Page 5 - DS2.black team booklet

Abstract

Building on a previous analysis of the use of
space(s) by a group of undocumented migrants
in the city of Brussels, this booklet explores
three different scenarios. The main question
guiding this exercise is how (public) spaces can
be managed and designed in a welcoming way,
more specifically for undocumented migrants,
facilitating positive interaction between them
and other inhabitants. By imagining different
types of ownership we look at how different
setups could possibly integrate the reception
of (undocumented) newcomers within
the development of a currently underused
building and its surroundings. The first
(private ownership) scenario consists of the
establishment of a hotel, of which the majority
of the staff are newcomers. A second scenario
is developed where the Brussels Capital
Region assumes the property of the building,
and has the opportunity to integrate it within
the currently on-going project of Usquare,
providing extra attention to how this space can
be welcoming to a variety of internationals,
including non-academics. A last scenario looks
at the possibilities when a housing cooperative
takes up ownership, and the building and its
surroundings are managed by a collective
of people. In all three scenarios we look for
and indicate ‘borderlands’: spaces where
newcomers and others circulate, and where
(positive) interaction can take place.Within
the three scenarios there are possibilities
for design and programme to increase the
accessibility of the space and its degree of
‘welcomeness’, more so for documented
newcomers. However, providing housing for
undocumented migrants seems most realistic
within the last scenario, which is therefore
developed in more detail.

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