huysmans, church fabric, Meerhout 09/10/2020</footnote>
2022. The church policy plan of Meerhout outlines the future of the St. Joseph's church as an 'event space' by 2030, as it is deemed the most suitable building among the four churches in Meerhout.<fnref n="12" /> However, it is important to note that this destination reflects a pragmatic approach. The church will predominantly remain closed and will serve a regional scale of activities. Moreover, the transformation necessitates the preservation of parking spots and the inclusion of additional (sanitary) facilities.

In conclusion, the case reflects the two challenges discussed in the previous section. Firstly, from an architectural historical perspective, the church's austere character and uncanny qualities are, and have never been, fully acknowledged. This is proven by the limited attention it received by heritage agencies and in literature.<fnref n="13" /> Also, the fact that over the years, community members have adorned the space with art and artificial plants demonstrates a lack of appreciation for its modest ambiance. Secondly, there exists a discrepancy between the original purpose and potential of the church building on one hand, and its current and envisioned utilization on the other hand. Designed as a 'house for the community', it aspires significant symbolic value within the local neighbourhood, representing their collective identity. However, there is a missed opportunity to align the evolving needs of the neighbourhood with the proposed new use as 'event space'. While the program may only require minor alterations and ditto investments, its focus on a regional scale fails to take advantage of the church's original meaning and central location within the community. Moreover, this pivotal moment presents an ideal opportunity to reconsider and redesign its physical positioning within the urban setting.

Transforming the post-war Church: exploring four Roles in Neighbourhood Transition

As stated before, this research project seeks a way out of the uncertain future of the post-war church buildings by coupling the question of their (re)use with the challenges of sustainable neighbourhood transition, as pointed out in studies like *Verkavelingswijken in Transitie* and *Klimaatwijken* (cf. section 1). To this effect, we have defined a set of overarching principles, encompassing architectural interventions both within and around the building, as well as concepts for new use, management, and ownership.<fnref n="14" /> These principles serve as a flexible framework that can be adapted to suit specific circumstances, with a view to activating the church's spatial and socially structuring capacity. In spatial terms, these principles are: 1) activating and restructuring of the outdoor area surrounding the church; this enhances its exceptional status within the neighbourhood and expands the spatial qualities beyond the church's interior; 2) maximum safeguarding of the qualities of the building's open interior space, thus prioritizing facilitation the edges than filling the centre; 3) carefully redesigning the thresholds between inside and outside (both on the level of the building as on that of the church site), with a view to creating in-between conditions. In addition, we also propose three principles for new use, management, and ownership: 1) An a-functionalist approach, namely a solid and flexible framework, rather than a specific defined use, allows multiple uses, and encourages appropriation and adaptability. 2) We aim at safeguarding the non-capitalist capacity of the building. As an exception in a profit orientated society, the new use for the place should not prioritize financial gain but serve the community by providing valuable resources and services. 3) Collective ownership, so that the church building becomes a shared responsibility, enriching its current sense of symbolic ownership. On the basis of both these sets of principles, together with the conceptual hybridization discussed before, we have identified four distinct roles ('outsider', 'participant', 'facilitator', and 'distributor') a church could play within the desired neighbourhood transition. Each role embraces the inherent ambiguity between monument and instrument, serves the local community and promotes sustainable transformation, all the while building on, and enhancing the unique qualities of post-war church buildings as described above. St. Joseph's church in Berg serves as a case study to test and illustrate these roles. The designs are not conceived as architectural projects bur rather aim at expanding the stakeholders' and policymakers' imagination by presenting possibilities, broadening the scope of

<footnote n="12">¹²This information was provided by Jos Engelen, former mayor of Meerhout. Conversation with J. Engelen, ex-mayor, Meerhout 25/10/2022</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ The building is listed in the heritage inventory (ID 52556), but it's not protected. The only publications that briefly discuss the building are De Bont (2012) and Smeets (1971), along with a local history publication of Berg (Cuypers, 1988).</footnote>

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ These principles have been developed and tested in the earlier stage of the research in the context of a design studio at master's level (2019-2022) and in real-life feasibility studies in collaborations with architectural offices and public bodies.</footnote>
adaptive reuse (beyond the single focus on the interior), and introducing a longer-term perspective of sustainability.

