Sledderlo

The social housing company Nieuw Dak purchased inexpensive land from the municipality in Sledderlo and built a cité there in the mid-1970s. From the beginning, this was a problem area. It is far from the center, with little public transportation. In the early days, there were also no shops, no community center, no social life, no services... Moreover, the buildings were of very poor quality and hardly insulated.

During that period, a new coal-fired power plant was started up in Langerlo. It was advantageous for the plant that a cité was built that was heated with electricity (storage heaters powered by night electricity), allowing them to sell their surplus production. The electricity bills were sky-high and a persistent problem for the many disadvantaged residents living there.

All these elements quickly gave Sledderlo a bad reputation. Due to the presence of the motorcycle gang De Tarantula’s and a general feeling of insecurity, the cité soon earned the nickname Little Chicago. Also, because of the poor housing and unfortunate location, many prospective residents did not want to settle in Sledderlo, further exacerbating ghetto formation.

Soon, initiatives for neighborhood and youth activities began to emerge. The youth program has since formed a well-known group of street theater fire artists: Yawar. This group has an international presence and the youth take great pride in it.

A number of services, such as the OCMW, Child and Family, and Gigos set up local branches in Sledderlo, making it more livable and shedding its poor reputation. All the original houses have been fully renovated and are now heated with natural gas. The apartments are being demolished and rebuilt. The neighborhood is being expanded with a new cité, where there will be a mix of rental and owner-occupied homes.

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