From Passage to Destination; A resilient mobility system for the twentieth century belt of Antwerp.

CYCLIC URBANISM

FROM PASSAGE TO DESTINATION A resilient mobility system for the twentieth century belt of Antwerp.

2016 K.U.Leuven, Master of Urbanism and Strategic Planning

Spring Studio 2016: Cyclic Urbanisms Students: Israel Ketema Elefenh & Glenn Somers; Promotors: Bruno De Meulder & Racha Daher

CYCLIC URBANISM STUDIO 2016 STUDIO TEAM

STUDIO PARTICIPANTS

Israel Ketema Elefenh

Israel Ketema Elefenh

Glenn Somers Mengling Li Jingyue Yan SUPPORTING STUDIO TEAM Racha Daher Bruno De Meulder IN COOPERATION WITH Julie Marin MORE INFO ?

MAHS / MAUSP / EMU Master Programs Department ASRO, K.U.Leuven Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium Tel: + 32(0)16 321 391 Email: paulien.martens@kuleuven.be © Copyright by K.U.Leuven Without written permission of the promotors and the authors it is forbidden to reproduce or adapt in any form or by any means any part of this publication.

Requests for obtaining the right to reproduce or utilize parts of this publication should be addressed to K.U.Leuven, Faculty of Engineering – Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee (België). Telefoon +32-16-32 13 50 & Fax. +32-16-32 19 88.

A written permission of the promotor is also required to use the methods, products, schematics and programs described in this work for industrial or commercial use, and for submitting this publication in scientific contests.

All images in this booklet are, unless credits are given, made or drawn by the authors (Cyclic Urbanism Studio, 2016).

Glenn Somers Adam Madigliani Prana Nghia Tran Dai Swagata Das Wenbo Fu Mengling Li Jingyue Yan Maria Zouroudi Charlotte Timmers GUEST CRITICS Viviana D’Auria Laura Nagels

CYCLIC URBANISM

FROM PASSAGE TO DESTINATION A resilient mobility system for the twentieth century belt of Antwerp.

Thesis presented to obtain the degree of Master of Urbanism and Strategic Planning, 2016

Spring Studio 2016: Cyclic Urbanisms Students: Israel Ketema Elefenh & Glenn Somers; Promotor Bruno De Meuler & Racha Daher

FRAMEWORK & INTRODUCTION

ANALYSIS 1. FIRST READING OF THE BELT

TODAY´S TRANSIT ISSUES 1. CONGESTION 2. AIR POLLUTION 3. NOISE POLLUTION

HOW DO PEOPLE MOVE IN THE BELT TODAY? 1. MAIN ROADS 2. BUS AND TRAM LINES 3. RAIL LINES 4. INFORMAL SYSTEMS 5. CONCLUSION

IMPACT OF THE CAR IN THE BELT

1. THE CAR HAS TAKEN OVER PUBLIC SPACE.

WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED TODAY? 1. RINGLAND 2. OOSTERWEEL 3. A102/R11 BIS

STRATEGY WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH? 1. FROM TRANSIT...

2. FROM DENSIFICATION...

HOW ARE WE DEALING WITH THE CHALLENGES? 1. EXISTING NODES AS THE STARTING POINT. 2. DENSIFICATION NEED 3. SLOW PUBLIC TRANSPORT & LINEARITY TO CENTER 4. NO COLLABORATION BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS 5. CARS OCCUPYING THE PUBLIC SPACE

STEP-BY-STEP IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. 1. PHASE 1 2. PHASE 2 3. PHASE 3

BIBLIOGRAPHY

FRAMEWORK

Our graduation project is composed of two complementary parts. The first part is a studio project, which was worked on with Mengling Li and Jingyue Yan. For this part we looked to the site through the lens of FOOD and TRANSIT. The second part of our graduation project is this thesis. The two other team members focused on FOOD, while we worked on TRANSIT. Together these thesis’ form a complementary study on FOOD and TRANSIT in the twentieth century belt of Antwerp.

WHERE? Our site of study is the twentieth century belt of Antwerp. We see the belt as the moonshaped area that is roughly confined by the ring of Antwerp on the inside and the fortresses on the outside.

WHY? Antwerp is expecting an additional 100.000 inhabitants by 2030. Since the inner city has reached its maximum capacity, the focus has shifted towards the belt. We believe that the belt has the spatial potential to deal with this densification assignment. At the same this presents itself as an opportunity to structure the area and to move towards a more sustainable and resilient mode of living. As was said before our starting point to reach this goal is the current TRANSIT story.

WHAT? Our thesis starts with a research part that will be the base to come towards our proposals.

The research consists of multiple chapters and will explain the current issues, how people actually move in the belt and eventually also what is already being planned today to counter the issues. Our proposals then follow the same structural logic of the research part and will tell how we think to solve the problems.

Sometimes this will be contradictory to what is already being planned while in other cases we reuse elements of the existing proposals.

We will end with an on-site implementation of our design, that is built up in multiple phases of execution.

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Presentation, discussion and brainstorming in the studio.

INTRODUCTION. Towards a sustainable future.

Since the 1940’s the car has rapidly taken over as the main mode of transport for people. It fed the suburbanization, since people now could live in a remote location and drive to their work without any problem. Research group Acerta did a large scale survey about how people go to work. The results are rather disturbing: 71 percent of the Belgian people go to their work by car, while only 18 percent use public transport and 5 percent use the bike (1). Nevertheless we are going towards a turning point. Using the car for all movements, even the short trips to for example the bakery has always felt as normal for the older generations. Our deteriorating climate and the scarcity for fossil fuels will force us to rethink our habits. Petroleum geographicist M. King Hubbert had an interesting view on this matter. In 1956 he predicted the coming end of the oil age. He believed that when around half of all the known oil resources were consumed the oil-peak, as he called it, will be reached. This ‘oil-peak’ took place around 1975. Hubbert stated that once the peak has been reached, oil prices will continuously keep on rising, and the global oil production will not be sufficient anymore to meet the needs(2).

This theory of Hubbert inspired numerous fellow ‘peakists’ as they call themselves.

One of them is M. Simmons, who in 2005 came up with an interesting viewpoint on our nearby future:

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“Once oil supply peaks, the world will be forced to create ways to substantially conserve our oil and other energy sources.

This shift should force a rapid rethinking of the notion that transporting people and products anywhere in the world is an almost incidental cost of doing business.

Transportation turns out to be the biggest single user of oil, and we need to begin finding ways to minimize everyone’s transportation needs and make use of transportation fuel as efficient as possible.

If we do not alter our transportation systems as a matter of policy and public planning, the inexorable operation of the pricing mechanisms will do it for us.” (3) We believe that this is the timeframe that we are living in. Today cities are responsible for 75% of the energy consumption of the entire world, while they only cover 2% of the earth’s surface. A major part of the energy that is consumed comes from transportation, both people and goods.

At the same time this movements creates pollution: 50% of the greenhouse gasses that are produced in the cities come from cars (4). We have long passed the ‘oilpeak’, and the time has come to change the way that we move. This works on two levels: on one hand ‘the world needs to shrink’ as R. L. Thayer refers to it (5). This means that we have to limit our need to move and to shorten the existing chains of production and distribution. On the other

hand, if we have to move, we have to be able to do this in a sustainable way, using as much renewable resources as possible.

Thus changing the transport system into a more ecologically responsible way of moving is no longer an option but a must!

(1) Perre, P. V. (2016, April 26). Antwerpenaar het vaakst met fiets naar werk. Gazet Van Antwerpen , p. 2.

(2) Hubbert, M. K. (1956). Nuclear Energy and the Fossil Fuels. Shell Development Company #95 .

(3) Simmons, M. (2005). Twililight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

(4) Arndt, W. H. (2014). Mobility and Transportation.

Berlin: Jovis Verlag GmbH. (5) Thayer, R. (2008). The World Shrinks, the World Expands. Landscape Journal vol.27#1 , pp. 9-22.

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ANALYSIS 11

FIRST READING OF THE BELT. Urbanisation along and inbetween large axes.

When talking about transit and mobility in Antwerp, the ring is the first subject that comes up. It is one of the most congested highways in Europe, and is the center of attention for different citizen groups as for example the famous ‘Ringland’ and ‘Ademloos’, which will be explained more in detail later. Because of this the problems and proposals for the ring are well documented. Furthermore what is maybe more important is that the ring is heavily politically charged. We see the future of the ring as an important sidestory that will help shape our design, but nevertheless we are more interested in what happens inside the belt. We started with identifying which axes are most important and are structurizing the belt and its different municipalities. From a small historical analysis we found out that before the ring was built (in the 1960’s), you could

not really speak of a belt yet. The map on the left shows that outside of the city center, multiple villages started growing around important roads which connected Antwerp with the rest of Flanders and even further. The red lines show the ribbon-like urban tissue which was there already in 1846. Around a century later in 1946, these villages kept on growing and expanded further in between the main axes, which is represented by the orange lines in the map. The main axes are still there today and are the most important streets of the municipalities in the belt.

