Years of underinvestment and neglect have left parts of the district around Brussels-Midi station struggling with poor cleanliness, underused public spaces and visible homelessness.
Regional leaders argue that the area fails to reflect its strategic importance as Belgium’s busiest international rail hub and one of the capital’s primary gateway hub to Europe. Every week over 50,000 people commute through the station.
The authorities are betting that they can transformed the station into a neighbourhood where people choose to spend time rather than simply escape.
Yesterday, the Brussels Government approved its new “Stations Plan”, an ambitious plan aimed at improving safety, cleanliness and quality of life around both the South Station and North Station.
One of the main element of the plan concerns the vast, underused spaces beneath the railway tracks stretching from Midi toward the city centre.
Known as the quadrilatères, these empty areas are creating long stretches of inactive urban space that many pedestrians avoid, particularly after dark.
Brussels Secretary of State for Urban Renewal Ans Persoons wants to change that : “The spaces beneath the tracks at the South Station have been standing empty for decades. Today, they form a long, blank wall that no one likes walking past, especially when it is dark. The fact that these quadrilatores stand empty in a city where so many people are looking for space is a huge missed opportunity,” he said.
“By finally giving these places a purpose—with local shops, sports facilities, cafes, public toilets and showers, a bicycle parking area, etc.—we are bringing a new, lively dynamic to the area around the South Station. It will become a station neighbourhood where you want to linger with colleagues or friends, not just pass by and leave,” he added.
The proposal envisions a mix of neighbourhood shops and the rest, alongside social support services. In the short term, temporary events and activities are expected to bring life back into the spaces while longer-term redevelopment plans are prepared.
If successful, the redevelopment could create a continuous urban corridor linking the station more organically to surrounding neighbourhoods.
By the autumn, authorities plan to deploy 60 additional surveillance cameras across the North and South stations and increased security personnel on the grounds.
The region also intends to launch a deep-cleaning and disinfection operation carried out by a private contractor before routine maintenance is intensified.
Officials say the objective is eventually to move toward multiple cleaning rounds per day.
Anyone who regularly passes through Midi encounters people sleeping rough, struggling with addiction or relying on emergency assistance services.
Regional authorities now say Brussels’help, the Samusocial and the Red Cross will work together on a broader support strategy for vulnerable people in and around the station area.
Economy Minister Laurent Hublet has been tasked with developing a longer-term economic strategy for the Midi district, including creating jobs.