*The Outsider*

<figure><img src="image_101.png" /><figcaption>[fig.6] The Outsider.
Drawing by author (2023)</figcaption></figure>

The Outsider entails an intensification of the otherworldly nature of the church building. In this scenario the church building serves as a stabilizer, a sanctuary, a vacuum of functionality amidst the rapidly changing and dynamic territory. Positioned at the heart of the new lively neighbourhood, the church serves as a place of remembrance, silence, reflection, and tranquillity - a refuge from the fast-paced and utilitarian aspects of daily life. Through the integration of water and green, the former church building is turned into an oasis in the tradition of a *hortus conclusus*. The site is depaved to maximize its natural surroundings, while indigenous plants and trees are carefully introduced to enhance biodiversity and provide shaded areas. The roof of the church is removed and the transition between inside and outside, both for the plot and the building itself, have been meticulously redesigned by walling the contours. Through a gradual progression from the external environment, through a set of outdoor rooms into the enchanting space within the church walls, visitors step by step leave the realm of everyday life. The entrances are clearly marked and serve as the gateway to this transformative journey. The site is charged with benches, an outside auditorium can host new types of rituals. In terms of amenities, the requirements for the new role are minimal: lockers, storage and sanitary. Consequently, the place demands little maintenance; the management and ownership of the church building involve a single investment by the municipality.

*The Facilitator*

<figure><img src="image_102.png" /></figure>
The Facilitator is reimagined as a dense apparatus, acting as ‘a facilitator’, and offering a variety of neighbourhood facilities. This role ties in with the desired neighbourhood transformation, fostering a vibrant and self-sustaining community with reduced reliance on external resources and transportation. Given its central location and size, the church building is an ideal site to host a wide range of community-oriented amenities. In terms of community use, the transformed church provides a space for social and cultural interactions among people of different generations. A wide range of amenities are available, such as a doctor’s office, a small childcare, a co-working wing, rentable rooms with lockers, and a post office for packages. These amenities are collectively managed and owned by a cooperative. To maximize the plot’s utilization, it is densely developed, creating a new spatial order that enhances the site’s public character. The church building is turned inside out, with extensions of varying sizes surrounding the former sacred space. Likewise, it remains an open and accessible space that still serves as the main space for encounters and interaction between community members of different generations. As a result, the former church building and its site become a hub for social and cultural activities, establishing a (new) reference point within the neighbourhood.

*The Participant*

<figure><img src="image_103.png" /><figcaption>[fig.8] The Participant.
Drawing by author (2023)</figcaption></figure>

The Participant becomes a part of the transformation by embracing new forms of collective living and working, leading to a qualitative densification of the site. This contribution is significant in diversifying the existing homogeneous housing stock, as the former church building is surrounded by new, affordable, and cooperatively managed dwellings. The development incorporates a variety of housing types, including single-person flats for seniors and singles, as well as compact ground-bound houses. An enclosed collective garden serves as a buffer between the church building and the housing units. Additionally, the site includes amenities like a parking pocket for shared cars and bike storage. Within the converted church, separate home office spaces, a communal kitchen, and ample storage space are incorporated, while preserving a significant portion of the former sacred space for various gatherings. During weekends and evenings, these spaces can also be utilized by the wider community for meetings and community activities. The church building is designed as a Janus head, open and welcoming to both the neighbourhood and the housing development. The altered ratio between occupied and open spaces on the site influences the orientation of the building, giving the church a different framing that enhances its connection to the wider neighbourhood.
<figure><img src="image_104.png" /><figcaption>[fig.9] The Distributor. Drawing by author (2023)</figcaption></figure>

The Distributor serves as an infrastructure node in suburban networks for essential resources such as water, energy, and locally produced food. The desired transition of the neighbourhood includes various interventions that promote a collective and considerate approach to water management, energy transition, and local food production. With its advantageous size and location, the church site is perfectly positioned to facilitate these flows. The roof is adorned with solar panels and a seasonal energy buffer tank is installed underground on the plot, to which a heat grid is be connected. At the same time, a collective water cistern is dug in to cater to the needs of the school and nearby residences. The management and ownership of these resources involve an energy cooperative and the municipality, demonstrating their commitment to sustainable development. Through this transformation all thresholds dissolve: the former church becomes nothing more than a grand public canopy, covering storage spaces. It serves as a vibrant place for social gatherings, festivities, and functions as a logistical distribution point for local food production, featuring vending machines for vegetable parcels and a tapping point for civic water. In this role, the former church, and its plot transforms into an open space, inviting individuals to freely appropriate, allowing for spontaneity. Infrastructure elements allude on the generosity of the place in sharing surplus water and energy.

