Page 63 - Black group Booklet

Conclusion

This booklet explored three types of ow-
nership scenarios of an existing building
in Brussels, which is currently occupied by
a group of undocumented migrants. Assu-
ming federal legislation doesn’t allow for
renting rooms to people without the ne-
cessary documents, the first two scenarios
don’t provide housing for undocumented
migrants. Nor do they offer activities spe-
cifically aimed at undocumented newco-
mers. The focus of the first two scenarios
is on documented newcomers. Depending
on the programme the site offers, and the
openess of the backyard and the building
itself, people’s flows and potential spaces
for interaction shift. Assuming that undo-
cumented migrants don’t go where there is
no programme for them, the imagined bor-
derlands - spaces for interaction - are ra-
ther limited in the first two scenarios. The
third scenario, where a housing cooperative
owns the building and the plot, and a group
of citizens manages the building, more and
more creative options become available
for housing and programme. Mainly the
ground floor of the building functions as a
community centre, and provides a variety
of spaces and activities for people from all
ages and social groups to participate in and
use. The park in the backyard is accessible
at all times. Social control is high due to the
constant coming and going of people for ac-
tivities that happen at different times of the
day. At night people who live in the building
have a view of the backyard. Because of the
open atmosphere of the building’s inhabi-
tants and users, as well as the space itself,
it is welcoming to both undocumented and
documented newcomers. Therefore there
is no longer a distinction between the bor-
derlands for documented or undocumented
newcomers. Both the street, the building,
and the garden have become welcoming
spaces, allowing for (positive) interaction
between newcomers and locals.

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