The Rampart, The Traffic Artery, and the Park; Designing for the city regions of Antwerp

Low density region
Low density region
Suburban region
Suburban region
Sururban
Sururban
Low density region
Low density region
region
City
region
City
Low density region
Low density region
City
C
Low Low density density region
region
Green belts Green around belts the around city regions the city regions
Green radials Green connecting radials connecting the green the belts green belts
The fo
eleme
Figure 2.8 - left
Drawing of the green belts in the
metropolitan region.
Figure 2.9 - right
Drawing of the green radials in the
metropolitan region connecting the
green belts.
Spatial strategy for the metropolitan region
The drawing on the adjacent page shows a cumulation of all the components
of the spatial strategy that tries to give concrete definition to the metropolitan
region of Antwerp, and reengage it with the remnants of the historic defence
system, thereby establishing a link to the set of the rampart, the traffic artery,
and the park. The following elements will reflect per component of the strategy.
Figure 2.10
Drawing of the spatial strategy for the
metropolitan region (Google, 2020).
Green belts as defining elements of the city’s regions
The defining elements of the three city regions – the green belts – are an
intricate play between the set of the rampart, traffic artery, and park discussed
in the previous sections. For the largest belt, the one around the metropolitan
region, the first and second paradigm share a historic symbiotic relationship.
This belt is a combination of the river valley of the tributaries of the Scheldt
and the Northern Parks, both are large ecological structures that once shared
a role as inundation areas in the defence system, and both to this day hold
access to the peripheral forts. In terms of infrastructure, the river valley already
had a pre-established function as traffic artery; the river itself functions as a
waterway for the local industry, with the concentric highways and trainways
sharing this function. Added in this strategy is a bicycle highway spanning the
entirety of the belt. Through the Northern Parks this road runs along the track
119