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Metropolitan Move looks into the future of Leuven: A metropolis in the making
Leuven is transforming at high-speed. This is one of the city’s turning out to become a model of modernity and progressivism, with a future-oriented vision.
During the last few years, the building sites shoot up like mushrooms. The new railway station, the Kop of Kessel-Lo, the Vaartkom, the park tunnel and the Philips-site, the Central Workplaces…The plans for the renovation of the square Foch and Hertogendal are already signed and a lot of projects are on the stocks.
Leuven, turning from a hamlet into a flashing metropolis !
All this is happening in less than no time. This is a city ‘On the Metropolitan Move’.
The term Metropolitan Move is coming from the US, where it is been using frequently by the new generation of project developers and architects.
It appoints a worldwide trend of the development of small city’s into real metropolis.
In this area, Belgium possesses leading examples ; Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven , the triangle of progress. Those city’s know a real explosion of innovation concerning city development.
The last ten years the 'Metropolitan Move' knows a strong advance due to several factors.
The speculation on the property-market provides a strong money flow to the property sector and brings along the most beautiful architectural development.
On the other hand is the urban renovation the expression of the city council’s struggle to get the biggest force of attraction on the most substantial inhabitants.
The fiscal reforms, introduced by the neo-liberal legislative power, resulted in tax-reduction with a declination of revenues on federal and regional level .
The consequences are : an increase of local rates, a cut down on the local services or the accumulation of local governmental debts.
To attract richer inhabitants and offices to the City-centre ( and with them to generate a higher income), the councils of the bigger city’s are proceeding urban renovation, usually linked to prestigious projects.
In this way, we see the miraculous resurrection of the futuristic railway-station in Leuven and the hypermodern palaces named “Courthouse” in Antwerp and Ghent.
Social evolution.
The investment of billions in the “better districts” is also the driving force behind another movement : The living expenses is exploding.
According to an investigation of the property agency “Century 21”, it seems that the price for a house in Ghent doubled between 1993 and 2003.
The average price for a house in 1993 was 46.258 € , in 2003 it was already 91.775 € : an increase of 98 % within 10 years.
During the following years, prices raised even faster : for instance : in Ghent : 50 % in 3 years time. Those are official statistics of the study-centre ‘Stadim’
The average price in Ghent in 2006 raised to 129.900 €. (the same house in 2003 : 87.500 €)
Houses to rent followed the same evolution.
Although if Ghent is the leader in price-increase for houses and buildings, it remains relatively cheaper than Antwerp, Brussels, Leuven and Hasselt.
The construction of council houses in Flanders is very low : only in the crisis years 1930 and 1980 lesser council houses were build. Between 1997 and 2004, meanly 1225 houses a year.
At this speed, we should need another 65 years to satisfy the 70.000 people already on the waiting lists.
Urban renovation in this way, leads to a radical social discrimination .Low- income people, who could afford a workers-house , are now excluded by the free-market. Some are expropriated by the city council, in order to create a ‘more healthy’ social mix in some districts. Food and energy prices are raising at the same time, and so we get an ideal mix of elements helping an increasing part of the population into a downward movement.
The pride of a metropolis.
A real metropolis is characterized by a growing gap between poor and rich. There is nothing wrong with that ! Policymakers often try to skirt or suppress this logic, while the inhabitants are standing right in front of it.
Flashing marketing campaigns to promote the city renovation are not adequate to enthuse a whole city population for the way their city evolves.
Metropolis as New York, São Paolo, Peking, Paris or Berlin have accepted their “problems”.
Their recognition of poverty and social discrimination being a respectable aspect that characterises a metropolis is remarkable.
Metropolis recover their pride like this !
A real danger exist, that the growing city’s , in a conservative reflex , will make the same mistake as their predecessors. An timely acceptation of the so-called metropolitan problems has to be encouraged to assure their grow.
With this objective, ‘Metropolitan Move’ developed from a trendy expression into a real movement.
This promotion campaign is applying to chart and to praise every aspect of a metropolis in the making : from architectural ingenuity, over urban absurdity to typical metropolitan
poverty-inspired inventiveness.
‘Metropolitan Move’ is forcing the men in the streets towards modernicity.
Experiment.
The ‘Metropolitan Move’ campaign was already lead in different city’s all over the world.
Leuven will be the test-case for a Belgian tour.
The Belgian starting edition is being realised by the advertising agency Life Inc., whose Belgian office is recently established. This campaign isn’t the first challenge of this young marketing office : "Metropolitan Move is been written just right for us ! The idea joins perfectly the future-minded and progressive way of thinking behind our company. This is an ambitious project, and we are totally ready for it" according to the spokesman of Life Inc.Belgium.
Although Life Inc. is realising the major part of the project developing, it can feel supported by a cooperation with some cultural institutions and its competitor Clearchannel.
Information.
Metropolitan Move is running from the 14th of September to the 16th of November 2008 in Leuven.
You can get this pamphlet and posters, free of charge ,at the Central Info-point in the library ‘Tweebronnen’, Rijschoolstraat, 4 , Leuven.
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