CO-LAND INTENSIVE STUDENT PROGRAMME DE PANNE, BELGIUM 2020

The third online course of the CO-LAND project was held in spring 2020 and should have been followed by a 10-days intensive study programme in De Panne, Belgium. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme was postponed and developed into a blended format. It took place between the 20th and the 29th of September 2020.

A team of Belgian students acted as ambassadors for 6 groups of international students who worked online on a set of design and planning tasks for the municipality of De Panne. The ambassadors acted as an interface between the local community and landscape and the international teams, also providing on-site information: additional landscape surveys, translating local information and asking questions to local stakeholders.

The students studied the challenges of the coastal landscape and developed solutions related to a better management of the dunes and the open spaces in the municipality. The following design tasks were proposed:

1. Integrated Spatial Strategy for Green Infrastructure of De Panne including Westhoek / Bray Dunes.
2. Nieuwport Axis and Zeepark - Oosthoek, green infrastructure and connection dunes.
3. Public spaces and beach in De Panne: safe and attractive places; redevelopment of parkings and extending a network of pedestrian and cycling routes.
4. The polderlinks: canal as infrastructure for bicycles, pedestrians, river tourism.
5. Mobility: car, train & sustainable transport for tourism and inhabitants to the beach and recreational nodes.

This was the third and last intensive study programme and transnational learning event organised by our 6-university consortium in cooperation with ISOCARP, the LE:NOTRE Institute, the Municipality of De Panne and Het Vlaams Gewest (Flemish Ministry).