Prime Minister office, Flemish Community, French Community, Walloon Region, Region of Brussels Capital, Politics of Large Cities, Planning Bureau
Cities, whose diversity may express very different philosophies and traditions, are an expression of humanity's economic and social evolution. Cities are the nodes in a specific type of geographical organisation and serve as points of convergence for all networks, whether physical or virtual. Since the end of the Middle Ages, they have been and remain centres for economic development, cultural transformation and political emancipation. This being said, in the current context of globalisation, while our relationship to space and time is changing, it is difficult to draft urban policies that successfully integrate economic expansion, social well being and environmental balance.
Enterprises are therefore gradually rejecting a geographical approach and, faced with harsh international competition and important social and environmental issues, traditional democratic authorities are struggling to reconcile the demands of the population in terms of liveability of an area and quality of life with the promotion of the area's economic potential.
Occupation of residential areas in cities is also subject to increasing competition. Groups with more money or cultural resources set their sights on certain neighbourhoods of high quality or character, leading to a new distribution of populations within the urbanised area. Competition also exists between city centres and peripheral municipalities, given the inequalities in terms of tax resources and the increase in inequalities between areas vis-à-vis the high cost of infrastructures and the nuisances to be borne.
Cities serve as reference points, even for non-urban dwellers. They are nonetheless often associated with certain often negative issues: crime, pollution, disease, congestion, urban blight, etc. The implementation of sustainable urban development encounters several obstacles. First, great uncertainty remains about the future role of cities. Furthermore, it is difficult to give concrete form to all the initiatives taken by the growing number of actors involved. Political decision-makers and other leaders, for lack of integrated tools for management and evaluation, therefore propose measures that can accentuate socio-economic polarisation, socio-spatial exclusion and damage to the environment.
Scientific research can contribute to the development of new modelling tools and methods of evaluation, which are necessary for better forecasting of the possible development of a complex "urban system", but also to make the decision-making process more transparent. This will necessarily require interaction among the various actors concerned within the framework of an integrated approach.
The greatest needs are for existing data and indicators and the definition of new indicators corresponding to specific objectives. Dynamic tools that, in addition to providing "snapshots", would be useful in studying trends, should be defined. It would also be useful to develop a model of management/evaluation for the analysis of phenomena such as those described below.
Research could optimise the results obtained within the framework of the Plan for Scientific Support for a Policy of Sustainable Development (known as PADD in French) I and the OSTC's socio-economic programmes. A particular effort will be made in the management of the programme to promote cooperation between complementary research projects supported by various OSTC initiatives (clustering). Thus, the scientific consultation structures established within the framework of the PADD programme of support actions on the theme of viable cities and indicators for sustainable development will be associated with follow-up to research.
INTRODUCTION TO TRANSVERSAL ACTIONS
The phenomenon of the globalisation of our economies, new communication technologies, the emergence of regional and international organisations, economic and social disparities within states and regions and the emergence of powerful private sector actors are all elements with a considerable impact on economic growth, the functioning of our society and the art of governing as practised by the various public authorities in our country.
The great increase in the complexity of political issues linked to the approaches that underlie them at national and supranational level (European in particular with the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, and international as regards the process of globalisation of decision-making) has led to increased emphasis on the integration of themes that translates as far as research is concerned into an intensification of the multidisciplinary approach. Moreover, major social changes (globalisation, the introduction of new technologies, the phenomenon of techno-globalisation, the knowledge society, etc.) and, consequently, all the mechanisms that accompany their emergence calls for the establishment of new reference points and new media with a view to a framework compatible with sustainable development.
These changes are accompanied by a greater need for new knowledge, the consequences of which over the short and long term must be assessed via the introduction of new harmonised indicators facilitating insertion into a process of integration of national policies at European level and of globalisation of decision-making and of economies. Countries must also step up and improve exchanges of data and make research results more freely accessible.
The new programmes "Plan for scientific support for a policy of sustainable development" and "Programme concerning current problems in the area of social cohesion" facilitate, each within its own field, investment in knowledge and/or the provision of more specific responses to certain questions via the production and acquisition of data and information.
To enable research to respond to certain challenges engendered by increasing interdependence between Belgium and the other countries of the global community in areas such as social interaction, international relations, economic development and cultural exchanges, or access to information and participation in society, we propose to implement a programme of transversal actions grouped around three axes based in the context described above.
