Across Europe, economic and urban trends underline the need to reaffirm the place of industry in our urban areas. Industry – such as manufacturing or recycling and waste-management – forms a crucial component of a diversified economy and a key part of contemporary urban life. Retaining and intensifying industry in cities should therefore be an important priority for sustainable growth.
In Brussels, interventions by Prof. Mark Brearley and Dr Jane Clossick have enabled city policy makers to move away from a tendency to undervalue industry. Through co-productive, design-based and action-oriented research, Prof. Brearley and Dr Clossick brought about a paradigm shift in how policymakers, urban developers and design practitioners in Brussels understand industry and the importance of integrating it into the urban fabric.
Working directly with policy makers, urban developers and design professionals from Brussels, Flanders and beyond, this research accelerated new approaches to urban planning and real estate development and encouraged experimentation in urban and architectural design. The chief architect for the city of Brussels credited Prof. Brearley and Dr Clossick with helping to make the key issue of industry visible to policymakers, planners and designers: “industry belongs to the city”.
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