Their names Bredabaan, Turnhoutsebaan, Herentalsebaan, etc , still refer to their former role as the route to connect Antwerp and it’s harbor with remote cities and villages. It is these streets that we see as important elements to deal with the movement of people within the belt.

Bredabaan. This is one of the important historical axes in the belt. The image shows the atmosphere. http://forumimages.seniorennet.be/Alterego1/4340-20101210-35280b.jpg

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TODAY’S TRANSIT ISSUES 15

CONGESTION “Never worse than today!”

This subtitle was the head of a newspaper article in the ‘Gazet van Antwerpen’, which was published on the 21 of March 2016.

Journalist Sam Reyntjens investigated the severe congestion problem of the ring. He found out that both the ring of Antwerp and the ring of Brussels are responsible for half of all the traffic jams in Belgium.

Especially for the ring of Antwerp the numbers are striking. The section of the ring between Berchem and AntwerpenOost in the direction of the Netherlands is the most busy road of Belgium. On a daily basis 139.000 vehicles pass there.

Furthermore 82.000 cars pass through the Kennedytunnel daily in the direction of Ghent, which makes it the most used tunnel of the whole Flanders region.

This number exceeds its capacity by far,

which results in the fact that during a normal working day traffic that wants to go through the tunnel will be limited to almost walking pace during eight hours per day. Other important saturation points are the node Antwerpen-Noord, where the A12 and the E19 come together and the E313 between Antwerpen-Oost and Ranst. This last section is jammed during peak hours in more than 90% of the days.

Moreover the ring of Antwerp is used almost double as much by trucks than the ring of Brussels. The most busy segment of the ring of Antwerp for trucks lies between Antwerpen-Zuid and Antwerpen-Oost, where 26.000 trucks pass on a daily basis, compared to only 13.000 between Zaventem and Machelen (1).

But where is all this traffic going to?

22,4% of the vehicles which come from outside Antwerp use the ring to get to the city, while 24,4% has the harbor as its destination. This means that more than 50% of all traffic on the ring is just passing through and has no relation with Antwerp at all. The reason for this can be found on an European scale. Antwerp lies at a strategic space in between important industrial areas such as Lille and Paris in the south, the Ruhr area in the East and the harbors of Antwerp and Rotterdam in the North.

As is expected, the congestion on the ring has a large impact on the mobility in the belt itself. We see that the major axes which we have shown before are all congested during peak hours. People use these roads as a bypass from the suburbs towards the city center. This is the same phenomenon that we could also see on the ring. People are passing through, but at the same time have no relationship with the belt itself. The major structuring elements become jammed and problematic points during peak hours.

(1) Reyntjens, S. (2016, Maart 21). Nooit erger dan vandaag. Gazet van Antwerpen , p. 5.

Antwerp is an important node on the scale of Europe.

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AIR POLLUTION

The Belgian situation is the worst of Europe.

The map on the left shows the average NO2 concentration for 2012 in the city of Antwerp. NO2 is a pollutant that mainly comes from car traffic. The yellow line represents the limit (40 µg/m³) that Europe puts forwards as a guideline, values above this are considered dangerous. The entire ring and the main axes of the belt lie within this area. It has been proved that inhabitants living within areas with high air pollution are exposed to “an increased risk for all-cause mortality, as well as with asthma, diminished lung function, adverse birth outcomes and childhood cancer.

Moreover exposure to road traffic is the largest population attributable risk factor for triggering acute myocardial infarction.”(1) Young children, adults above 65 years old and pregnant women are the most vulnerable groups, and thus are affected the most by the negative aspects.

These negative aspects are described by ‘the pyramid of Künzli”, which describes the health effects that can be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. (2)

A study from the European Commission called ‘Clean Air for Europe’ shows that air pollution in Belgium is the worst from all European countries. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that Belgium is very densely populated. The study indicates that the Belgian citizens’ life expectancy is lowered with an average of 13.2 months because of the exposure to harmful pollutants such as NO2 and PM2.5, which can be directly related to car traffic. The average for Europe is only 8.1 months. For Belgium, direct and indirect health costs related to this pollution are estimated to range around 5 billion Euros per year. (3) As was said before, the ring of Antwerp is the busiest road of the country and cuts through densely populated areas. Within 500 meter from the ring there are multiple schools, hospitals and geriatric homes, which are the places where the most vulnerable groups can be found. In the area that exceeds the European limit (yellow line) there are more than 40 schools and around 75 children daycares. Moreover

Air pollution related to traffic. 4. http://www.112antwerpen.be/uploads/news/id8399/SMOG.png 18

the section of the streets worsens the situation. Streets with buildings at both sides can be seen as canyons, in which ventilation is limited. Harmful particles stay there and end up in the lungs of the inhabitants (1).

(1) Van Brusselen, D., Arrazola De Onate, W., Maiheu, B., Vranckx, S., Lefebvre, W., Janssen, S., et al. (2015, May 11). Health Impact Assessment of a Predicted Air Quality Change by Moving Traffic from an Urban Ring Road into a Tunnel. The Case of Antwerp, Belgium. PLOS one Open Access , pp. 1-19.

(2) Künzli, N., Perez, L., & Rapp, R. (2010). Air Quality and Health. European Respiratory Society Report ,p. 31.

(3) European Commission (2005). Clean Air for Europe.

Retrieved May 28, 2016, from ec.Europe.eu:http:// ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/cafe/activities/pdf/ cafe_scenario_report_6.pdf

Pyramid of Künzli.

Künzli, N., Perez, L., & Rapp, R. (2010). Air Quality and Health.

European Respiratory Society Report , p. 31.

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NOISE POLLUTION An underestimated aspect.

Noise can be seen as another element of air pollution. Nevertheless the effect of it on the wellbeing of the people that are exposed to it is less considered than that of what we usually understand as air pollution. As is visible on the map it is again the same places, the ring and the axes, that are the most affected areas, since these are also the places where most movement is taking place. L. Goines and L. Hagler from the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley found out that noise is naturally intercepted by the human body as a signal for danger, even when the decibels are actually not harmful for the ear. These impulses are also captured when people are asleep. “The body reacts to noise with a fight or flight response, with resultant nervous, hormonal, and vascular changes that have far reaching consequences.� (1) At first sight people would not address these effects directly to noise. People absorb the signals without being constantly aware of it.

Noise in itself is not the dangerous element for an exposed person; it is the secondary effects that are harmful. It is proved that continuous exposure to noise

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above 65 dB gives a person more stress and evokes nervousness. These effects in their turn have a negative impact on our blood pressure and blood viscosity which leads in the end to cardiovascular diseases.

Furthermore interrupted sleep during the night creates a lack of motivation and anxiety which can be triggers to intensify latent mental diseases, such as depression, psychosis, etc. Again here it is a similar group of profiles that are the most vulnerable, namely children, elderly and mental patients. (1)(2)

(1) Goines, L., & Hagler, L. (2007). Noise Pollution: A Modern Plague. Southern Medical Journal 100(3) , pp.

287-294.

(2) Van Brusselen, D., Arrazola De Onate, W., Maiheu, B., Vranckx, S., Lefebvre, W., Janssen, S., et al. (2015, May 11). Health Impact Assessment of a Predicted Air Quality Change by Moving Traffic from an Urban Ring Road into a Tunnel. The Case of Antwerp, Belgium. PLOS one Open Access , pp. 1-19.

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HOW DO PEOPLE MOVE IN THE BELT TODAY? 23

MAIN ROADS

Radially oriented towards the center.

The roads that are structuring the municipalities in the belt are the ones that have been discussed in the historical analysis before. They connect Antwerp with the more remote villages and medium-scale cities that lie further in the outskirts. This means that these roads are of a scale which transcends that of the belt.

In the map on the left, they are colored red. It is striking to see that they are all going radially towards the city center.

Moreover, they are used as pipes as Paola Vigano calls this (1). Pipes, because of the fact that they are used as a bypass cutting through the belt to go towards the city center. Users are not interested in the belt itself. The result is that these roads are congested during peak hours, as is shown

in the congestion map. The roads that are colored yellow are as important as the red ones, but only for people which have the belt as destination. We see them as the more secondary major roads, which stay within the confinement of the belt.

Contrary to the red ones they connect the different pieces of the belt internally. The map shows that different kind of services such as schools, large supermarkets, sport facilities, etc are clustered around these major lines. The grey tissue represents the mixed use buildings, with commercial activities on the ground floor.

Bredabaan-South

(1) Gerber, A., & Patterson, B. (2014). Metaphors in Architecture and Urbanism. Transcript Verlag Germany.

Bredabaan-North

Grotesteenweg

The major roads work as ‘pipes’. People use the roads as a by-pass;.

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Disconnected Islands.

