Actions Published on 07/10/2026

Communa invited to Lille to discuss temporary urbanism

On 29 October 2026, Communa will take part in an Archi-apéro organised by the WAAO – Centre d’architecture et d’urbanisme de Lille, focusing on temporary urbanism and urban vacancy.

Adrien Basiliades will share Communa’s experience in Brussels, where the organisation temporarily reoccupies vacant buildings to develop housing solutions and accommodate social, cultural and productive uses.

This Brussels experience will be discussed alongside several approaches developed in the French context. Adrien Basiliades will be joined by Vassili Duverly from the Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL), Blandine Lebourg from SEM Ville Renouvelée, and Mathias Rouet from Plateau Urbain.

Communa: reoccupying vacant urban spaces

In Brussels, where many buildings remain vacant despite significant demand for housing and accessible spaces, Communa approaches temporary occupation as a tool for intervening in the existing city.

Through agreements with property owners, the organisation temporarily takes over the management of unused buildings. It primarily develops collective housing and housing-based social integration solutions, while also opening these spaces to living, working, creative and recreational activities, as well as projects serving the wider community.

Bringing these different uses together under one roof makes it possible to experiment with other ways of sharing space and pooling resources. This approach considers periods of vacancy not simply as a time of waiting before a permanent project takes shape, but as an opportunity to activate a place and respond to immediate urban needs.

Communa nevertheless emphasises the temporary nature of these initiatives: temporary occupation can provide short-term responses, but it is no substitute for the structural changes needed to address housing issues and urban inequalities.