Roombeek

Roombeek is a working-class suburb of the Dutch city of Enschede. It made international headlines due to the Enschede fireworks warehouse disaster (Dutch, "Vuurwerkramp") on May 13, 2000. The warehouse explosion in Roombeek caused 23 deaths, and wounded 947 people. Around 400 homes were destroyed, and 1500 were seriously damaged by the fireworks explosion.Prior, there were already plans for a major renovation of the district. Many old factory complexes are now renovated and suitable for living, work, and cultural activities. A location along the Roombeek waterway was dedicated as a memorial to the four firefighters who died in the Enschede fireworks disaster.ReconstructionAfter the fireworks disaster, confidence in the town needed to be restored. Thus, a supervised reconstruction of the area was carried out, called Project Reconstruction Roombeek'. Urban supervisor Pi de Bruijn was chosen to lead the project - due to his background in Twente, and extensive experience with other major urban projects. De Bruijn decided that the district largely be planned according to the ideas of Roombeeks' citizenry.ParticipationThe project was started with the involvement of many inhabitants of Roombeek. Reconstruction project staff talked with area families (at times accompanied by an interpreter), so that residents could speak their demands, and their wishes could be put on paper.This resulted in the following objectives: A district to return to A lively neighborhood A familiar area a safe neighborhood A district with history A district with a future value an area without borders the district into their own hands