03/06/2026
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Flanders is a landscape of villages. The more than one thousand village centres form a finely woven network of housing, workplaces, landscapes and transport routes. However, this network is currently under pressure due to urban densification, an ageing population, and new challenges relating to accessibility, climate, housing, and public spaces.
Toolbox Dorpenbouw is based on the simple observation that villages function differently from cities. They have their own scale, logic and dynamics, yet they are still too often approached using urban planning models that were primarily developed for cities.
In this book, Ward Verbakel, Karl Catteeuw and Edith Wouters explore how changes can be guided spatially without compromising the uniqueness of the village. They examine how streets, squares, quiet roads, the edges of villages, water features and open spaces can come together to form a coherent, liveable whole. In doing so, they offer a language and frame of reference for everyone involved in shaping the future of villages.
Prof. Aglaée Degros was involved in the project as a member of the advisory board.