Village hubs could set rural life in motion
Life without a car can be difficult in isolated areas, so some clever solutions are being put to the test in West Flanders
We get around
“It’s an old problem,” explains Lien De Vos, regional welfare co-ordinator for the Westhoek. “The Westhoek has the lowest population density in Flanders, and communities tend to be more spread out. That makes it difficult to organise efficient public transport, so the network is limited.”
Westhoek Onderweg, a platform seeking to improve mobility in the region, asked Antwerp-based design office Yellow Window to look for possible solutions. “We made the choice not to work with a fixed definition of limited mobility, but to research what it means to the people affected by it,” explains De Vos. “Yellow Window talked to people and tried out different journeys by public transport. From this, we drew some conclusions about why people have problems with mobility.”
One of the key things they found is that time is an important factor. Because of the limited network and poor connections, travelling by public transport just takes too long. De Vos: “For others, a car is unaffordable, and elderly people are often unable to drive. There is also a social dimension: some people are isolated and cannot count on help from others to get around.”
Lack of access to information is also a problem, she points out. “Bus and train timetables can be too complicated for some people, never mind the providers’ online services.”
Not another report
Yellow Window’s research points out several recommendations to policy-makers, the most striking of which is a central mobility point in the centre of smaller villages. Such a hub would combine public transport and carpooling with other services that would bring villages to life again.
“A mobility point would also include a small supermarket, for example, or a collection point for online deliveries,” De Vos says. Other key elements to combat poor mobility would be better connections between different methods of transport, better infrastructure for cyclists and more accessible information.
By bringing services back to the village, we hope to reduce the need for transport altogether
Westhoek Onderweg’s aim is not to produce yet another report, but to put the ideas to test. And so a pilot project is set to begin in Beveren, part of Alveringem in West Flanders.
“By bringing services back to the village, we hope to reduce the need for transport altogether. De Lovie, a health centre, will provide pre-ordered packets of fresh vegetables, and we are negotiating with Bpost to have parcels delivered and with Colruyt to create a pick-up point for online purchases. At the same time, this village centre will serve as an information hub for all available means of transport.”
Poor mobility is not a problem exclusive to the Westhoek, and other areas of Flanders away from urban centres are facing similar challenges. Could this approach serve as a model? De Vos thinks so, with communities from the north of France – a demographically similar region – also showing an interest.
“The ideas that we want to test can be useful for other regions as well,” she says. “But if our study of poor mobility has made one thing clear, it’s the need for co-operation. Several providers of transport and services, both public and private, are working on the issue of mobility, but separately. It’s a pity, because combining different services is an important part of any possible solution.”
Photo courtesy Yellow Window
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