The project responds to the human need to escape and connect the hectic urban rhythms of Schaerbeek’ residents with those of nature and pastoral life. It seeks these spaces of escape within the fabric of the ever-evolving city. Walking is the means of exploration, linking the different patches of our cities and helping us to both escape and discover more.
The overwhelming and relentless pace of urban life causes stress and harms mental health, taking away any sense of comfort in daily life. Our cities have large gaps and leftover areas that create divisions between different patches, depriving residents of their use and enjoy-ment. The "Josaphat Commons" and the theater "Les Nouveaux Disparus" act as catalysts, entities that, despite the wall and territorial divisions, see the potential of these spaces and open the way for exploration of the wasteland, making it accessible to the surrounding com-munity.
These two catalysts are given a place in the project, along with an organization that facilitates walking therapy within the urban green space of the Friche. This collaboration helps bridge the gap between the city and leftover green areas, encouraging people to enter and explore previously inaccessible territory and escape the chaos of the city. Bridge and Square.