AFTER CONCRETE

 

by Elliott Papazahariakis and Francesca Massa

 

Amongst the many words that come to mind when thinking about European cities, one of them is certainly concrete. The ground on which we walk, the walls that surround us, and much of the built environment are characterised by this versatile and familiar material. Regardless of aesthetic preferences, the effects of extreme urbanisation and mineralisation on humans’ physical and mental health have been extensively studied (D’Acci, 2020). Depression, fatigue, feelings of unease and disconnection from and within our surroundings are just some of the consequences experienced by city dwellers. Beyond this, research on the effects of climate change highlights the link between mineralised environments and rising temperatures and biodiversity loss in cities.

 

As we got acquainted with this subject, it became impossible to ignore the unjustified presence of concrete in cities. Walking around Brussels, we found ourselves imagining a city in which other alternatives were possible, where citizens have the knowledge and the tools to reclaim public space to make it greener, livelier, and more inclusive... And what if we told you that we have found an organisation that is making these apparently utopian thoughts a reality? In what follows, we will introduce you to Less Béton, a non-profit organisation that is greening the city in a participatory and socially just manner.

 

In 2020, after ten years working across Brussels’ non-profit sector, Laetitia Cloosterman founded Less Béton. Motivated by her environmental consciousness and a desire to take an active role in the transformation of the city she was born and raised in, Laetitia set out to develop her own non-profit organisation. Her goal to reclaim public space, however, was not individual. On the contrary, it was driven by the necessity to share this experience with other citizens to create a common emancipatory platform. This is how she began to develop numerous projects of demineralisation (or unsealing) and re-vegetation of public space, together with the support and collaboration of local organisations such as Heroes for Zero and the Université Populaire d’Anderlecht. The team only expanded in the summer of 2022 when Michèle Schor, a landscape architect with decades of experience in the Commune of Schaerbeek, joined. The determination of this small team is exactly what inspired us to dive deeper into their mission and vision for the future.

 

(Source: Less Béton ASBL Instagram page, 2022. Rue de Bosnie project)

 

So, what does Less Béton actually do? They listen to citizens’ desires for their neighbourhoods, create plans to collectively re-design public space, request permits and funding, and when this is successful, they demineralise and re-vegetate streetscapes. In this way, they act as an independent intermediary between citizens and the communes they live in. Throughout the entire process, Less Béton adopts a holistic approach, in which demineralisation benefits the urban ecosystem at multiple levels simultaneously, both for humans and non-humans alike. Below, we look at how their small-scale projects tackle climate change, mitigating urban heat, promoting biodiversity and fostering community.

 

As climate change intensifies and temperatures rise, cities are increasingly at risk of extreme heat stress. Their rapid development has resulted in a material imbalance between natural and built structures, which possess different heat retention and water permeability properties. On an urban scale, this can translate to significant temperature differences between the built environment and the natural environment that surrounds it. This difference is known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect (Phelan et al 2015).

As shown in the map below, the most densely urbanised areas of Brussels experience the highest temperatures, meaning that the consequences of urban heat islands are not felt

equally, but are concentrated in areas marked by inequality. In Brussels, these belong to the croissant pauvre (poor croissant), in which high density and low green and blue infrastructure provision converge. Responding to this, the first projects have been located in highly mineralised communes such as Anderlecht (in Square Pequeur) and Saint Gilles, (in Rue de Bosnie).

(Source: Bruxelles Environnement, (n.d.). Cartography of freshness oasis in the Brussels Capital Region)

 

By removing concrete, the overall heat retention capacity of urban spaces is lowered and, consequently, overall temperatures may be reduced, especially during periods of extreme heat. Furthermore, through re-vegetation, Less Béton also enhances integrated rainwater management strategies in public space. By doing so, water is absorbed by plants and soil, and eventually into the water table below ground. Long term, this improves thermoregulation of streetscapes, fosters drought resistance, and reduces the risk of flooding.

(Source: Less Béton ASBL Instagram page, 2022. Integrated Rainwater management (GIEP). From the left Square Pequeur project and Place des Heros project)

 

Beyond this, the project also fosters the creation of spaces for more-than-humans in cities, supporting biodiversity. When concrete is replaced by soil and new vegetation is planted, we open up spaces in which animals, insects, and other forms of non-human life can flourish. Following Ikin et al (2015), increasing green spaces is one of the key ways to support biodiversity-sensitive cities. As part of Less Béton, one of Michèle’s main duties is to select plants that can adapt to the increased heat and dry period in Brussels, as well as to the nutritional and dwelling necessities of local fauna. As shown in the images below, the organisation also uses organic materials to create shelters for non-humans against adverse weather, pollution and traffic. This consideration of the non-human in urban design is especially innovative, exploring human and non-human relationships on a practical level, and reinforcing the positive relationship between increased biodiversity and human health (Taylor & Hochuli, 2015).

 

 

(Source: Less Béton ASBL Facebook page, 2022. Square Pequeur project)

Finally, weaving this all together, Less Béton is founded on collaboration. Each intervention they launch is guided by local communities who are involved from a project’s initial design through to its execution. By working together, participants learn about the flora and fauna that inhabit Brussels and the everyday risks of climate change. In doing so, they share knowledge of their neighbourhood’s peculiarities, and thus play a necessary role in the redesign of the public space they will experience first-hand. By practising inclusive urbanism in this way, social ties across neighbourhoods are strengthened in the name of environmental justice. The pedagogical aspect of this work is particularly evident in Less Béton’s latest intervention in Saint Gilles. Together with students from Ulenspiegel School, they redesigned the square in front of the school entrance (Place des Heros) within the framework of the urban renovation regional plan Contrat d’Ecole. Their role as intermediaries gave depth to the regional plan, introducing a participatory approach that brought a new vibrancy to the square and its surroundings.

(Source: Less Béton ASBL Facebook page, 2022. Place des Heros project)

 

For now, this is only the beginning. While Less Béton’s projects predominantly take place on a neighbourhood scale, there is a wider, more serious, even philosophical goal at play here. As Michèle underscored in our conversation with her, “Our aim is to demineralise the consciousness of people.” Framed this way, the act of removing concrete from the streets and replacing it with soil becomes something far more profound. It gestures towards an urban future in which concrete is dislodged from its pedestal, citizens participate in city-making, and nature flourishes. Their work not only envisions, but works towards cooler streets, and warmer communities. Less Béton shows us that another city is possible.

References

 

Brussels Environment. (n.d.). Cartographie des îlots de fraîcheur dans la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale. https://environnement.brussels/sites/default/files/ilots_de_fraicheur_ensemble.pdf

D’Acci, L. S. (2020). Urbanicity mental costs valuation: a review and urban-societal planning consideration. Mind & Society, 19(2), 223-235.

Ikin, K., Le Roux, D. S., Rayner, L., Villaseñor, N. R., Eyles, K., Gibbons, P., ... & Lindenmayer, D. B. (2015). Key lessons for achieving biodiversity‐sensitive cities and towns. Ecological Management & Restoration, 16(3), 206-214. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12180

Less Beton ASBL. (n.d.). Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/less_beton_asbl/ Less Béton ASBL. (n.d.). Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/lessbeton.be Phelan, P., Kaloush, K., Miner, M., Golden, J., Phelan, B., Silva III, H., Taylor, R. A. 2015.

Urban Heat Island: Mechanisms, Implications, and Possible Remedies,

Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 40:1, 285-307

Taylor, L., & Hochuli, D. F. (2015). Creating better cities: how biodiversity and ecosystem functioning enhance urban residents’ wellbeing. Urban ecosystems, 18, 747-762. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-0427-3