We Love Brussels
  • Urban Life
    • Urban Jungle
    • Photo Stories
    • But Why?
    • Smart City
    • City Branding
    • Seniors
    • Real Estate
  • Culture & Creativity
    • New Economy
    • Local Makers & Shakers
    • Illustrations
    • Fashion City
  • Discover & Meet
    • Travel & Tourism news
    • Foodie guide
  • Event Diary
  • Europolitan Trends
Brussels Inspiration Bureau
Social Links
Instagram 56K Followers
Facebook 57K Followers
Twitter 10K Followers
  • Our Story
  • Partnerships & Collaborations
  • Contact
56K
57K
10K
We Love Brussels
We Love Brussels
  • Urban Life
    • Urban Jungle
    • Photo Stories
    • But Why?
    • Smart City
    • City Branding
    • Seniors
    • Real Estate
  • Culture & Creativity
    • New Economy
    • Local Makers & Shakers
    • Illustrations
    • Fashion City
  • Discover & Meet
    • Travel & Tourism news
    • Foodie guide
  • Event Diary
  • Europolitan Trends
  • Community news
  • Building the platform
  • Community of city admirers
  • Partnerships & Collaborations
  • Get in Touch
Become our contributor. Join the team!

Sign up for our newsletter

Get our periodical updates. Zero spam.

  • local makers & shakers
  • Urban Life

My Brussels: Our interview with Pascal Smet

  • Boro Milovic
  • April 17, 2019
  • 4 minute read

Over the past years, Brussels Lover and Minister for Mobility and Public Works Pascal Smet has been changing the city in many ways, with the ‘cities for people’ philosophy in mind; more public space, more space for cycling and public transport, more space for people. Pascal Smet, who is also heading the movement ‘one.brussels’, responded enthusiastically to our invitation to follow him for a day, along his favourite places in Brussels…

Porte de Ninove

Minister Smet, tell us why you have chosen this place to be featured?

Call me Pascal, please! (laughs) Well, the Porte de Ninove had been a no-man’s land for so many years. It was polluted, dangerous, and not a nice place to hang out. Moreover, this area of the city centre is very grey. We have listened very carefully to the numerous citizen action groups who were demanding a park for more than 15 years. I am happy to say that in a few weeks from now kids will be playing, parents will be chilling, dogs will be sniffling and joggers will be able to run around in the brand new park of Porte de Ninove.

It took 15 years to build a park?

Don’t get me started! The Porte de Ninove area is actually a place where many different municipalities cross paths; Molenbeek, Anderlecht and the City of Brussels. Getting things done is rather difficult in Brussels, because of the labyrinth of institutions and responsibilities. With one.brussels we want to get rid of this institutional hamburger, focusing on efficiency, centralisation of competences and ambition!

Favourite spots in the area:

  • MIMA, the Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art
  • Cycling along the canal
  • Belmundo restaurant, a social enterprise with proper vegetable garden

Pascal Smet’s ‘quartier’

How long have you been in living in Brussels?

I was born in Haasdonk, Flanders, but moved to Brussels around 30 years ago. You become a Brusseler the moment you move to Brussels, that’s what makes our city so inclusive! I love living in this area because you have everything so close by; bakers, butchers, my local ‘estaminet’, restaurants, culture, … It’s also super close to the metro and the Midi station, which makes it enormously convenient to move around the city and elsewhere. Thanks to all the local businesses and special atmosphere it often feels like I am living in a small village, including all the advantages of a big city!

Favourite spots in the area:

  • Barbeton, coffee in the morning and gin-tonics in the evening
  • Gaston, speculoos ice cream during summer and Brussels waffles in Winter
  • Charli, the best fresh bread and vanilla éclairs in town

Place Miroir

Pascal, we are in Jette, often called ‘the next Saint-Gilles’?

I tend to agree! Jette is a particular place. Many people think it’s far from the centre but that’s a myth. A 10-minute bike ride brings you straight to the canal and thanks to the construction of Tram 9 Jette is better connected than ever. By the way, we have started the works to extend this line towards Heysel. It will be the cherry on the cake!

Great news! Why did you choose the Place Miroir?

I think it’s the perfect example of how 1 + 1 can be 3. Three years ago this place, actually it didn’t deserve to be called ‘place’ was a parking lot. It became a ‘place’ once a week to hold a local market. Together with the constructive vision of the municipality of Jette we were able to move forward very quickly with this project. Cars can now park in the parking lot under the square. The square itself became a place to meet, to watch our Belgian Red Devils play during the World Cup, to skate, to cycle and to enjoy beautiful terraces. In Summer fountains will make it even more fun to hang out here. Watch out, Saint-Gilles!

Favourite spots in the area:

  • The ‘Fritkot’ on Place Miroir
  • The petting zoo next to Laerbeekbos, to hang out with my little cousins
  • The Parc Baudouin, great for kids

Parc Duden

Our last stop is Parc Duden in Forest…

This place is magical. It’s a real haven of quietness. City dwellers often forget to actively look for peaceful places, they even forget that they are right here in the city. The Parc Duden is a beautiful, romantic park, which accommodates the film school NARAFI on top of the park and a bit lower the Stade Joseph Marien of famous football club Union Saint-Gilloise. The Parc Duden is by the way almost directly connected with the fantastic Parc de Forest, where you can hang out, eat, drink and sport on the big lawns. I come here after long meeting days to relax, to breathe, to structure my thoughts and revitalise. Inner peace is so important to be able to take difficult decisions for this city, and in my personal life. 

Which big decisions need to be made for this city?

Where to start? (laughs) I think we will need to move at even faster pace towards a city on human scale. We need to continue to invest in infrastructure that puts cyclist and pedestrians at the centre of attention, allowing to encourage dialogue and exchange between Brusselers. Moreover, we need to make sure that Brussels remains a social city, where nobody feels left out, a one.brussels so to say. With equal opportunities, a vision on the future and services for people residing in Uccle as well as in Molenbeek. A city that takes care of its people with people that take care of their city, it’s that simple!

Favourite spots in the area:

  • The film school NARAFI, situated in an ancient castle in the middle of the park
  • The view of Altitude 100 on the city
  • The typical atmosphere around the Union football stadium 
Total
2
Shares
Like 2
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Like 0
Share 0
Boro Milovic

Boro is the founder and editor-in-chief of WeLoveBrussels. His interests revolve around EU affairs, cultural diplomacy & place branding, digital strategy and entrepreneurship. He is a passionate supporter of cities, regions & united Europe.

You May Also Like
View Post
  • local makers & shakers
  • New Economy

VUB Social Entrepreneurship Challenge 2023

  • Editorial Team
  • January 25, 2023
View Post
  • Urban Life

Get the best of Brussels: 12 New Year’s Resolution Ideas for 2023!

  • Karolina
  • January 2, 2023
View Post
  • Urban Life

Welcoming 2023: Photo story from New Year’s Eve in Brussels!

  • Editorial Team
  • January 1, 2023

Views & opinions expressed across this website are solely that of the authors and contributors themselves and may not reflect the position of WeLoveBrussels. The editorial or publisher of WeLoveBrussels cannot be held responsible for expressed opinions or unintended errors and oversights if any.

Get our periodical updates. Zero spam.

Instagram 56K Followers
Facebook 57K Followers
Twitter 10K Followers
WeLoveBrussels
  • Our story & more
  • Get in Touch
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal notice
Brussels Inspiration Bureau. Your guide to city life, culture, business, travel, Brussels events agenda & cultural diplomacy.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT