boosting big cities policies

Summary: The Greater City Policy is an instrument of the Federal Government launched under the 1999-2003 coalition agreement to address the issue of the social and economic revival of deprived neighbourhoods together with the (big) cities concerned. The Law of 17 July 2000 and its implementing decrees have further anchored the wholesale city policy and laid the budgetary basis for it. The four main objectives of the Greater Federal Urban Policy are: improving the quality of life in cities; improving living conditions; the promotion of security, the revival of economic activity. Within this framework, several metropolitan projects are funded which can be implemented area-based or thematic in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and the establishment of a contractual obligation of result. These ‘urban contracts’ cover, by city or municipality, all projects financed through the Large City Policy (co). For each project, the context, objectives, indicators, results and amount allocated will be detailed and programme-specific. The project ran until 2003. The year 2004 is generally seen as a transitional year. Objective: Visualisation and demarcation of the labour-oriented part of the Federal Ground-Town Policy for the city of Antwerp. Creation: The subsidy programme for the city of Antwerp from the Federal Large Town Policy has three parts of content, one of which advocates a truly area-based approach and the other two are in principle aimed at a particular target group: Spoor North area development, integrated approach to prostitution, comprehensive approach to youth crime. In practice, the comprehensive approach to prostitution focused on the Schippers’ quartier and was therefore also implemented in a place-based way. The drawing that took place relates only to the Spoor North area development part and was made on the basis of the statistical sectors. Track North refers to a 24 ha of railway land in the middle of this area, where SNCB has already reduced its activities in recent years. The renewed yard should become the driving force for new developments that benefit this urban area. The old railway yard will become an urban park landscape in the coming years, focusing on the sporting, recreational and meeting opportunities that the park can offer. The park will be 17 ha large. The remaining 7 ha are intended for commercial and residential functions.