(c) Séverin Malaud

PRODUCTIVE CITY

Productive City - Publication

For several decades, European cities have been replacing post-industrial wastelands by new attractive urban neighbourhoods. Great projects have contributed to a successful urban regeneration, but at the same time we are seeing activities such as productive economy, manufacturing, maintenance and repair jobs, food supply … being pushed out of the city.

However, production belongs to the city. If we want the city to become a sustainable metabolism, then the city cannot just be the place of consumption. If we do not want production to disappear from the urban landscape, we must invent new urban typologies that make it compatible with housing and connect it with the public space of our cities.

In Brussels, these ideas have been on the political agenda for a number of years, and today Brussels functions as a laboratory for innovative and high-quality solutions. The most important strategic development area for the productive economy in the city is the Canal area that crosses the urban fabric of Brussels.

The brochure “Brussels Productive City” lists more than 25 architectural projects in Brussels that celebrate the integration of productivity in the city. The projects are described by the architects themselves and introduced by the BMA.