## Conclusions

We have observed that the vocabulary used to discuss churches built after the second world war is heavily influenced by the image of traditional churches. This lack of genuine and informed appreciation affects the heritage assessment and adaptive reuse potential of these churches. Once no longer in use as structures for religious and community purpose, the only reference to their *raison d'être* disappears alike. By constructing a field of tensions between the traditional concepts of monument, instrument, transcendent, and immanent, we have found a reason to update the former societal relevance of the church and combine it with an ambition to enhance the building's formal qualities within its urban surroundings. This has provided an opportunity to identify roles for the church within a desired sustainable neighbourhood transformation. We have explored four distinct roles for post-war church buildings, in which each takes on a different agency in the impending transition: the outsider, participant, facilitator, and distributor. Not only do these roles anticipate the transformation, but they also have the potential to act as catalysts for development, aligning with the historical capacity of churches to trigger urbanity and interaction.

Starting from this reflection on the servant and radiant qualities of churches, we intentionally avoid using the concepts of 're-purposing' and 're-use' in our discourse. We acknowledge that, while the liturgical goal of these buildings may be less relevant today, there is a future role for post-war churches beyond pragmatism, purpose and urgency. Hence, the prefixes 'supra' and 'super', align more closely with our objective of surpassing mere purpose. It is our aspiration to redefine their role in the supra
and super realms, ensuring their continued relevance in a world where the traditional concept of a church may have evolved. By doing so, we honour their historical significance, while propelling them towards a future where they can thrive as symbols of architectural and societal significance. Thus, even more than fifty years after its publication, the final sentence of Bekaert's *In een ander Huis* from 1967 – where the latter did away with the idea of the sacred as the essence of church architecture, prioritizing its social relevance and architectural quality instead – is still relevant: “Churches will continue to be constructed, churches that are no longer churches, but that instead will be able to occupy the empty place left by current ones.” (Bekaert, 1967)

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# Qualitative datascaping for historic cities in conflict: A grounded theory analysis for spatial sustainability
## Case of Jaffa, Israel

Komal POTDAR

Affiliation: Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft, the Netherlands, and Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel
Supervisors: Dr. ir. Franklin van der Hoeven (TU Delft), Prof. Els Verbakel (Bezalel Academy), Prof. Michael Turner (Bezalel Academy)
Expected thesis defence: February 2024
Email: ar.komalpotdar@gmail.com

This research is rooted in the constructivist grounded theory analysis to develop qualitative datascapes for attributes taking the Historic Urban Landscape approach and its evaluation on different urban scales and application for planning frameworks. The case study of the historic city of Jaffa, Israel is explored. The research assesses HUL attributes through semi-structured interviews of stakeholders at the local, district, and national levels of urban planning and heritage management. A heuristic and knowledge-driven approach for exploring the concept of spatial sustainability by focusing on the HUL approach and deployed to address the research question: which HUL attributes are most critical and feature in relation to other attributes and are instrumental for the success or failure in the application of HUL recommendations? or How is the HUL approach relevant and integrated within the design and planning frameworks at various urban scales and what are the gaps and potentials? This study may be beneficial to the local authorities and other stakeholders, concerned with urban heritage and spatial sustainability and advantageous for enhancing conservation and decision-making frameworks.

## 1. Introduction

The spatial complexity of historic cities is evident and emergent from the dynamic and diachronous evolution, and influence of myriad social, economic, environmental, and cultural forces. The past decades have seen an evolution in theories addressing the spatial configurations of historic cities, adhering to more process-driven methods of design, and planning and diverging from the conventional category-driven approaches (Veldpaus, Pereira Roders and Colenbrander, 2013). Most contemporary processes of urbanization and development pose a challenge to spatial sustainability in historic environments, especially those having witnessed or witnessing intense levels of ethnic, National, geo-political, and/or religious conflicts (Pullan and Baillie, 2013). In these cases, it is pertinent to question and examine the spatial manifestations of such conflicts as well as to document the divergent values of urban heritage amongst stakeholders and actors. Though the fields of urban design, landscape architecture, and spatial planning are multidisciplinary, they are heavily practice-oriented and rely less on theoretical analysis (Allen and Davey, 2018), and with the scientific categorization of disciplines, institutional and departments, the development agenda takes precedence over the cultural agenda for historic cities (Erkan, 2018).

