The article investigates alternative resource-governance systems in the Brussels-Capital Region and asks how their spatial organisation can inform resource-efficient and socially inclusive urban design. These systems include community-led arrangements that manage materials, food, energy or shared facilities outside conventional centralised infrastructures.

The research combines GIS analysis, three-dimensional spatial modelling, fieldwork and semi-structured interviews. It finds that the studied systems can substantially increase publicly accessible space per inhabitant, but that only about one third are located in areas combining high vulnerability with high resource consumption. The spatial comparison highlights the need to balance productive and resource-management functions with accessible shared space, suitable scale and inclusive design.

The study translates empirical metabolic practices into actionable design principles. It argues that bottom-up systems can complement top-down planning, while also showing that their location and spatial quality determine whether they address existing inequalities or primarily benefit already well-served areas.