Session 2: Fragmentation and peri-urbanization in the Belgian and Flemish context

Question 1

What has prompted suburbanization in Flanders since the 1950s?

Answer 1

Increased material wealth has manifest as suburbanization. New housing was built for modern comforts, increased car ownership, faster trains, and more leisure time, weak planning control outside the cities. Rowed housing was associated with working class, so detached homes were preferred by the middle/upper class

Question 2

Are the processes of suburbanization socially selective? If so, why?

Answer 2

Yes. Suburbanization generally leads to social segregation because suburbanizers are typically of higher socio-economic standing, and their desires for housing remain constant

Question 3

What are the underlying causes of sprawl, and what are the 2 political reasons (from De Decker)

Answer 3

The underlying cuases of suburbanization are; (1) anti-urban policies and attitudes, (2) path dependency.
The two specific political reasons are: (1) the ‘institutional’ commute, and (2) home ownership incentives to ensure social peace

Question 4

Explain ‘the institutional commute’

Answer 4

This phrase refers to the moving of residential locations of miners and manufacturers to villages, away from the heavy industry. In turn, subsidies for railway to transport workers were implemented. The modern version of this are motorways and company cars

Question 5

Explain home ownership incentives

Answer 5

collections of laws to increase home ownership. In Belgium, these began in 1886, as a response to social unrest. Some examples are: social loan scheme, tax deductions, social housing, and extensive voting rights. This helped individual mortgaged homes become dominant in Belgium. This trends exists today, as can be seen from the lack of rental housing subsidies.

Question 6

What are the 5 characteristics of Flemish sprawl (according to Poelmans & van Rompaey)?

Answer 6

1. high density of roads
2. large-scale peripheral retain development
3. ribbon development
4. most ‘American’ form of sprawl in Europe
5. more than 25% of the area of Flanders is built-up (depending on methods, this could be between 14% and 32.5%)

Question 7

What are the differences between recent urban development in Hageland and Brussels?

Answer 7

Hageland has built mostly on greenfield and former agricultural land, while Brussels has developed within the existing urban area

Question 8

What are the 3 hypotheses to explain ribbon development?

Answer 8

1. logical continuation/path dependence
2. traditional growth near urban agglomerations – density and recent growth of ribbons are highest in urban agglomerations, lowest in the countryside
3. designated ribbons in the regional zoning plans – zoning has become the paramount mechanism for ribbon development

Question 9

What are the 3 minimum criteria for ribbon developments?

Answer 9

1. minimum buffer size (25 m)
2. minimum ribbon length (200 m)
3. minimum ration of ribbon to road segment (80%)