To build on the multidisciplinary requirement of the field of urban design and spatial planning in historic cities, the research adopts the Constructivist Grounded Theory approach (Hereafter CGT) as a method for qualitative datascaping. This method is explored as a tool to document and assess the differing values for urban heritage elements with reference to UNESCO's Historic Urban Landscape Recommendations (UNESCO, 2011) (HUL hereafter) at various scales and perspectives of actors and stakeholders. The study is conducted for the case study of the historic city of Jaffa, Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality as a case of urban heritage in conflict. The aim is also further to develop the HUL approach as a complementary step for an Inclusive Heritage Discourse (IHD). By presenting a qualitative datascape of urban heritage values, the proposed tool can be used to facilitate spatial sustainability and decision-making processes.

### 1.1 Background

UNESCO's Recommendations on HUL emphasize framing urban heritage with a landscape approach beyond the protected heritage areas by addressing interrelations of their physical forms, spatial organization, natural features, and settings, and their social, cultural, and economic values. The New Urban Agenda (UN-Habitat, 2017), which is based on the SDG Agenda 2030 (UN, 2015), emphasizes addressing the unique and emerging urban development challenges facing all countries with special attention to countries in situations of conflict (Article 109). Although the agenda outlines the requirement of integrated territorial development which can be addressed
through HUL recommendations, there is a lack of an established method or means to achieve it (Erkan, 2018). Another challenging aspect of the HUL recommendations is the intergovernmental nature of the guidelines demands collaboration amongst various actors and stakeholders. While existing literature focuses on attributes and elements of values beyond the built and protected layer to a landscape level, there is little research documenting and assessing the values and relevance of these attributes to different stakeholders at various urban scales and their potential towards achieving the goals of spatial sustainability.

This area of study presents more challenges in the case of historic cities in conflict as to document, map, interpret, and theorize the value and significance of the HUL attributes and integrate it with concepts of spatial sustainability. The challenge lies in the implementation of IHD which provides the opportunity for heritage to function as a reconciliation factor within policy and planning frameworks and enables constructive dialogues between supranational actors, public institutions, civil society organizations, and heritage professionals (Kisić, 2013). In most practices, the Authoritative Heritage Discourse (hereafter AHD) is adopted in heritage conservation practices for material culture to 'conserved as found' philosophy (Smith, 2012), subverting the non-conformist, alternative and non-traditional approaches to understanding heritage narratives. Talking from the point of view of dimensions of social and cultural sustainability, issues and challenges posed by conflict in historic cities often are treated as technical issues without addressing the underlying nuances and thus generating urban alterities (Lefebvre, 1996; Smith, 1996), resulting from exclusivist attitudes and governance models. Hence, this research will aim to present findings on the lacuna of current practices, attitudes, and perspectives in line with the HUL approach and attributes within spatial sustainability frameworks, that have not been widely discussed in literature or practice.

## 1.2 Spatial Sustainability for historic cities in Conflict

The concept of spatial sustainability has made its appearance relevant in literature focused on economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The Illustrated New Urban Agenda (UN-Habitat, 2020) made emphasis on this concept by highlighting it as the fourth dimension for transformative commitments where the physical form of a city impacts the urban social, economic, and environmental well-being and is a direct outcome of intentional integrated urban and territorial planning (UNHABITAT, 2018). Cultural heritage conservation policies and spatial planning is imperative steps for addressing challenges arising on account of transformative processes, such as migration and spatial fragmentation, and in many cases which do not prioritize the attributes and values of historic environments (Roders and Bandarin, 2019) and require an inclusive approach. Especially for the case of historic cities in conflict, the spatial ramifications of conflict become more pronounced. The related and recognizable forms of these implications leading to partitioned urban zones (Karlinsky, 2000) can be illustrated from borders, boundaries, walls, buffer zones, frontiers, security areas, infrastructural systems, dead zones, enclaves, warlord domains, religious bastions, gated communities and so on (Pullan and Baillie, 2013). Such cities which give rise to urban partitioned zones (Marcuse and van Kempen, 2000; Kempen, 2007; Kempen and Murie, 2009) with the introduction of 'conflict infrastructures' (Pullan, 2013) have an impact on the spatial configurations of cities and consequently on the life of people.

