Social Factors

Our idea is to map at least some of the factors that are blocking city integration process. We started from the two different approaches: physical development and the social structure, both of the two parts of the city.

In a social structure aspect we wanted to map different nations living close to the Canal and transitions between those groups: why they leave their neighborhoods and what are their destinations:

• division of neighborhood by the condition and status level

Data taken from http://www.brucity.be/

• The map below shows all of the elements overlapping each other. The map only underlines what can be a conclusion after the lecture of the chapter :“historical roots of the problem” and after looking closely to each map. Both factors, physical and social, strongly influence each other. Part of the city, which is close to industrial part near to the canal is inhabited by poor people, where most of them are migrants form Mediterranean countries. This neighborhood is not attractive from the architectural point of view, because of the condition of the buildings, and the noise caused by nearby factories. That issue became a reason why richer people did not want to live there, although it is centre of the city. Migrants settled there, because there was no social housing prepared for them by government, and they created a ghetto dangerous for Brussels’s citizens – giving another reason for polarization.

  
  

• First Belgian authorities should think about the immigrants that came to this country for “special government invitation” – housing policy might be a good beginning.

• Second thing it might be city centre urban re-planning, where thinking about the low of zones character would regroup strong social division (that move might conclude finding new places for industrial buildings, and improving green methods).

• The last thing are minor architectural and urban changes that would help give the new value of the canal neighborhood.