The map on the left shows the urban tissue in the belt, which is not really continuous.

Different municipalities are cut from each other by large infrastructures with buffer zones, by parks such as the Rivierenhof and the Middelheimpark, by the Albertcanal, by the Airport of Deurne, etc. This makes the belt a series of patchworks, which are held together by the orange lines. These oranges lines are the only roads from which people can move from one municipality to the next. It is the roads, where there is a bridge to go over the canal, where there is a road to get through the parks and where there is a tunnel to cross the railway. The problem is that these elements that should be holding the belt together are only limited. Moving through the belt leaves

Albertcanal can only be crossed via the bridges

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inhabitants with very few possibilities. If we look again to the congestion map, it is should not be a surprise that these roads are jammed during peak hours. Everyone is forced to pass through these bottlenecks.

It would be fair to say that road traffic is oriented towards the city center because of the historically important main axes, which are the structuring element of each municipality. If inhabitants want to move radially, this is much more difficult, since there are only few places to cross the cuts that split the belt in separate pieces.

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BUS AND TRAM LINES Radially oriented towards the center.

The number of bus and tramlines in the city is quite extensive. Nevertheless the situation is more nuanced. A clear distinction needs to be made between the large lines and the smaller ones. With large and small we do not mean the distance that is travelled but the number of people that use the line. The large lines drive more frequently and can be found in the main axes of the belt that we identified before as the red ones. They are both trams and buses. The trams stay within the belt and turn back at the edge. The lines which continue towards the suburbs are buses.

The smaller lines drive less frequently and are in most cases buses. They support the large lines and follow smaller roads to make some kind of weaving movement around

Grotesteenweg 28

the major axes. The schema on the right shows what we mean: The large lines follow the main streets, while the secondary lines move more freely around it. This seems like a solid system, and moving from the belt towards the city center is no problem, but what if people want to move from one municipality in the belt to another?

There are only around three lines which make a radial movement, of which the main one is bus line 33 which goes all the way from Merksem to Hoboken and back.

Nevertheless this line goes very slow. The total trip will take longer than one hour, with the waiting time not included. People will prefer to take the car. In general people that want to move within the belt by public transport will have to go to the city center, to switch there to another line.

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Accesibility to public transport It is not only important for us to know how and where the bus and tram lines are moving people around, it is also crucial to understand what portion of the population the network is reaching out to. Are the inhabitants of the belt well connected the public transport network? To get to know this we overlaid two aspects in the map on the left. On the one hand we mapped the walkable distance from the bus stops.

We considered walkable distance as 400 meters, a five minute walk. The portions of the streets that are highlighted in blue are the areas in which people are living or working within these 400 meters.

We believe that this does not give us enough information to know the grade of connectivity of the people. This is why we on the other hand also investigated the intensity of the public transport network.

The orange areas are zones where at least eight bus or tram stops can be found

Groenendaallaan 30

within walkable distance. The darker the orange gets, the more stops that are there and thus the higher the intensity of the public transport net. We choose to start from a minimum of eight, but we believe that this in all cases guarantees that there are at least two lines in different directions.

To be clear: eight stops actually mean four, since the data counts one stop in each direction. Taking three stops is a risk since is some cases will still found zones where the stops that are included come from one single line. So by starting from 4 stops (actually eight), means we built in a safety to make sure only well accessible locations are highlighted. These two layers together give us a clear view on where people indeed are well connected to the network.

Nevertheless for us, it is not the highlighted areas, but it is the gaps in between that are most interesting, since these are areas that need intervention.

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RAIL LINES Superlocal.

The railway is something which is very different than the other public transport lines. The rails and the buffers at its sides are laid out in the public terrain, while by definition there is no relation between both. The trains are passing through and the only place where the trains ‘touch ground’ is at the stations. The two most important stations are AntwerpenCentraal which lies in the city center and Antwerpen-Berchem which borders the ring and thus is in the edge of the belt.

Antwerpen-Centraal is the fifth in the top five of the busiest stations in Belgium. In concrete numbers this means that on an average weekday 32.634 people take the train there (1). In Antwerpen-Berchem this number is around half of this, namely

15.229 persons. Furthermore there are 4 other small stations in the belt, but they are only used by a small number of people.

The two stations in the northern part of the belt are Antwerpen-Noorderdokken and Antwerpen-Luchtbal. These stations are used in average by respectively 76 and 180 people on a daily basis. In the south there is Antwerpen-Zuid and HobokenPolder. Of these two Antwerpen-Zuid is used the most. Here 1.582 people leave the city daily, while in station HobokenPolder the number of travelers is as low as 121 (2). There are two more stations, but they are closed (Antwerpen-Dam and Antwerpen-Oost). The reason for the limited success of the smaller stations is quite obvious: there are almost no

trains stopping there. As an illustration; in Antwerpen-Noorderdokken three trains stop per hour, one in the direction of Puurs, one to Antwerpen-Centraal and one to Roosendael. Because of the fact that these stations are not used much they become the terrain of vandals and criminals. Waiting stalls are destroyed and there is graffiti everywhere, which does not make it attractive to take the train there. It is a vicious circle. Nevertheless the infrastructure which is there is perfect to start a ‘city-train’ as already has been done in for example Brussels. The closed stations can be re-opened and the existing small stations have to be renovated, while the rail is already there in both directions.

The federal government had plans to create this kind of trains in all major cities of Belgium, but minister of mobility Jacqueline Galant has delayed this to a later timeframe for now. (3)

(1) BELGA. (2014, November 24). Drukste NMBS-station is nog drukker geworden. De Standaard .

(2) B-rail. (2013). Aantal instappende reizigers per station in 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2016, from BelgianRail:http:// www.belgianrail.be/nl/corporate/in-de-kijker/~/media/ CBC025EA6DD4F118E1933EC9E2853F4.ashx (3) Mariën, S. (2016, April 16). In een afstands stationnetje... Gazet van Antwerpen , pp. 34-35.

Rail at Luchtbal going towards the center of the city.

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INFORMAL SYSTEMS

Informal/Digital age-based car sharing is gaining popularity.

Informal car sharing systems get more professionalized by the day, of which Uber and BlaBlaCar are good examples in other parts of the world. One can predict that these systems will gain popularity in the Belgian urban context, and thus should be part of the discussion. BlaBlaCar for example is an online platform which has been founded first in France and now has a Belgian branch. People can subscribe easily by using a smatphone-application. Drivers offer the empty seats in their car when they go somewhere to people that need to go in the same direction. They will share the costs of the fuel and the driver gets a small commission. In one year time the number of users in Belgium has doubled to

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60.000 per month. Today the application is mostly used for long-distance travels.

The trip Brussels-Paris is the one that is travelled most frequently. Travel costs can be limited to only 20 euros while a ticket for the Thalys (high-speed train from Brussels to Paris) will cost you between 30 and 60 euros. For short trips people are less eager to wait for their travelcompanions or to have to make a detour to pick them up. Nevertheless country manager Shana Smeets of BlaBlaCar believes that this system also has a future as a system to travel within the city. She states that “When the BlaBla-community will grow, the offer and demand will be more synchronized, which will benefit the

BlaBlaCar community. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_tPK8izdPLQ/maxresdefault.jpg

system”. These kind of ‘informal’ system have to be taken into account for sure when thinking about mobility in the future.

(1)

(1) Simoens, K., & Leen, M. (2016, April 6). BlaBlaCar duwt gaspedaal in. Gazet van Antwerpen , p. 21.

BlaBlaCar smartphone-app. http://www.retaildetail.be/sites/default/files/news/22022013Blablapapimageune.png

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CONCLUSION

Cars dominating the streets If we sum up the elements that we investigated in the sections above, we have to conclude that the way people move within the belt is mainly by car.

1. Public transport is mostly oriented towards the city center. In this respect we can say that the belt is not car-oriented.

But if people need to move from one municipality to another within the belt then the story is completely different. Not having a car is unthinkable then.

2. Within the bus and tram network there are certain areas which do not have bus stops within walkable distance. For these people the car is their most easy way to travel. Furthermore the intensity of the network, and thus the vicinity of multiple lines within one area need to be improved in order that people can connect in multiple directions.

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3. The train system today is operating on a super local scale. The goal is to connect people with the rest of Flanders. Although there is the potential for a city-train that could connect the northern part of the belt with the southern part. The entire infrastructure is there, now only politicians need to follow.

4. Informal car sharing practices exist today but have not reached the gross of the population yet. Nevertheless future projects can maybe adapt to these kinds of practices and make the population more aware of the advantages.

5. Municipalities in the belt are separated by infrastructural and landscape cuts. This makes movement through the belt even

more difficult. The limited roads that actually bridge the cuts are congested fast during peak hours.