The three axes are:
- Belgian public institutions and decision-making in a globalised society (S1);
- Science and society (S2);
- Viable cities (S3).
VIABLE CITIES
Two interdependent research themes will be proposed. The first relates to the study of determining factors in companies' and households' choices and the second to tools that may facilitate the actions of political decision-makers and other urban managers.
Theme 1 : Determining factors in economic and social actors' "anchorages" to urban and non-urban areas
The goal here is to identify the objective and subjective factors in motivations leading to the depopulation or resettlement of urban centres. Beyond statistical snapshots, tools for explaining the deeper causes are lacking. The process will require an identification of the types of activities that become established in cities or leave them and an explanation of these movements via an evaluation of the images that cities can emphasise and the perceptions they inspire, via an evaluation of the quality of the urban environment and the effects of this environment on health. It would also be interesting to see to what extent these population movements further result in the displacement of poverty from one neighbourhood to the next during the course of migrations.
Are there significant disparities in taxation from one Belgian city or municipality to the next? If so, are they likely to generate real competition? Are there ways of avoiding the simple displacement of a priority area, taking windfall effects into account?
Another objective is to provide for an understanding of the geographic and urban dimension of the informal economy. Is there a correlation between the abandonment of a neighbourhood and the development of this economy? Do social diversity and, more generally, urban diversity constitute a solution to the problems of disadvantaged cities and neighbourhoods? Could particular experiments be transposed to a more global context?
What are the city's new professions? How can a situation where they resemble updated old professions be avoided? To what extent do they fit into a perspective of sustainable development and citizen participation? What mechanisms could ensure their longevity?
Theme 2 : Indicators and instruments in the decision-making process in urban governance
Here the goal is to identify the factors influencing economic and social development and the quality of the environment in Belgium's cities. This means developing a tool for measuring cities' significance in terms of economic activity and employment in particular, identifying the instruments with an impact on the spatial organisation of this activity in an urban environment and providing tools for evaluation of action in various areas and at different levels of political power.
From an operational perspective, the objective is to develop tools and indicators allowing a comparative analysis of processes of economic restructuring and their consequences for the city. How does a large-scale restructuring result in the pauperisation or desertification of a neighbourhood? How can the local economy, which is often downstream from a more extensive industrial activity, be protected? Conversely, how can a restructuring have positive repercussions for a city or a neighbourhood?
Another goal is to study the forms that citizen participation takes based on the urban actors' different types of "anchorages". How can this citizen participation be defined? In what forms can it be integrated into residents' lives? For what purposes? What types of measures would be likely to help to stimulate this participation (participation centres, changes to communication strategies, etc.)?
Finally, this research will involve conducting an inventory of urban policy abroad. How could certain "success stories" be transposed in Belgium? What are the institutional implications of the new forms of public-private partnerships implemented in Europe, within the framework of city policy? Furthermore, how can the opposite tendency exhibited by certain European cities (Brussels and Paris, for example) be explained?
S3/10/002: Economic activities within the European city: do suburbs need cities?
S3/11/004: Planning in Brussels within a world city development framework
S3/64/001: Spatial economy of Belgian cities: determinants, issues and outlooks
S3/C3/006: Integrated freight analysis within cities (INFACT)
Activités économiques et ville européenne: les banlieues ont-elles besoin des centres? : rapport final
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2005 (SP1544)
[To download]
La planification de Bruxelles dans le cadre du développement des "villes-mondes" : rapport final
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2005 (SP1545)
[To download]
Ruimtelijke economie van de Belgische steden: determinanten, inzet en vooruitzichten : eindverslag
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2005 (SP1546)
[To download]
Ruimtelijke economie van de Belgische steden: determinanten, inzet en vooruitzichten : samenvatting
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2005 (SP1547)
[To download]
Economie spatiale des villes en Belgique: déterminants, enjeux et perspectives : résumé
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2005 (SP1548)
[To download]
Spatial economy of Belgian cities: determinants, issues and outlooks : summary
Brussels : Belgian Science Policy, 2005 (SP1549)
[To download]
Integrated freight analysis within cities (INFACT) : final report
Brussels : Belgian Science Policy, 2005 (SP1550)
[To download]
Integrated freight analysis within cities (INFACT) : additional report
Brussels : Belgian Science Policy, 2005 (SP1551)
[To download]
Integrated freight analysis within cities (INFACT) : summary
Brussels : Belgian Science Policy, 2005 (SP1552)
[To download]
