The Kerkebeek stream is invisible at present. It’s covered over nearly 1.7km with a cycling path. Only a small section is visible; there the water flows in a concrete slipway, 3 metres below the level of the surrounding public domain. And the borders are fenced for safety reasons. All in all, the Kerkebeek doesn’t add much quality to its surroundings at present.  

In this project, we want to change that. Along the Kerkebeek are many schools and a nursing home. Opening up the Kerkebeek will create more high-quality public space for cycling and walking. It will increase the liveability of the area.   

The city of Bruges agreed on a climate plan for the historical city centre. In addition, a similar plan is developed for adjacent neighbourhoods. By opening up the Kerkebeek, we can expand the existing green-blue axes into a strong network for the whole area. Thus, we hope to prevent heat islands from forming. And the migration routes for fauna and flora in the urban environment become more connected. Alongside the 1.7km trajectory we identified several potential places to open up. Hopefully we can excavate those the coming years.

The project consists of two distinct assignments. First, in october we want to deliver a broad study about the optimisation of the Kerkebeek itself and the public domain around it. The study results in a theoretical framework, which isn’t visible in the neighbourhood yet.  

We therefore started the second assignment last May. The opening up of the Kerkebeek. The effects of this large infrastructural project will be undeniable to neighbours and passers-by. We expect many social economic benefits from this investment, which we will monitor. Not only do we monitor ecosystem services such as water, air and environmental quality, but also the effect on social economic aspects such as social contact, safety and the value of nearby real estate.

Communication with citizens and stakeholders alongside the Kerkebeek is very important to us. It helps us to focus our efforts and make sure the project answers the needs of the people of Bruges.  

The Kerkebeek flows through the property of many different stakeholders: a cluster of schools, an elderly home, a theme park and a large private park. To realise our ambition, we need all of them to take part in our plans. That’s why we made such a strong effort to involve them all from the very beginning. It’s quite a challenge, because each partner has its own interests that we need to align with the options we have for this project. 

We’ve noticed that the city council is an important factor too. The project has, in addition to the infrastructural and spatial impact, a big social impact. Continuous political support (backed up with budget) is crucial for the future of the project. So we need to do our best take them on board for the whole duration. 

We definitely exchange knowledge with other partners. Still, the details of our situation differ. So it’s not easy to adopt insights one on one. The projects have less in common than we thought beforehand. And the projects are still in development. The results are not yet clear and measureable, so that makes it hard to know if the investments lead to the intended outcome.