METREX Spring Conference 2024

15-16 May 2024 , Brussels

Forging a Metropolitan Europe

The Metropolitan Century; are we fit for the future ?

Europe’s unseen prosperity that it reached in the last decades, goes parallel with a growing sense of uncertainty on all levels: climate change as we pay the price for pollution and exhausting resources, disparities as wealth is not evenly distributed, wars between rivalling powers, and so on and forth.

As expressed in our Manifesto for Metropolitan Partnerships, we believe that metropolitan regions and areas are best in place to address the many challenges we face: understanding the bigger picture and translating that to a metropolitan scale to find solutions with local partners.

Following the Manifesto’s launch we continue working to better prepare ourselves: by developing approaches on the urgent planning issues, our basic profession; by organising ourselves to be more agile, efficient and accessible for all, the way we are organised; and by inviting people to imagine together a metropolitan future for Europe.

At our Brussels conference we will open these three flows of thinking to our Members and beyond to then develop them over summer and report back at our Autumn Conference in Bucharest, October 2024. We will approach Members for their participation in these flows, which will appear online and/or live. We need Members’ input to make it work.

The METREX Spring 2024 Conference will take place in Brussels to coincide with activities for the Belgian Presidency of the Council of Europe.

Join us in Brussels this spring to forge a Metropolitan Europe!

Observer and Rapporteur from this Spring METREX Conference will be Iván Tosics, PhD, Managing Director Metropolitan Research Institute Budapest, Hungary.

Main photo: revitalised Boulevard Anspach in Brussels (copyright RdA Suisse)

Wednesday 15 - EG meetings & Tour

Optional Program

TBC

Expert Group Meetings (time to be confirmed by each group)

13:30-15:30

Tour & Taxis – Brussels Productive City Tour
with Adrian Hill, METREX Productive City EG coordinator

Walking visit to Tour & Taxis district in Brussels. This is a remarkable destination that embodies the perfect blend of history, culture, and innovation.  It will offer a nice cross section of services, production, logistics and leisure. 

13:30

Tour starts. Meeting point at Pannenhuis metro station (line 6) then 3 Km walk through the district.

15:30

Tour ends at Ribaucourt metro station
Take line 2 (Simonis) to the stop Porte de Namur (2 min walk to Perspective Brussels)

Wednesday 15 - Opening Day

Venue: Perspective.Brussles, rue de Namur 59, Bruxelles

16:00

Registration opens

17:00

Welcome
Jakub Mazur, President of METREX, Deputy Mayor of Wrocław
Antoine de Borman, Director perspective.brussels

Keynote speech
Aileen Bouclé, AICP, Executive Director Miami–Dade Transportation Planning Organization / NARC

17:30

Updates from METREX activities
Ioana Ivanov, BS Fellowship
Frenk Bekkers, METREX Mapping

18:00-19:15

Informal drinks

Walking transfer to dinner location

20:00

Conference Dinner at La Tricoterie
Venue: La Tricoterie, Theodore Verhaegenstraat 158, Saint-Gilles-Bruxelles

Thursday 16 - Conference Day

Venue: La Tricoterie, Rue Théodore Verhaegen 158, 1060 Bruxelles

08:30-09:00

Registrations

09:00-09:15

Welcome
Jakub Mazur, President of METREX, Deputy Mayor of Wrocław

09:15-09:30

Setting the scene: strategy towards a Metropolitan Europe
Henk Bouwman, Secretary General METREX

3 Interactive Roundtables with a core of experts from METREX and beyond, encircled by METREX members and guests.