REVURB

The Reverse Urbanism project (REVURB) is a research project that aims to reverse the prevailing trend in spatial planning, namely growth and increasing land hardening, towards net-zero status and land restoration. To achieve this, the tools of Downzoning, Densification and Desealing (3D) are crucial. However, since urban planning has traditionally focused on spatial growth since its inception, these techniques for achieving net-zero status and spatial shrinkage of the built environment and soil cover are completely overlooked and insufficiently researched. To have an impact, a new paradigm of “reverse urban planning” is needed, with an emphasis on preventing, reducing and compensating for land use and soil cover, as envisaged in Article 5 of the European Soil Monitoring Law (SML). The ultimate goal of the SML is to achieve a situation of spatial neutrality (No Net Land Take) for Europe by 2050 (EC, 2011; 2023). Although the Land Take Hierarchy is a cornerstone of the new EU soil legislation, it remains largely abstract. This hierarchy can be concretised and operationalised by developing a 3D approach. More specifically, avoiding, minimising and compensating for additional land take is also important for Flanders if it wants to achieve the construction shift. The issue of rezoning (downzoning) has been thoroughly investigated by DRUM in recent years but needs to be updated now that the Flemish government is effectively applying the results of this research (Concept Note BRV, 14.07.2025). The steps of densification and compensation/desealing can be further investigated and developed by DRUM.