Service hubs were created in rural Flanders to address challenges like limited public transport, withdrawn services, and high suicide rates. The hubs aim to provide meaningful daily activities and reduce trips to city centers. Each hub has three components: a local store selling regional products and performing tasks for inhabitants, a community center, and a mobility hub with services like cargo bikes, car sharing, and meeting points for shared trips. An example is the Beveren a/d Ijzer hub, which partners with local bakeries and farmers to stock the store and loans cargo bikes to deliver goods. The hubs seek to bring services back locally through a cooperative model.

1. Service hubs in rural Flanders
Dieter Hoet
Staff member VVSG
Coordinator Westhoekoverleg

2. Service Hubs in the Westhoek:
the most rural part of Flanders

3. Challenges - Trigger
• Rural
• Cutting costs in Public transport
• Withdrawing commercial and
governmental services
• High suicide rate
• Brain drain
• …

4. Trigger: service design ‘rural mobility’

5. Service Hubs
The concept

12. Service Hub
Beveren a/d Ijzer

13. Village Hub @ Beveren a/d Ijzer (Alveringem)

14. 2 objectives – 3 components
Objectives
• A meaningful daytime
activities for persons with
a disability
• To reduce the necessity of
functional trips to the city
centre and bring services
back to the people
Central components
• Local store / shop
• Mobility hub
• Community Center

15. Local store
• Cooperating with:
• Local bakery store
• Local farmers
• Meat
• Fruit and vegetables
• Regional products
• Performing small tasks for
local inhabitants

16. Community center

18. Mobility hub
• Cargo bike
• Inhabitants can borrow
the caro bike
• Delivering groceries
• Bike repair
• Car sharing
• Meeting point for
functional trips

19. Transmobil – Interreg V France-Wallonnie-Flandres

20. Dieter Hoet
Coordinator Westhoekoverleg