The redistribution of public space is a key issue in today’s urban transition. The need for public space is great, certainly in densely built-up urban areas and perhaps even more so in suburban areas where there is a shortage of squares and parks. The challenge doesn’t lie in the search for new public space. In the city, there are plenty of former industrial plots available. Lots of experiments are also being carried out on intermediate spaces. A far greater design challenge is the immutability of the largest net area of public space, namely the street.

In 2019 the Brussels Bouwmeester Maître Architecte (BMA) published Espace Publiek: 10 ontwerptips voor de gewone straat (Public space: 10 design tips for the ordinary street). These were simple principles for a different street layout, such as continuous pavement and a narrowed road design. However, it seems that implementation of these tips in Brussels has so far been limited. In any case, there is no trace of the ordinary street to be found in the retrospective publication Soft Power (2025), which looked back on notable projects of the BMA since 2015. Innovation in building development thus seems to be disconnected from what’s happening on our doorsteps.