Project Arrivée: Counter-mapping Super-diversity in Brussels and Ghent with Architecture Students

Abstract

This paper introduces a counter-mapping attempt augmented by a Geoweb 2.0 platform in the context of two Belgian inner-city neighborhoods. The two aims of this project were to build a platform for the collective construction of a better understanding this dynamic super-diverse arrival environment and bring the various qualities and aspects of these super-diverse urban neighborhoods to foreground. In this study we report on the first results of this project which took place in Ghent and Brussels in 2014. Around 300 architecture students registered interpreted and geocoded visible signs along preconceived tracks by means ofa Geoweb 2.0 platform. Through field observations and interviews the students created dynamic and interactive maps. We found that the large-scale mapping through Geoweb 2.0 makes it possible to discern different layers of use in arrival neighborhoods. These layers referred to different population groups which continuously have to negotiate each other's presence. Furthermore, the platform created the possibility to effectively and efficiently combine student fieldwork with online and offline lectures and offered students the opportunity to comment on peer-review and learn from each other's insights. The findings will serve as an alternative information resource in the forthcoming Master's thesis graduation design studio which will be led by the first author.