Story

TID in The European Quarter

18/03/2019 - Brussels-Capital Region
Assert the identity of retail districts
By Léopoldine Landié (hub.brussels)
The principle of territorial competitiveness While current European policies advocate an intelligent specialisation of territories aimed at giving each region a competitive advantage based on its specific features, opportunities and future prospects. At a time when the principle of territorial competitiveness is at the heart of today's debates: when the distribution of roles, competences, actions and decisions between the various actors in a place allows for better shared governance. How can these principles be applied in practice and how can innovative and sustainable projects be developed at the local level in a shopping district?  

Based on a global retail development methodology The "Think Innovate Develop" programme proposes a sensitive and participatory three-stage approach, including all the actors in a district (based on the quadruple helix principle: citizens, local authorities, academia and business) and using immersive and applied research tools and methods throughout the research-action process:

  • THINK: reveal the identity of a shopping district and position its offer according to its core target
  • INNOVATE: immerse innovative ideas for the territory, test and prototype them
  • DEVELOP: organize the development of projects between all the actors by coordinating actions and installing a system of taskforces on a larger scale.

On the strength of these challenges and seizing an opportunity in the European Quarter, it was decided to operationalize the method in 2018. A multidisciplinary team is therefore formed and begins the work:

  • Setting up a research group composed of different actors from the European Quarter who will participate from the beginning to the end of the programme in the collection of data and the enrichment of the results: presence at 4 workshops "identity, strategic marketing, ideation and prototyping", critical review, and validation of the content.
  • Semi-directed interviews, broad-spectrum questionnaires with citizens, retailers and experts
  •  Bibliographical research
  • Guided tour and subjective map
 

Towards concrete results and an instructive human experience

  • 1500 users interviewed,
  • 1 inspiring video from local consumers
  • Several "sensitive" and/or "objective" maps of the commercial territory
  • An identity and strategic study written and illustrated
  • 100 ideas for the neighbourhood
  • 4 projects prototyped and in the process of being partnered for their concrete development
  • The certainty of having enabled constructive citizen, professional and strategic involvement.
  • The satisfaction perceptible in the eyes of each user, feeling active and creative for his territory
  • The feeling of having allowed the emergence of desirable, feasible and viable projects for the European Quarter.

I look forward to seeing the solutions implemented. Many of us have been co-creating them! It's good to see that different actors in the neighbourhood understand the challenge of uniting.

Elsa Neighbourhood resident