Water as a backbone for settlements. Urban densification versus water management in the southern fringe of Brussels.

Beschrijving

Mankind is responsible for the disturbance of the natural functioning of water systems. An increase in built environment, evolutions in agriculture, and
climate change have reduced the overall natural water retention of river basins and consequently increased the amount of rainwater flowing directly
into the watercourses. At the same time, men have always been attracted to water systems and have historically settled within the lowlands. Constraining
water management systems were hereby developed in order to protect their activities from floodings. The applied technical means resulted in a reduction
of the natural water storage capacity of the formerly naturally expanding river bed. The combination of an ever increasing disturbance of water systems
by mankind, inadequate regulations on water management, and a further human occupation in flood plains, have raisen awareness that not all issues can be solved in a merely technical way.

In response, contemporary spatial planning policies aim at returning space to the river bed in order to restore their naturally fluctuating characteristics. At
the same time, other spatial planning policies are commited to urban densification of existing central locations in order to counter further suburban
sprawl. Since these central locations are located within the lowlands, both tendencies conflict.

This research, fitting in the MSc Urbanism and Spatial Planning (SteR) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), will put both strategies together, take a critical look at their mutual conflicts, and propose some adjustments in order to achieve the objectives of both.

Masterproefbegeleiding van VUB-STeR* student Benoit Denayer

Periode	2015 → 2016
Gehouden op	VUB - Master Stedenbouw en Ruimtelijke Planning, België