With street names such as Gijzelaarsweg (Hostage Way), Politiek Gevangenenlaan (Political Prisoners’ Avenue) and Helden Plein (Heroes’ Square), the Ghent suburb of Malem is a place of highs and lows. Especially a place of lows. Malem is one of the lowest-lying areas of the province: a marshy area west of Ghent, picturesque, but inexorably embraced by the Leie (or Lys) river.



It’s an embrace that increasingly resembles a stranglehold and, despite the strong foundations of the social housing built in 1952, the water climbs up into the houses. The basements are damp, walls cracked and mould patches dot the wallpaper. Renovation in 2008 has been of little help.

“I came to live here eight years ago,” said resident Josée Vlaeminck. “I reported the moisture problem in the basement then. The housing authority has not yet been to inspect.” His neighbour Sonja Devalez also shows us a number of rotten spots on the inside and outside walls.



At first sight, Malem seems to be a quiet garden district where the exterior of each house gets its annual coat of white paint. But those who look closer see the empty buildings on the less-than-heroic Heroes’ Square. Where once there was a bakery and a convenience store, there is now just a solitary pharmacy. A number of ground-floor apartments and shopping areas have become uninhabitable due to the moisture. The place shows how damp interior walls can leave a mark on local life.



“Just after we moved here, moisture levels stood at 77%,” said Elly Van Eeghem. “Many people thought it was a joke, but it was not.” With six other local residents, Eghem moved temporarily into a vacant building in Heroes’ Square. Together, they formed LOW, a mini neighbourhood watch.

“We think about the worst-case scenarios with an architect colleague,” she said. “For instance: what if Malem sinks further into the swamp due to a rise in the sea level? How can we save Malem? And what does the ideal district look like if we have to start rebuilding from scratch?”

Tom Balthazar, the Ghent housing officer, feared that LOW could worry residents due to the utopian content of the models and ideas. “But just by involving a piece of fictional future, we managed to draw attention to the reality of today,” said Elly Van Eeghem. “Someone from the housing authority was shocked by the moisture problems and promised to follow it up better than before. So you see that sometimes you need to exaggerate the reality in order to make things better.”

The bankruptcy of the deus ex machina



“Solutions do not just fall from the sky. Here the problem comes from the sky,” said Sonja Devalez. Sisters Lana and Roja Kader, who live a bit further along Heroes’ Square, said: “If there is a problem in your home, it makes little sense to call the housing authority.” It shows the fatalism that shines through in conversations with the people of Malem: “Nobody listens to us.”

The housing authority WoninGent could provide little information about the moisture problems in the neighbourhood. “But do not forget that you also need to distinguish between moisture problems associated with groundwater and moisture problems resulting from the insufficient airing or heating of the house,” said Tom Balthazar, housing officer. Mould is simply a story of white, black and anything in between.

Translation by David Cribb/Vinclu for VoxEurop.