The dominance of the car in the belt is clearly noticeable. The following typical street sections show that the car is everywhere and occupies most of the public space. The map on the left is the segments of the roads and squares that are reserved for cars; furthermore large parkings are highlighted in red. In the next chapter pictures taken inside the belt will illustrate the effect the car has on the qualitative character of the streets and squares. What if we can improve public transport and lower the need to travel by car and even to have a car? All these spaces in the streets will be freed up to make the city more livable and sustainable again!

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IMPACT OF THE CAR IN THE BELT. 39

THE CAR HAS TAKEN OVER PUBLIC SPACE What if the car becomes irrelevant?

As is shown before the belt is car-oriented.

This is clearly visible in the omnipresence of the car everywhere you look. Front yards become parkings, streets are flanked at two sides by cars (event the small streets), large parking zones can be found at supermarkets, dense housing blocks have an interior courtyard full of parking, etc. But what if the public transport system gets upgraded and people massively start opting to leave the car home (or even to sell it)? What if the end of the car-age is closer than we think?

The street section that once was dominated by cars can now be appropriated by the people again. Imagine the possibilities if in the following pictures, which were all taken in the belt, the cars will be gone. The view will change radically!

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WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED TODAY? 55

RINGLAND

“Ringland saves lives!�* * De Morgen 27.04.2015

In this chapter we will present three major mobility projects that are crucial for the city of Antwerp. For us these are important side-stories. They define the framework and parameters in which our own strategy will have to place itself. For every proposal we will give our opinion and take with us to the design phase what we find interesting.

Ringland started as a civilian group, but grew out to be a professional player in the major mobility story of Antwerp. More and more people got convinced by their ideas, which is understandable since proposal really stimulates the people’s imagination.

They organize large annual meetings in evenement halls, music festivals, bike trips,

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etc to turn more people over to their side.

Today they have so much followers that politicians really start to take their ideas into account. The basic concept of what they propose is quite simple but effective: put a roof on the ring! On top of this roof a park is made that reconnects the city with the belt. At the same time pollutionissues are solved. Parts of the new park will be densified to solve the huge need of housing that Antwerp is facing. Under the roof of the ring, they want to separate the traffic that is passing by and that which has the city as its destination. This should limit the changing of lanes, which will lower the chances for accidents.

A roof on the highway. http://www.ademloos.be/sites/default/files/14070_PR_002_Ringland%20int_Pagina_02.jpg

A park on top of the highway. http://ringland.be/wp-content/themes/ringland/dist/img/landingpages/stadsontwikkeling/ringland-kaart-stadsontwikkeling.jpg

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Scientists have investigated what the result of Ringland would be on the air pollution for the people living in Antwerp. The results are speaking for themselves. They started with analyzing what the result of Ringland will be on the number of premature deaths, since this is the most characterizing parameter to critically evaluate the effect of air pollution. They found out that “the estimated reduction of PM2.5 in the Ringland-scenario could prevent overall 21 annual premature deaths in a 1.500 meter perimeter. This corresponds with 6 deaths avoided per 100.000 inhabitants in the first 1.500 meters around the ring and 11.5 deaths avoided per 100.000 inhabitants in the first 500 meters around the ring every year.”(1) Furthermore they analyzed

what the effect of the lowered pollution will be on the weakest groups. Building the roof will have a significant effect for 365 of 430 schools in a 1.500 meter radius.

The lowering of NO2-values will come together with “an improvement of Forced Vital Capacity development between 3ml and 64ml among children between 11 to 15 years old. Impaired lung functions in children have been associated with an increased risk of asthma. Furthermore a better lung function in early adulthood may decrease the risk of later respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.”(1) Nevertheless the scientists highlight the fact that at the exits of the tunnel the situation is catastrophic. The exits are now planned in the vicinity of densely built neighborhoods.

Because of this 15.366 people are affected by high values of harmful particles in the air.

The report states that the exits have to be moved, to less populated areas (1)(2).

We, personally, believe strongly in the idea of having a park on the current ring road. The ring is cutting the city in two.

Pollution is creating circumstances that are not acceptable anymore. Nevertheless the fact that Ringland is keeping the flows inside the city troubles us. ‘Hiding’ the huge amount of cars and trucks that are passing by on a daily basis doesn’t feel right. As the scientist also show, the pollution needs to go somewhere. Moreover the whole project is very costly: making a roof that can have densification and parks on top, will be a difficult engineering job.

(1) Van Brusselen, D., Arrazola De Onate, W., Maiheu, B., Vranckx, S., Lefebvre, W., Janssen, S., et al. (2015, May 11). Health Impact Assessment of a Predicted Air Quality Change by Moving Traffic from an Urban Ring Road into a Tunnel. The Case of Antwerp, Belgium. PLOS one Open Access , pp. 1-19.

(2) Ringland. (2016, April). Ringland in Zicht. Ringlandkrant , pp. 1-32.

Improvement of air quality. http://www.ademloos.be/nieuws/milieu/ringland-kan-levens-redden 58

Mobility system proposed by Ringland. http://ringland.be/wp-content/themes/ringland/dist/img/landingpages/mobiliteit/ringland-kaart-mobiliteit.jpg 59

OOSTERWEEL

Making the ring finaly a ring.

The Oosterweel project is a very different project. While Ringland focusses on the existing ring, this project argues that the ring actually is not a ring today. And they are right. The ring is not closed and actually it is more a ‘moon-shape’. The oosterweelhighway would finally close the ring in the east, and relieve the congestion on the existing ring. The first ideas for this kind of intervention date from quite a long time ago. Different proposals were made, but every time there were heavy protest from inhabitants. Up until today it is not clear what will happen. The city wants to start the works, but citizen groups have brought it to court. So again nothing is happening.

The designers of the Oosterweel are BAM (Beheersmaatchappij Antwerpen

Mobility system proposed by FORUM 2020 (red), with the connection more to the north. http://static0.hln.be/static/ photo/2014/9/6/0/20140214164819/album_large_6487920.jpg

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Mobiel). The projected is split up in two main parts: the part that is situated on the left bank and the part on the right bank(1). Especially the part on the right bank received bad critics. The opposition argues that the problem of congestion is not solved, but moved to the junction in Deurne: there an immense amount of traffic would join together in a relatively tight crossroads. Experts argue that moving the connection between Oosterweel and the existing ring more towards the north, at the junction between the A12 and the E19 would be much more suitable. There is more space there and it is closer to the harbor. The people from Ringland are strongly against the idea of BAM since they believe that both projects cannot go together. Ringland’s system of separated traffic would not be mergeable with the system of the current Oosterweel-design.

The people from BAM on the other hand say that these are false arguments and that it is possible, but who is speaking the truth remains a mystery!

As far as our knowledge of engineering and traffic design goes, we believe that making the ring an actual ring makes sense.

Traffic that is just passing-by could take the shortcut on the left bank without having to move through the city. On the other hand the opposition is right: squeezing the connection between the ring and Oosterweel in such a tight passage is asking for trouble. Moreover a connection in the north makes more sense since that is the space where the trucks coming from and going to the harbor will be heading to.

As we argued before, we don’t believe in keeping the flows inside the city (which Ringland is doing) so from that aspect we support Oosterweel.

(1) Beheersmaatschappij Antwerpen Mobiel. (2015, oktober). Samen naar een mobiele, verkeersveilige en leefbare stad. De Oosterweelverbinding , pp. 1-16.

Mobility system proposed by BAM. http://www.ademloos.be/nieuws/milieu/ringland-kan-levens-redden 61

A102/R11 BIS Creating an outer ring.

The third of the three large projects that we want to show and discuss about here is the A102/R11bis, or the ‘New Outer ring’ as we call it. It is still under investigation; but is part of the Masterplan 2020. Today there are no clear indications yet that something will be built in a short time. The new outer ring is exactly what the name says: a new ring will be built, mostly as a tunnel, in the outer edge of the belt. In the part north of the Albertcanal it is planned in a reservation-zone that was actually designated for a new train-line. South of the Albertcanal it is built parallel to and in some spaces underneath the R11 (also called Krijgsbaan since the roads connects all the fortresses). Three exists are foreseen at strategic spots: at the industrial

zone of the Albertcanal, at the roundabout of Wommelgem where it connect to the E313 to Limburg and at the airport of Deurne. As was said here before, the outer ring will be a tunnel, except for the entrances and exits. These tunnels are easy to dig, since not much is happening on top of it. Two methods are used; one deep one in the case that housing is on top, and one closer to the surface, when there is no housing.

The new outer ring will for a large part take on the role of the existing ring, which means that the existing ring will become severely over dimensioned since only local traffic that has the city as its destination needs to be there (1). For us, this is the

strong point of this project. We are inspired by the fact that the existing ring will become irrelevant, and that the park that Ringland proposes can actually be there without the flows underneath!

To conclude this brief introduction to these three projects we want to say that our design for the belt needs to work within the parameters of what was said here. Our strategy needs to attach to their ideas, but needs to be flexible enough to change, since the future of these big mobility-projects is not clear at all.

(1) Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer Antwerpen. (2013).

