By Dominiek Mans and Lukas Van Caekenberghe
When imagining a city, a lot of factors can come to mind. When imagining a city compared to the countryside, the main differentiating factor is the built-up area. Cities are the realm of concrete, steel and asphalt whereas the countryside is conceived as a green space with here-and-there some scattered development, for example farms and small houses. This dichotomy between the city and the non-city has come under pressure lately as research into the effects of urban greenery proliferated and has been successfully communicated not only to scientists, but also to citizens.
In Antwerp a group of engaged citizens in 2018 asked the city government permission to redevelop their street by adding more green elements. The city committed to this project and gave funds to support them in their endeavour. Quite quickly, other neighbourhoods followed in their footsteps and the city of Antwerp felt obliged to turn this initially citizen lead project into an urban policy.
The city of Antwerp rolled out their program of ‘garden streets’. The concept of a garden street is quite simple: the idea is that you superimpose a garden on a street. A garden has several characteristics. It has of course green elements, but in an ideal scenario also blue elements and it has the potential to be a place of social interaction. However, these characteristics can also be applied to a street without losing its main purpose, giving access to buildings or being a connector. That’s the concept of a garden street.
One of those streets where this new urban policy has been put into place, is the Lange Ridderstraat. The designers redeveloped this street in quite an innovative manner. Without any vision of how the street could or should look, they went to the citizens and asked them to draw their ideal garden street, keeping in mind the three keywords: green, blue and connection. With this valuable input, the designers went to the drawing board and came up with the following design.
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| City of Antwerp © |
Important elements in this design are the green garlands connecting the two sides of the streets, greenery against the facades of the houses and planting boxes on the street itself. By adding these elements, the street transforms in a green alley in all dimensions. These green elements can provide shade and cooling, contribute to the biodiversity in the city and are of course more aesthetically pleasing than a sea of concrete. However, there can be no greenery without water. It isn’t only important to water the plants, but also to facilitate water infiltration into the soil because there’s a real danger of drought in Belgium. The watering system in the street is quite ingenious. When it rains, the water from the roofs gets collected in a couple of water reservoirs along the street. These are connected to old fashioned water pumps where residents can use them to water the plants. The pumped water flows into a small river and then into the planted areas. When the reservoir is full, the excess water is carried to the street via an overflow pipe, which allows for normal infiltration. Infiltration of rainwater is further maximised by using porous materials and reducing the amount of hard surfaces in general in the street.
The vision on a plan can differ quite strongly with the reality. That’s why the plan was tested for two months, using paint and temporary street furniture. Afterwards, citizens could evaluate the new condition of the street. The main adjustments had to do with the traffic function of the street. By optimising the placement of the hard materials, the street became easier to navigate as a driver or cyclist. Owing to the fact that the garden street is still a street!
The result is a cosy street in the centre of Antwerp with a calm atmosphere. The citizens are mainly satisfied with the integration of the blue infrastructure in the street. The small river gives children the ideal opportunity to go out and play. The green infrastructure is well maintained. It has been done partly by the city’s green services, but also by the residents itself. During the design phase, the residents were encouraged to choose what kind of plants they wanted in front of their house They were also asked if they wanted to maintain the plants. Ten families responded they would like to do so. The other citizens preferred that the city to take care of it. Taking care of the plants can be a family or neighbourhood activity, that contributes to the social aspect of the project. The aims weren’t only ‘green and blue’, but also to make new connections. The old-fashioned water pumps are also there to facilitate these connections between citizens
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City of Antwerp © |
On a more technical note, since the redevelopment of the street in June 2021, fewer cars passed through the street and more pedestrians and cyclists were spotted. The hydrographical adjustments in the street are also successful. The system of reservoirs, pumps, a little river and eventually a sewer maximised the infiltration of rainwater into the soil. Until now (may 2022) the sewers have seen not a single drop of water! That’s impressive and shows the potential to renew the groundwater table in Belgium.
‘What’s next?’, you might ask. The garden street ‘Lange Ridderstraat’ was part of a pilot project throughout the city. The other garden streets also received a positive evaluation and the city decided to continue the project under the motto ‘Antwerp breaks free’. The city government contacted all residents of the streets in the municipality who would be eligible to transform their street into a garden street. The main conditions are having a low number of cars going through the street, and not having seen a street-redesign recently. From this longlist, another 17 streets were chosen on the basis of the enthusiasm of the citizens of those streets. That way the citizens are again at the centre and basis of the redesign of their neighbourhood.
