Studying the opportunities for rural development in the metropolitan area of Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai

General introduction

The objective of this study is to create a development vision on a very urbanised rural space for a study area in the Eurometropolis of Lille – Courtrai – Tournai.  We want to explore the possibilities for developing the rural spaces in the Flemish part of the Eurometropolis. Hereby we want to make an inventory of the opportunities for economic development of the rural area that are generated by the presence of urban markets, infrastructure and needs. This problem statement is approached with a particular focus on urban agriculture, which is in this case defined as “rural entrepreneurship geared to nearby urban needs” (both agricultural and non-agricultural activities, e.g. tourism, recreation, care, etc. are included).

 

Research approach

The development of this vision is designed in three phases. In the first phase, the existing economic and spatial dynamic is inventoried and visualised. This is done through the analysis of several databases such as the agricultural census of the NIS and a database on entrepreneurship (VKBO), through interviews and literature study. In a second phase, a vision on the potential of urban agriculture and agriculture in peri-urban areas in the Eurometropolis is developed based on the inventoried dynamics. Finally, in the last phase a proposal of tools and preconditions are formulated to implement the development vision.

 

Relevance/Valorisation

This project contributes to the creation of a vision regarding opportunities for the economic development of the peri-urban space. This is done specifically for the Eurometropolis Lille-Courtrai-Tournai, but also supports the vision creation process in other peri-urban areas.