Plan-MER GRUP A102/R11bis Kennisgeving. Antwerpen: Antea Group.

Two types of tunnels. http://www.ademloos.be/sites/default/files/styles/633-scale/public/376a375a-b3d2-11e5-9e6f-a24e82d9d48b_original_tablet_0.jpg?itok=ZF1vWPwP 62

Mobility system proposed by AWV (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer) http://www.poortoost.be/project/aanleg-a102-en-r11bis 63

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STRATEGY 65

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WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH? 67

FROM TRANSIT...

Summary of the transit-elements that our strategy will adress.

The issues underneath have been identified in the analysis part of this thesis. Here they are summarized shortly in order to be able to relate the strategies more easily to the problems. The general issue for transit is the fact that the car is the dominant factor in the belt, while this should be the inhabitants. The reasons for this come from multiple angles.

1. PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS ORIENTED TOWARDS THE CENTER: people moving for example from Merksem in the North to Borsbeek in the East of the belt will have to take the bus towards the city center, to eventually shift onto a tram that brings them to Borsbeek. At first sight this does not have to be a problem. Nevertheless the trip will take around 50 minutes, while by car it is only 20 minutes if the roads are not jammed. The largest part of the people will opt to go by car. The problem then again is that in peak hours the few roads that connect municipalities radially in the belt are blocked, because they cannot absorb that much traffic. Furthermore in peak hours also the ring is blocked since Antwerp is the crossroads of Europe. The result is that the moving radially in the belt becomes almost impossible and leaves the city full of cars.

2. SLOW TRAM AND BUS SYSTEM: As was shown before in the example above, moving in the belt takes much longer by tram than by car. The reason for this is not the fact that the trams cannot go faster because of mechanical issues; it is the waiting times that are the most problematic. The problem of the waiting times is twofold; on the one hand people have to wait relatively long on their ride.

Even on the important lines one tram or 68

bus per 15 minutes is not an exception.

In the example above; waiting for 15 min for a travel of in total 50 minutes is critical.

On the other hand, once on the tram the waiting is not over. André Arnauw from the Ringland organization calculated the average waiting times at the red lights on the tram. He got to know that on average, 15 percent of the total trip the tram is waiting for the red light. On the Singel for example; the cars are given priority instead of the tram. To be more clear: five or six cars have priority instead of a tram with maybe 100 people on it! This is the case in most crossroads. In the case of the Singel, the tram loses 37 seconds every time it needs to pass there. Knowing that almost half of all the trams in Antwerp need to pass the Singel at least once, this needs to change. On a daily basis 5.000 trams have to wait there for 37 seconds, which means that in total 51 hours per day are wasted.

Arnauw believes that the waiting times can be halved at least with only limited interventions. (1)

city center), and smaller companies like BlaBlaCar are organizing the ‘informal’ systems. All the elements for a sustainable way of movement in the city and the belt are there, but there is just little cooperation between them. The existing systems need to be adjusted. Today for the bus, the train and the bikes a different payment method and abonnement is needed, which creates a mental gap to use the existing systems in a multimodal way. Furthermore there is no overarching map that shows you how to move the fastest and smartest way.

3. GAPS IN THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT NETWORK: The first point here above shows the case when people have the opportunity to take the tram or the bus.

Today there are still parts of the belt that lie within ‘gaps’ as we called it in the analysis.

Here people are not well connected to the net and will have to take the car to move.

4. NO COLLABORATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS: Different organizations are taking care of their specific branch of the public transport network: NMBS is responsible for the trains, De Lijn is the bus and tram company, Vélo is a relatively new player that provides a rental bike system (but is only limited to

(1) Arnauw, A. (2016, April). Wachten in de tram.

Ringland in Zicht , p. 18.

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FROM DENSIFICATION...

100.000 new inhabitants by 2030.

As was specified briefly in the thesis framework, Antwerp is facing a significant population growth. By 2030 the city will welcome an extra of 100.000 inhabitants.

Considering that the average household size in Antwerp is 2.11, we can say that there is the need for 47.393 new housing units. The Labo XX investigators state that this number can be more or less nuanced: 10 785 units are already planned and are being built at this moment, 1.439 parcels are unbuilt, and 1.840 buildings are vacant. This leaves us with a more accurate number of 33.329 units that are needed.

Moreover, if more people will come, the city will need more facilities. By estimation, an extra 100.000 people means 25 new primary and 20 secondary schools, 12 children daycares, 25 libraries, more qualitative public space, etc. Since the city center is already saturated, the belt is the first-rated space to accommodate what is needed (1). The map on the left makes

the densification-need more tangible.

33.239 units at an average household size of 2.11 means that we need to built new houses for 70.134 newcomers. This can be compared with the population of the entire municipality of Deurne.

But how is the city dealing with this need today? In the bottom of this page some of the current projects have been listed. There is a mixture of as well large scale as small acupunctural projects. For example in the case of Nieuw-Zuid, 17 more of these large projects are needed to solve the densification need. Maybe smaller projects in the future make more sense? The Mimosa project is the smallest; nevertheless of these we need 1.627 similar ones. If we multiply these numbers with the actual size of both projects we can see that the physical space that is needed to solve the densification problem lies around 5 million square meters for both types of

interventions. This is a huge area that can be compared with the whole historical city center! Finding this amount of vacant space seems impossible.

(1) Verhaert, I., Vanobbergen, T., & Smets, V. (2014). LAB XX, Opting for the twentieth-century belt. Retrieved May 31, 2016, from Ruimtelijk Structuurplan Antwerpen: http://w w w.ruimtelijk structuurplanant werpen.be/ downloads/LABXX_EN.pdf

TOTAL INH/KM2: 18966 TOTAL UNITS/KM2: 6897

TOTAL INH/KM2: 5325 TOTAL UNITS/KM2: 2597

TOTAL INH/KM2: 16620 TOTAL UNITS/KM2: 6000

TOTAL INH/KM2: 12914 TOTAL UNITS/KM2: 5714

#UNITS: 2000

#UNITS: 40

#UNITS: 21

#UNITS: 24

Location: Antwerpen

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x17

Location: Deurne

x854

Location: Deurne

x1627

Location: Deurne

x1424

BY 2030

EXTRA PEOPLE HOUSED: 70.134 HOUSING UNITS NEEDED: 33.329

+1x DEURNE INHABITANTS: 77.434

EXTRA NEEDED (2020): 25 PRIMARY SCHOOLS 20 SECONDARY SCHOOLS 12 CHILDREN’S DAYCARE 25 LIBRARIES ...

LARGE SCALE 17 X 290.000 m2 4.930.000m2 VACANT SPACE NEEDED

NIEUW-ZUID

MIMOSA

URBAN ACUPUNCTURE 1627 X 3.500 m2 5.694.500m2 VACANT SPACE NEEDED

= 1x CENTER

6.080.000m2 71

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HOW ARE WE DEALING WITH THE CHALLENGES? 73

EXISTING NODES AS THE STARTING POINT. Identifying the existing hotspots in the transit system.

For us, the first step in going towards our strategy was determining where the current hotspots in the transit system can be found. With hotspots we mean nodes where for example multiple important roads come together, or where two major tramlines cross, or where there is a train station close to the exit of the ring road, etc. But also from the viewpoint of services: where an important road is flanked by a large shopping center, or where there is a university next to the tramline. We believe services and mobility systems need to be investigated together since the services are an attraction point for inhabitants.

This means more people are moving there, which in turn makes the node more important. On the next page there is a matrix which shows the series of elements that we differentiated. The matrix shows what each node exists of. The icons with

the white background are transit related, while the icons with the black background are services like schools, supermarkets, etc. The grey icon shows the sphere of influence of the node. These can range from Small to Large. A node with a small sphere of influence works and attracts people on the scale of the neighborhood around it. A node from medium scale is an important node for the belt itself.

It could for example be the crossing between two red streets, or where there is a large supermarket next to a red road.

Nodes from a large scale have a sphere of influence which transcends the belt. It could be a node where the Ring crosses with a red street, or when a hospital or university is there. People which are not from the belt are also attracted by these nodes. The icons in the matrix are showed in space on the map here on the left. The

size of the circles shows the size of the node while the color is related to what actually is the determining and thus most important factor of the node. Red stands for transit, while blue represents nodes of which the services define the character and the scale. Green on the other hand is the combination of both. These differences in colors are interesting to know since these three types of nodes are used in different ways by the people. Node characterized by services (blue) are places which actually today already are a destination, while nodes determined by transit (red) are not a destination in itself, it is a meeting point to eventually go somewhere else.

Nevertheless because of this character of collecting these nodes have a great potential. This will be explained in the strategy itself.

SMALL SCALE (LOCAL)

MEDIUM SCALE (BELT)

LARGE SCALE (BEYOND BELT)

NODE CHARACTERIZED BY:

TRANSIT

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NODE CHARACTERIZED BY:

SERVICES

NODE CHARACTERIZED BY:

TRANSIT & SERVICES

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DENSIFICATION NEED The nodes as urban hotspots in the belt.

