"Groene Singel"

The "Groene Singel" comprises the entire space around the Ring of Antwerp between the inner city and outer suburbs, from the Kennedy Tunnel to the Luchtbal. The "Groene Singel" image quality plan therefore forges a path towards green and usable urban space. The quarters bordering on the "Groene Singel" are mostly densely populated. They are in need of green, public spaces, schools and sport infrastructure, halls for cultural and leisure activities, childcare and youth facilities.

The neighbourhoods most in need border the "Groene Singel", a huge reservoir of open space with enormous potential. It is therefore an obvious opportunity to open this space up for urban use. The drawbacks of this space, however, are not insignificant. Noise and poor air quality stand to a large extent in the way of developing the "Groene Singel".

The image quality plan aims to make a contribution towards a strategy to deal with these characteristics. It represents a choice in favour of a green, ecological and smart space. A green, ecological landscape has a high feel-good factor, is visually attractive and has a positive impact on quality of life in the city. It is possible already to begin the development and stimulation of such ecological and visual values and this with limited means. It is therefore also an intelligent strategy. In the future, we can expect that the circumstances surrounding the "Groene Singel" will improve. Cars will become cleaner and the noise pollution can be countered. To the extent these constraints are overcome, more and more space will become available for Antwerp and its visitors.

The image quality plan aims at creating genuine added value for the city through the "Groene Singel". It aims to transform it into a visually appealing, green landscape with a high ecological value. Moreover, it is intended to be highly usable with well functioning infrastructure for hard and soft traffic, public space for play and recreation and buildings for education, sport, day care and culture.