Gathering rhythm zones

Near the Kraaiennest metro station, there are many activities for the residents of the K-buurt. There is a children’s park, basketball and volleyball courts, tennis courts, and a gymnastics ring. Around the area there are also many benches. It is very interesting to observe how the users of this space changes throughout the day. Early in the morning, before 11am, there is a lot happening at the sports facilities, which are mainly used by men. Everyone at the space is exercising taking turns while in the meantime talking to each other. Almost all facilities are occupied around this time. After 11, also mothers with their children (around 3 years old) are added to the scene and they take their place at the children’s park. The mothers sit at one of the benches nearby and their children play.

After lunchtime, the children’s park gets more crowded. Also people without children come by and sit at the benches. In the afternoon, teenagers come by and go to one of the corners to talk to each other. There are also people parking their cars where the market is built and spend time there. Later towards the evening, more and more young people come to the area and start working out or playing at the sports areas. At the playground, instead of mothers with children, there are now men with children. 

Around Kikkenstein, there are no planned public spaces as in Kleiburg. Yet, the residents and visitors find a way to establish their own social activities. These take place at the parking lot near the shopping street and at the shopping street itself. Throughout the day there are many people that arrive to the shopping street by foot or with their cars, and this gets more intense after the lunchtime. In the afternoon the movement starts to change shape; people tend more to stay and talk to each other in front of the shops and around the parking space. The parking space becomes a public space, where people gather in their cars and spend time there. During the evening this activity goes on.