As was shown in the densification challenge, building into open or vacant land, as the designers of Nieuw-Zuid and Mimosa for example did, will never be sufficient to reach the asked number of new housing units. There simply is not enough space to do that. These type of interventions need to be accompanied with another densification strategy. We believe that it is more sustainable to convert and densify the existing tissue.

The majority of the belt is built around the fifties. The time that these buildings need to be renovated is not far away. Moreover, by doing this the existing open space, even if vacant for now, can be kept open and in time can be the new public spaces for the growing population: more people not only means more housing, it also means more public space! The parameters for this reconversion are at one hand the age of the buildings and on the other hand the number of floors. The preference goes out to low-rise and old buildings.

Who is going to pay for this densification?

We believe there are two methods, that can co-exist in the belt at the same time.

The first one is about stimulating private initiatives. Allowing owners to build higher than the regulations prescribe if they include rental housing units in their building, will be an incentive. People will be able to get an extra income from the rents, and their property rises in value. It will be a good investment for them, while at the same time the investment for the government is nihil. A second method includes the help of AG VESPA. This is a governmental-driven organisation that occupies itself with city development, fulfilling and working within the strategy that has been laid out for the city. They have the ‘voorkoop-recht’ as 78

it is called in dutch. This means that if a property is going to be sold they have the right to buy it if they match the highest bid. In this way they can in time get their hands on strategic buildings. So when the opportunity is there, AG VESPA can buy these low-rise and old buildings to or renovate it, or demolish it and rebuild. Of course for them it would be interesting to buy multiple adjacent plots, so that they develop larger projects. This is the case for the project here on the left. AG VESPA bought several small houses together, to design a new, more dense and more qualitative housing estate. The project is situated in Deurne, in the belt.

The two maps on the next page show both the height of the buildings and the age.

Low-rise houses and old buildings are the ones that we are interested in to reconvert.

In this way the maps show the suitable sports for densification.Nevertheless, we don’t want to densify everywhere. The transit story needs to be overlaid on these densification parameters. That is why on the next page, the nodes are overlaid on the tracing paper. In and around the nodes are the first places that are crucial to be densified. Densifying there means that the new inhabitants are well connected to transit and services, and thus are less dependent on their car. Densification should go hand in hand with generation a more sustainable way of life. The scale of the new projects depends on the sphere of influence of the nodes: large scale nodes have the potential to have large scale housing projects. In this way the nodes become points of urbanity in an otherwise monotone and medium dense belt.

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Map showing the height of the buit tissue. Low-rise buildings are interesting for densification: more levels can be added or a new project can take the place of the existing.

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Map showing the age of the buit tissue. The older the buildings, the more interesting for it to be reconverted. (source info: Labo XX) 81

Axonometric drawing of one of the nodes.

This axonometric drawing on the right shows how densification at the node can happen. This particular case is the node ‘Bredabaan-Oudebareellei’ (#6).

The existing situation is shown in the small balloon underneath. The node has a medium scale influence sphere and is characterized mostly by the transit system.

It is a crossroads between two major roads; one that goes to Brasschaat and the other one which leads to Schoten.

Furthermore there is a tram stop where two of the largest lines of Antwerp pass by, namely tramline 3 and 2. Line 3 goes from Merksem to Linkeroever (on the left bank), and line 2 brings you also from Merksem to Hoboken in the south.

From the services viewpoint there is a

supermarket with multiple large parking zones in between both roads and there is a school with sports facilities close-by. In our strategy, residents of low-rise buildings were encouraged to add more layers. AG VESPA invested in strategic positions as for example the corner buildings.

For our studio project (collaboration with Mengling Li and Jingyue Yan), we started from the combination of both Food and Transit systems. We developed a strategy to shrink the footprint of the existing supermarkets in the belt. The building of the supermarket as we know today and its parkings, take up immense areas. By shifting towards an online collect&go order system we believe the supermarket can be

PARKING

EXISTING SUPERMARKET PARKING

TRAM STOP

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shrinked. People order their food online and collect it at the agreed moment in the supermarket. Storage space can be limited since the goods are displayed online, and do not need to be stalled nicely in the shop itself. From large collection hubs in industrial areas next to railways or canals the products are transferred in the belt to the collect&go supermarkets. The fact that these are at transit nodes makes it easier for people to collect their purchases by tram. At the same time we see the proximity of the collect&go and the node as an opportunity for a goods-tram to deliver the people’s packages to the new supermarkets. By doing this we limit the passage of trucks for delivery.

In this specific case we moved the new collect&go supermarket to the front of the plot, and utilized the space that is freed up for densification. Apartments and family housing units are mixed and connected by a green public space to raise the livability.

The ground floors of the buildings can be ateliers or offices so that people can live and work close to the nodes, making cars redundant. Building this large amount of units at once, in one clustered project, gives it enough critical mass to incorporate cyclical systems dealing with waste and generating energy. Green houses on the roof can be a private or collective garden but also a heat collector at once. The heat generated by the sun can be distributed into the house and even to neighboring houses. Rainwater is captured and can be used to water the plants and clean the pathways. The water that isn’t used can in time be infiltrated in the soil again. The section on the next page shows what can happen more closely.

DENSIFICATION ON SUPERMARKET PLOT

PRIVATE INITIATIVE

PLATFORM FOR GOODS DELIVERY

NEW COLECT&GO, APPARTMENTS ON TOP.

AG VESPA

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DENSIFICATION: APARTMENTS

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COLLECTIVE & PUBLIC SPACE

DENSIFICATION: APARTMENTS

FORMER PARKING REQUALIFIED AS GREEN AND ATTRACTIVE PUBLIC SPACE.

GREENHOUSE-GARDEN: PRODUCING FOOD; RE-USING ORGANIC WASTE AS FERTILIZER; RE-USE OF RAINWATER; AND HEATH USED IN HOUSE AS NATURAL HEATING.

DENSIFICATION: SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING

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SLOW PUBLIC TRANSPORT & LINEARITY TO CENTER Upgrade to a fast multimodal public transport system.

To make the use of public transport more attractive the duration of the trips needs to go down. We believe we can achieve this goal by changing certain aspects.

The first element that is needed is ‘fast tram lines’. These need to be on each of the main axes (the red streets) that were identified before. They are the structuring elements of the municipalities in the belt.

By putting the fast tramline there this character will only be enhanced. In most cases there already is a tramline on the street. This is a good thing, because the interventions are limited to just making it faster. Where there is no tram yet today, a ‘tram-bus’ has to be inserted, in this way the cost to built the rails is avoided. To make the tram move faster some issues have been discussed here before: one of the reasons is the fact that cars have priority on the tram. To start with, we believe the tram needs to have a separate place on the roads, so that cars do not interfere in the movement of the tram.

When there is a crossing the tram needs to have the priority. It is not only about the time that is saved, it is also a mindshift for the people using the tram. Giving the tram priority and making it moving continuously creates a total different feeling: people see the tram as a more fast way of traveling, since they see the cars waiting while they pass.

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The second element that is crucial is the interconnectivity between the different ‘fast trams’. Today the trams are going towards the city center, people need to enter the city to change to another line and then go back to the belt. The trip is much longer than needs to be. We propose to shortcut the system by opening the city-train. The city-train can be found parallel to the Ring.

As was said before the infrastructure is mostly there; it even has a rail separate from the ‘real trains’. Some stations need to be renovated. Furthermore there needs to be a stop at every crossing with the fast-tram line. So only two extra stations need to be added: one at the Sportpaleis in Deurne (node #8) and one in Berchem (node #23). Once the city-train is in place, moving from one fast-tram line to another becomes easy.

The third addition is very different from the two former ones. Both the fast-tram an the city-train are strict public transport lines, which means that the path that will be followed is fixed. We believe that this fixed system needs to come together with a flexible system. This flexible system allows free movement: users can choose their path freely, depending on their destination.

We see this flexible system there in the form of an exchange system of electrical cars and bikes. These can be rented and also returned again at the nodes. In this

way moving radially for shorter distances is made possible. A similar rental bike system already exists for the inner city, although here the bikes are not electrical. Multiple types of cars and bikes need to be available depending on the needs of the user. For example when a person wants to go to the supermarket he might want to use some kind of cargo-bike to carry the purchases.

These three interventions together form a solid base for to make movement within the belt more attractive. In time less and less cars will need to be on the road.

Existing bus lines which move more slow and are not on the main roads (red ones) can still exist. They are there as secondary connection to the fast-trams and citytrains. Nevertheless we believe that the main focus of De Lijn (the bus- and tram company) needs to be on having sufficient trams and drivers on the fast-lines.

