Facets of housing and housing policies in Belgium; introduction to the Special Issue on Belgium

It seems that many Belgian cities are doing well. Their population is increasing, numerous urban projects are under way, and masses of construction sites testify to effective realisations. And the inner cities are swamped with tourists and visitors attracted by the historical monuments and leisure activities. Is the 21st century indeed becoming the era of the city, as a White Book on urban policies predicts? Or is some modification of that prediction necessary? It would seem so, since the population growth is due to people coming from abroad (family reunification or formation; asylum-seekers), while at the same time the natives - as they have done since the 1960s - keep on leaving the city. So sub- and de-urbanisation has not stopped. There are even indications that it is accelerating again. In this contribution we consider why sub- and de-urbanisation, why sprawl is so obstinate, so persistent. We look at the structures behind the Belgian sprawl, seeing them as the consequence of a longstanding dialectical process of political choices and actions, cultural convictions and economic possibilities that reinforced each other in daily practice over and over again in the dominant direction.

Publication year:2008