A Good City Has Everything: Co-Design Workshops to Integrate a Functional Mix of Culture and Industry in Brussels

Urban planning in post-industrial cities is often limited by stakeholders’ understanding of the potential for intensifying mixed industrial and cultural uses, and the benefits to each of their co-location. In Brussels, differences in language and governance pose additional challenges to actors trying to bring together diverse stakeholders to cooperatively plan for urban regeneration. As part of a wider action research project on regeneration of the city, five co-design workshops were held across Brussels in 2017–2019 and interviews with participants were conducted. Later, in 2023, the researchers returned to the city to assess the practical outcomes of the project. This paper explores the role of the workshops in harnessing the untapped potential for integrating and expanding mixed industrial and cultural uses, and highlights the factors required to inspire and motivate diverse stakeholders to drive sustainable innovation and growth.