Car use is gradually changing and the switch to shared cars and electric driving is already more self-evident than five years ago. This trend will continue to develop slowly, and at the same time there is an important task for Antwerp to make the city more climate-proof. With more and more residents in the city, there is a proliferation of available (public) space. That means not only making room for traffic, but also for playing, sports and meeting places – in such a way that it also benefits the climate.

 

Urhahn has drawn up a strategy for Antwerp that offers tools for making an active friendly city. It requires action, but it also shows that minor interventions are just as important as major interventions. You create an active city together. It requires good cooperation between different interest groups (mobility, green, sports, games) and between city and residents. Clear choices must be made that increase the readability of the different street profiles.

 

To show how you work on a more active friendly city, we have investigated four different neighbourhoods: Ekeren, Deurne, Universiteitsbuurt and Oud-Berchem. For each neighbourhood, together with stakeholders, we carried out an exercise scan of the neighbourhood, in which potentials and opportunities for active friendliness were uncovered.

 

These studies show that creating an active friendly city requires customization; every neighbourhood has different points of interest (the diagnosis) which lead to different ambitions. These choices have been made transparent in exemplary elaborations, which show the spatial benefit of the various interventions.