## 1.3 Problem statement

One of the key concepts of the HUL recommendations is to acknowledge and address the layers and continuity of historic urban environments which through the passage of time acquire significance at local and at times transcend to national and international levels. The need for addressing the significance of these layers in the planning and preservation strategies become more pronounced, especially in light of rapid urbanization and development (UNESCO, 2016). The importance of the wider setting and landscape to the historic urban environments was highlighted in the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to promote sustainable development and actively engage with the wider development processes by adopting the HUL approach for properties in and around urban areas so that their planning elements can be integrated directly into the planning and development policies, plans, processes, and instruments; regardless of whether the property is inscribed for its urban values or not (UNESCO, 2019). However, the conceptual framework of landscape for integrating within mainstream planning practices is still to gain prominence when it comes to heritage management (Bandarin and Van Oers, 2015). In
addition to this, the HUL recommendations also pose limitations (Veldpaus and Pereira Roders, 2017). AHD poses a risk to perpetuating power relations between the experts, institutions and inter-governmental frameworks thus diminishing the potential and opportunities for them to be agents of change (Kisić, 2013; Aronsson, 2014) in meeting cultural, social, and economic planning challenges. These challenges at various urban levels are more noticeable in the light of contemporary urbanization and development and require tools and methods in the discourse of urban heritage and spatial sustainability to adopting to methods and tools to identify, recognize and acknowledge the limits of acceptable change in a historic context (Bandarin, F. and Van Oers, 2012). There is a need to clearly identify urban attributes and to establish a methodology to manage change (UNESCO, 2020) and concerning to the multi-sectoral approach and various urban scales.

## 2 Case study: Jaffa, Israel

The ancient port of Jaffa was a mixed town with Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents (Monterescu and Rabinowitz, 2007). The Tel Aviv city, founded in 1906 as a Jewish suburb, was envisaged to be a modern and developed neighborhood and perpetuated the political divide. Since the annexation of Jaffa to the Tel Aviv municipality in 1950, it was rendered as a dilapidated neighborhood of the modern city. In the late 1990s, Tel Aviv's International Bauhaus style gained appreciation for its modern architecture. In 2004 acquired World Heritage City status with efforts targeted toward preservation and heritage management. Municipal investments during the last twenty years in tourism infrastructures, culture, urban spaces made it a tourist destination. Jaffa is a case where disintegration of physical elements of the historic city is constituted along with dramatic transformations in the social, economic, political and cultural urban systems (Golan, 2020).

The municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo has devised a 'City Vision Plan' and 'the Strategic Plan for Tel Aviv-Yafo: City Resilience' (Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, 2017, 2019) which highlights the growing polarization and alienation trends in the city, specially between the North and the South. The polarization is driven primarily by socio-economic disparities, converging with neo-liberalism, globalization, and the historical disparities between the communities. Jaffa encapsulates the spatial conflict dynamics of the nation state and is an exception to the segregated spaces in Israel where ethnic segregation is prevalent (Monterescu 2017).
אשכול חברתי-כלכלי (פנים עירוני) של שכונות
בתל-אביב-יפו (2020, מבוסס על נתוני 2017 - למ"ס)

<figure><img src="image_105.png" /><figcaption>[fig. 1] The social-economic level of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa population and the city's neighborhoods, the area of Jaffa highlighted in red dotted circle, with the lowest socio-economic levels of the city. (Calculated by data from 2017) The population's socio-economic index is a concluding index that underlies its calculations included characteristics Economic, demographic, education and education characteristics, standard of living, employment and retirement; Source: Tel Aviv Municipality</figcaption></figure>

Amongst the priority areas of the Strategic plan for the city, Jaffa is identified as site for intervention for social and economic projects, stressing on the needs of creating a space for shared