SPACE FOR SOFT MOBILITY

TRAM HAS PRIORITY ON CROSSROADS

PARK&RIDE + ELECTRICAL CAR RENTING

ELECTRICAL BIKE RENTING

INSERT MULTIMODALITY, AND GIVE TRAM PRIORITY DENSIFICATION PROJECTS IN LOW-RISE TISSUE.

ATTRACTIVE PUBLIC SPACE

MAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT MORE ATTRACTIVE BY CHANGING THE NODES INTO ACCESIBLE PUBLIC SPACES. THE NODES SHIFT FROM MERELY A PLACE TO PASS-BY TO A DESTINATION..

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NO COLLABORATION BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS One smartphone-app and one payment methode to make the network more efficient.

The new public transport system is based on multimodal movement. Nevertheless today the different stakeholder, De Lijn (bus and tram), NMBS (train), VĂŠlo (rental bike), Cambio (rental car), BlaBlaCar (car sharing), have little to no collaboration.

They work as separate organizations. In the future there will need to be one controlling organization which makes sure that the different systems are well synchronized.

For example the waiting times to shift from the city-train and the fast-tram needs to be limited to the minimum. Arrival hours need to be chosen in order to achieve a fast connection throughout the belt. In this way waiting times, which were identified as an important issue can be shortened.

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But at the same time it also needs to be clear for users what their options are. A Smartphone-application is the ideal way to do this. The app shows a person different ways of reaching their destination. All stakeholders need to be involved in order to include all transit systems: tram, bus, train, city-train, rental bike, rental car, car sharing and walking. The user will be able to choose which chain of transport modes is most suitable for him or her.

Once the desired route is chosen, the payment method needs to be allencompassing. Having a series of different credit cards for each transport mode is not promoting the new way of moving. One abonnement for all modes sends out a more appropriate message to the users, and makes it more attractive.

One multifunctional ticket in stead of having different credit cards for every mode of travel: examples here are Tram (De Lijn), Train (NMBS) and Rental bikes (VĂŠlo).

ALL TRANSPORT MODES ARE INCLUDED IN THE TRANSIT-APP.

ONE TICKET FOR ALL MODES MAKES MOVING AROUND EASIER.

A Smartphone-application leads the way. All transport modes are included.

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CARS OCCUPYING THE PUBLIC SPACE Give the public space back to the people.

As was said before movement inside the belt is car-oriented. This results in many cars on the road. But even when people are not moving the cars are still there.

Wherever possible cars are being parked: at the sides of the streets, in the middle of large lanes, on large scale parking squares, etc. We can say that the car has taken over the public space. Our strategy will give public space back to the people. By implementing our strategy, people will have to be less dependent on their car.

We believe that in the future, the private car as we know it will become irrelevant. If people need to move somewhere that the tram or the bus cannot take them (which will be the exception rather than the rule) collective rental cars will be the solution.

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In time, garages can be converted into small scale production ateliers/working space for self-employed people. This will bring working and living again closer to each other, limiting movement to the minimum. Furthermore also public space can be changed if the impact of the car is diminished. Street sections of large streets can be altered in such a way that public and soft transports get more room. Sustainable systems as for example water collection bodies that can slow down the water during heavy rainfall and make it possible to infiltrate later, are inserted to make the city more resilient. New densification projects along the altered streets can be attached to these sustainable and cyclic systems.

Converting a parking into a public space that collects water at the same time.

Moreover neighborhoods that are well connected to the public transport network can piece by piece made car free. The streets will be occupied by the people as meeting space, as playground. Also the same sustainable water collection bodies for example can be added. The axonometric on the left is an example of how a square is made car free. The space can be found along the major axe ‘Bredabaan’ close to node six. The square used to be a passage with a large car parking. Now the space is a public space where the weekly market is held. In the middle, a ‘together garden’ is added. This is an existing type of community garden where the usual private allotment gardens are replaced by one large communal garden. At the same time the soil is permeable, and thus can slow down and infiltrate rainwater during heavy storms. Some of the garages along the square are transformed by the owners into an atelier. For example a local carpenter, has its working space there. Furthermore residents can add an extra level to rent out, to again initiate densification in spaces that are well connected to the public transport network. The photomontage shows how an existing parking can be altered into a public space that captures rainwater and makes it infiltrate. The site is located next to the rail, near the station of Berchem.

It provides qualitative infrastructure for bikers and hikers.

EXISTING PARKING SQUARE

EXISTING GARAGE CHANGED INTO WORKING SPACE, BRINGING LIVING AND WORKING CLOSER TO EACHOTHER. EXTRA LAYER OF RENTAL APARTMENT ADDED AS SURPLUS INCOME.

‘TOGETHER-GARDEN’ AS INSTIGATOR FOR SOCIAL COHESION. PARKING CONVERTED INTO ATTRACTIVE PUBLIC SPACE.

A parking square along the Bredabaan’ is made piece by piece car free. The square becomes an attractive public space, and former garages can be used as ateliers.

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STEP-BY-STEP IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. 93

PHASE 1

Inserting and upgrading the public transport system.

Before intervening in any other way, the basic elements for the new public transport network need to be laid out. The first thing is to make the existing trams move faster by giving it its own space on the roads and by providing priority over cars. De Lijn needs to adjust the way they invest. From now on more money for extra trams and drivers should go to these fast lines. The other lines have to be considered as secondary.

In this way waiting times will be limited to the minimum. At the crossings of the fasttram lines with the Ring on the inside of the belt and the crossings with the Krijgsbaan, at the outside of the belt, Park&Rides need to be inserted. The classification of the nodes show that in around half of the cases this is already there, the missing ones need to be added. We don’t see these as conventional parkings. On the contrary, it should be flexible spaces that can be used in different ways. When the parking it is not used it can be a market, or a space for festivities. The car-spot can be framed by a landscape intervention which makes it an agreeable space that can deal with water-infiltration as well. When not much IN TIME: GROUND FLOOR CONVERTED INTO PUBLIC FACILITY, DUE TO GOOD LOCATION.

At the same time the city-train needs to be opened. Two extra stations need to be built; the rest of the infrastructure is there.

This means that this can be implemented in a very short time. The NMBS even has a specific kind of train in their fleet which is called ‘desiro’. This type is perfect for the city-train, since every time the train needs to brake, energy is generated. In this way energy costs can be lowered with 30 percent. (1) The last step of completing the base of the new public transport network is to make the nodes maximum multimodal. This means inserting electrical rental bike and car stations (Vélo and Cambio), providing space in the form of ‘kiss-and-ride’ zones in order to facilitate

PROPOSED PRIORITY LANE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT. PARKING

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space is at hand a parking building can be the solution. Nevertheless the same remark also goes here. The building needs to be designed so that it is flexible. In a later timeframe it should be possible to give it another function. By providing these park&rides, people entering the belt from both sides can shift to public transport.

This should eventually make it possible to piece by piece make the belt car-free.

Section, implementation phase 1

PARKING

the use of car sharing systems like BlaBlaCar. Together with the existing tram and/or bus stops, the nodes become fully connected to the new net. Electrical rental cars and bicycles make it possible to move radially in the belt for shorter distances.

Densification around the node is a logical step. This will happen in the existing tissue, while the open space is left open as much as possible. The way that this can be done is explained already before.

The section below, together with the map and the axonometric drawing on the next page show this phasing more zoomed in on one specific axis. The one we chose is the ‘Prins Boudewijnlaan’ in Berchem (between node 23 and 27). Along this street there is a hospital and a university that give the node there (number 26) a superlocal character. Moreover the street is interesting because of the impact of the car. A large part of the section is occupied by cars, which gives us the opportunity to rethink it.

(1) Van Remoortel, F. (2016, April). Overstappen wordt kinderspel. Ringland in Zicht , p. 16.

PROPOSED PRIORITY LANE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT. PARKING

PARKING

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SWITCH FROM FAST-TRAM TO CITY-TRAIN CROSSING WITH RING

FAST PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINE/ BUS-TRAM

MULTIMODAL NODE: AT HOSPITAL

DENSIFICATION WHERE POSSIBLE IN OLD OR LOWRISE HOUSING

CROSSING WITH KRIJGSBAAN, LATER WITH NEW OUTHER RING

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Contextual map, implementation phase 1

UNIVERSITY

HOSPITAL

UNACCESIBLE GREEN CONVERTED. THE NODE BECOMES A QUALITATIVE PUBLIC SPACE.

UNACCESIBLE GREEN

DENSIFICATION AROUND NODE.

CAR-BASED PRINS-BOUDEWIJNLAAN MAIN STREET, BUT NO PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINE.

MULTIMODAL NODE: ELECTRICAL RENTAL CARS

MULTIMODAL NODE: ELECTRICAL RENTAL BIKES

MULTIMODAL NODE: FAST-LINE BUS STOP

PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINE, EXCLUSIVLY FOR THE ‘TRAM-BUS’: PRIORITY!

Axonometry at the hospital, implementation phase 1

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PHASE 2

Connecting to the nodes and changing the street sections.

