In 2021-2022, under the mandate of Sport Vlaanderen, a consortium of Vital Cities, IDEA Consult, Citylegends, and Urban Sports Performance Center (USPC) teamed up to expand and promote urban sports in the Flemish region. The Urban Sports Kickstart Guide has its origins in the ‘Room for Urban Sports’ programme that we had rolled out previously for (urban) sports federations.
A focus on urban sports does not necessarily mean that major measures are required right away. Many of these sports can be facilitated by simply inviting youngsters back into public space for their sporting, creative, and musical activities.
Local administrations that want to go one step further provide specific urban sports infrastructure and facilities. In order to properly develop and integrate this infrastructure, it is important to implement some key prerequisites and specific needs into a user-focused design.
The Urban Sports Kickstart Guide is a knowledge and working tool that seeks to identify opportunities for urban sports in a given spot (or a wider area). This tool enables federations, policymakers, and organisations to identify suitable urban sports locations in a pragmatic, evidence-based manner, and to detect opportunities, enter into consultation with stakeholders, and integrate the viewpoints of urban athletes.
The methodology starts with an analysis of the physical resources present in the space, then considers the environmental requirements of various urban sports, and ultimately leads to recommendations for an implementation of urban sports that would best fit the specific features of the location.
These insights help to further develop the available space and thus create even more opportunities for urban sports.
