Commissioned by AGSO (the autonomous municipal company for city renewal of Ostend), Labo S conducted a literature study in order to support a Plan of Action for the Built Heritage in the city of Ostend.

The central question in the research is how the heritage conservation on one hand and city renewal on the other, can be reconciled in a local policy. This issue consists of two sub questions. Firstly a rather general question: how can two policy domains as heritage conservation and city renewal, each with its own practice, instruments and finality, be joined? And secondly a more fundamental question: which criteria define the (heritage) value of a building, site or urban figure and how can these values determine a level of conservation as well as ensure space for development?

Urbanism and Heritage in Ostend