(Re-)Imagining Neighbourhood Spaces from a Transdisciplinary, Inclusive Research Perspective: The Vaartkom Case

Abstract

Cities and dense urban areas are dynamic environments, always adapting to changing circumstances and shocks, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The Vaartkom (or the Canal Bowl in English), a neighbourhood in Leuven, provides an interesting case study, having undergone a drastic transformation in the past two decades from a dilapidated industrial zone to mixed neighbourhood and cultural hotspot. This has introduced renewed and ongoing community dynamics, which inevitably influences the use of public and private space in the neighbourhood, creating new areas for inclusion and exclusion. This threefold transdisciplinary research focuses first on the spatial dynamics on the level of public space under COVID-19 as part of a wider series of neighbourhood dynamics. Second, it dives into the aspect of inclusive environments and third, it uses the transdisciplinary research process to reflect on a meta-level. Employing various methods – such as interviews, site visits, stakeholder and physical mapping exercises, we worked with community members to explore these spatial dynamics. Our findings highlight the conflicting expectations about the present and future use of public space. These opposing opinions reveal the tensions that exist among community members about how public spaces are used and whom they are for. This suggests there are multiple understandings of the Vaartkom. These multiple understandings were drawn from responses collected during a public engagement activity, which were subsequently analysed in a thematic and spatial way. This analysis brought forward influences of a temporal and spatial nature – that is, we acknowledge that the selected locations at which we engaged with community members, and the time of day, played a role in who we reached in the community and the responses we collected. This highlights the degree of awareness and participatory effort required to be truly inclusive. We therefore pro pose that future engagements involve the creation of a "Third Sphere" – a space for open, transparent and neutral dialogue – allowing the opportunity not only to imagine a collective future, but also to build bridges and help community members feel heard and empowered to contribute to the creation of a more inclusive post-COVID-19 environment.