Once the new public transport network is in place the nodes will be an important attraction point. People will come there to move somewhere else. Nevertheless in the analysis part we identified ‘gaps’ in the current system. As we said before, these gaps are areas in which people are not within walkable distance towards intense public transport. By ‘intense public transport’ we mean at least 8 stops, since we believe less stops do not guarantee a decent connection in multiple directions. In these gaps we insert again electrical bicycle and car renting spot close to existing facilities such as schools, supermarkets, etc.

In this way the gaps are ‘filled’ and people can connect to the nodes.

At this point the public transport network becomes accessible in all areas of the belt.

Moreover people entering the city from the outside, which are using the major

axes in the current situation to get to the city, can shift to the fast-tram at the park&rides at the ring or the Krijgsbaan.

This means that the major roads become over dimensioned. Places that once were occupied by the car now can be given back to the inhabitants by changing the street section. Car lanes can be converted into a qualitative infrastructure for bicycles.

Leftover lanes and parkings can be turned into green corridors. These green elements have to be used as a rainwater storage and infiltration points. Water-engineer P. Willems, working at the KU Leuven, warned us that Antwerp is not prepared for climate change. One of the effects of the rising temperature is the fact that we will have more heavy storms, especially in summer. Our sewers cannot swallow this huge amount of water in such a short time anymore. This means that the water

cannot go anywhere. Willems showed us that the percentage of paved surfaces has risen from around three percent in 1975 to almost ten percent in 2000! We believe that our project has the capacity to deal with this. The green spaces on the major axes can serve as water collection bodies, while when the rain has stopped and the water has infiltrated, it can be a public space again. Along the major lines we believe that new densification projects in the low-quality and low-rise housing tissue is at place. The new buildings need to be designed in a more ecological way, dealing with water, energy and waste in a cyclical and resilient way.

DENSIFICATION: TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

NATURAL RAIN WATER COLLECTION & INFILTRATION.

SOFT MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE

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Section, implementation phase 2

EXTENDED & QUALITATIVE PUBLIC SPACE

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BIORETENTION TO CAPTURE RAIN WATER CHANGING STREET SECTION

MULTIMODAL NODE: AT HOSPITAL NODE BECOMES A DESTINATION

DENSIFICATION WHERE POSSIBLE IN OLD OR LOWRISE HOUSING

CROSSING WITH KRIJGSBAAN, LATER WITH NEW OUTHER RING

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Contextual map, implementation phase 2

NODE BECOMES A DESTINATION IN STEAD OF A PLACE TO PASS-BY.

STREET AND NODE ARE ONE CONTINOUS PUBLIC SPACE.

CHANGED STREET SECTION

RAIN WATER STORAGE AND INFILTRATION

EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SOFT MOBILITY

Axonometry at the hospital, implementation phase 2

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PHASE 3

Adaptation to large mobility projects.

The third phase is a step that is less in our own hands. The large mobility issue concerning the ring is a very political story.

Different proposals are ‘battling’ each other, seeking to eventually come out on top. Which one will win is not clear at all.

This is the reason why our proposal has to be flexible, to be able to adapt to whatever the outcome will be. Nevertheless we looked briefly into the different proposal and have taken the positive elements of each of them. In this way we eventually come to a hybrid design that attaches to our new public transport network. Building the outer ring will reroute the traffic to the outside of the city. The existing ring can be converted into a green connection between the inner city and the belt.

Where Ringland keeps the flows inside

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the city, and hides it, our proposal brings the flows to the edge of the city. Except from the exits the outer ring is completely covered. These exits are placed at strategic positions as is visible in the map. Between the crossroads in the north and the one in the south, there are three exits: One at the Albertcanal, one at the roundabout of Wommelgem and one at the airport.

The roof of the outer ring will be much cheaper than the roof of Ringland since the tracĂŠ is in many places not inhabited and is less wide. Two types of tunnels are used depending of what is happening op top.

The landscaped major axes, that contain the fast-trams, become one continues green patch in the belt. We believe that by completing the three phases the multiple issues that are brought forward in the

Conceptual montage, implementation phase 3. What if the ring can become a park?

analysis are dealt with. The park&rides on the inner ring, that were proposed in phase 1, have become irrelevant and can become part of the green ring. This is no problem because they were designed to be flexible. On the other hand the park&rides at the new exits of the outer ring become more important than ever. This will be the place where people from outside of the city leave the highway and shift on the fast-trams. We believe that by completing the three phases the multiple issues that are brought forward in the analysis are dealt with, and the belt becomes a more attractive place. The nodes in the system become points of urbanity that in time will attract more functions, because of the strategic position. The major axes and the belt in general will become less and less places that people just pass by, but become destinations on their own.

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RING AS A PARK & GREEN CONNECTOR CONTINOUS LANDSCAPE DUE TO THE NEW STREET SECTION

MULTIMODAL NODE: AT HOSPITAL NODE BECOMES A DESTINATION

UPGRADE SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE RADIALLY TO FACILITATE MOVEMENT IN THE BELT ITSELF. BECOMES INTERNAL GREEN NET.

DENSIFICATION WHERE POSSIBLE IN OLD OR LOWRISE HOUSING.

CROSSING WITH OUTER RING EXIT HERE BECAUSE OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF HOSPITAN AND UNIVERSITY.

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Contextual map, implementation phase 3

Photomontage of the ring as the new green connector between the belt and the inner-city.

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Verhaert, I., Vanobbergen, T., & Smets, V. (2014). LAB XX, Opting for the twentieth-century belt. Retrieved May 31, 2016, from Ruimtelijk Structuurplan Antwerpen: http://www. ruimtelijkstructuurplanantwerpen.be/downloads/LABXX_EN.pdf WEBSITES Open Streetmap: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=13/51.2126/4.4219&layers=T Geopunt: http://www.geopunt.be/ Open data Antwerpen: http://opendata.antwerpen.be/ NGI: http://www.ngi.be/topomapviewer/public?lang=nl& AGIV: https://download.agiv.be/ Ecohuis: http://ecohuis.antwerpen.be/docs/Stad/Bedrijven/Stadsontwikkeling/ SW_Ecohuis/gezondheid Databank Ondergrond Vlaanderen: https://dov.vlaanderen.be/dovweb/html/services.html Digitaal Hoogtemodel Vlaanderen: http://www.geopunt.be/download?container=digitaal-hoogtemodelvlaanderen-raster-5m&title=DHM-Vlaanderen,%20raster,%205m Cartesius: http://www.cartesius.be/arcgis/home/webmap/viewer. html?basemapUrl=http://www.ngi.be/tiles/arcgis/rest/services/25k__ {2B90C6F5-B4E1-4EC9-98EC-A17CE13C5E3A}__default__404000/ MapServer&lang=nl LAB XX: http://www.ruimtelijkstructuurplanantwerpen.be/downloads/LABXX_ EN.pdf

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SOURCES OF THE INFORMATION IN THE MAPS PAGE 13 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Map Vandermaelen 1846: http://www.geopunt.be/ Map 1946: http://www.cartesius.be/arcgis/home/webmap/viewer. html?basemapUrl=http://www.ngi.be/tiles/arcgis/rest/services/25k__ {2B90C6F5-B4E1-4EC9-98EC-A17CE13C5E3A}__default__404000/ MapServer&lang=nl PAGE 17 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Traffic info: http://www.verkeerscentrum.be/verkeersinfo/kaart PAGE 19 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus NO2 pollution: http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets/ luchtkwaliteitskaarten-no2 PAGE 21 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Noise pollution: http://ecohuis.antwerpen.be/docs/Stad/Bedrijven/ Stadsontwikkeling/SW_Ecohuis/gezondheid/KAART_DETAIL_ AGGLO_ANTWERPEN_TOTAAL_LDEN.pdf PAGE 25 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus PAGE 27 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus PAGE 29 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus De Lijn: https://www.delijn.be/en/perronindeling/netplannen/ netplannen-belbusgebieden-antwerpen.html

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PAGE 31 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Bus stops: http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus/datasetfolder/eeb8bb44c43f-46f0-9106-116f018d328a PAGE 33 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus PAGE 37 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Orthomap: https://www.agiv.be/producten/orthofotomozaieken PAGE 75 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus PAGE 80 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/ datasets-faceted Height buildings: https://www.agiv.be/ PAGE 81 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Builing age: http://www.ruimtelijkstructuurplanantwerpen.be/ downloads/20130610_bijlageE2_analyse_van_de_stadsregio_web.pdf PAGE 95 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus PAGE 96 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Buildings: https://www.agiv.be/ PAGE 99 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus 109

PAGE 100 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Buildings: https://www.agiv.be/ PAGE 103 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus PAGE 104 Basic layers (roads, rails, green, etc): http://opendata.antwerpen.be/datasets-faceted http://www.geopunt.be/catalogus Buildings: https://www.agiv.be/

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