Quartier des Squares, Brussels; Urban Housing Analysis and renewal proposal

Inhaltsverzeichnis 1.

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3

2.

History of Squares ....................................................................................................................... 4

2. 1

Squares today: Blurred Boundaries ......................................................................................... 5

3.

Statistical analysis ........................................................................................................................ 6

4.

Squares today: perceptions of the quarter ................................................................................. 8

4. 1

Mind Maps: a resident’s impression ....................................................................................... 8

4. 2

Ethnographic Observations ................................................................................................... 11

4. 3

Ethnographic insights on Housing ......................................................................................... 13

4. 4

Selected Interviews with residents ....................................................................................... 14

4. 5

Interviews with experts ......................................................................................................... 16

5.

5.1 6.

Research focus: The Rental-Housing situation in Squares ........................................................ 19 Stakeholders Analysis ............................................................................................................ 20 Proposal ..................................................................................................................................... 22

6.1

Mission .................................................................................................................................. 22

6. 2

Existing housing stock in Squares .......................................................................................... 22

6. 4

Strategy ................................................................................................................................. 24

7.

Implementing the Proposal ....................................................................................................... 26

7. 1

Pilot Projects.......................................................................................................................... 26

7. 2

Timeline ................................................................................................................................. 27

7. 3

Cost and Benefits for stakeholders ....................................................................................... 27

7. 4

Potential Drawbacks and Limitations of the proposal .......................................................... 28

8.

Bibliography............................................................................................................................... 30

9.

Annexes ..................................................................................................................................... 31

1.

Introduction

The following research investigates Quartier of Squares, located in the North-east part of Brussels. Since the very first observations, the area in itself displayed an apparently unproblematic nature mainly due to its residential and quiet nature.

Nonetheless, examining the landscape beyond the surface, we could identify the remarkable multicultural character of the neighbourhood and many other dynamics, actors and tensions that could be considered valid as well in a broader municipal context (Casier, 2018).

Especially the link with the adjacent European Quarter provided food for thought. This area is inextricably linked to Squares’ past history, and, maybe even more important, to its future.

The surroundings, especially Rue de la Loi, have been indeed identified as a “catalyst point” for redevelopment projects since 2008, in line with the schéma directeur du Quartier européen (Le Projet urbain Loi, 2018).

We considered the bond with Leopold Quarter an essential part of the analysis because we do believe that it could have an emblematic value in a possible reflection about the entire city of Brussels. It helped us to identify a trend of coexistence and conflict which involves different categories of the population and led us to our research focus: Squares’ rental market, in a housing general framework.

This paper follows a general structure. After a first introduction about the history and the current demographic situation of the quarter, a section is dedicated to the reconstruction of our own analysis of Squares, carried out through the collection of ethnographic material such as personal observations, pictures and mental maps. We then introduce the housing problematic and how it could be identified through the interviews conducted in a first moment with the residents and then with experts and stakeholders. In this way, an outline of the main actors could be tracked, laying the foundation for the design of a possible strategy. Finally, our proposal is made clear and examined in its feasibility conditions, through its implementation process and its possible outcomes and limitations.

2.

History of Squares

The broader North-East area where Squares is located today used to be a safe haven for nobles of the 16th century looking for a pleasant hunting and resort spot (Heymans, 1995). The building process began in 1837, in order to provide the aristocrats with a residential area far from the social unrest of the city centre (Baeten, 2003). According to the plans of architect Gédéon Bordiau, all houses needed to have a picturesque façade and today this artistic heritage is cause for touristic attraction. One of the “most extravagant and astonishing example” is represented by Saint-Cyr House, designed by Gustave Strauwen in 1900 (VisitBrussels, 2018). This street scene was preserved for a long time, until the second half of the 20th century, while the aristocratic character of the neighbourhood lasted until a first depopulation process in 1930.

Since the 1950s and the following arrival of EU institutions, more and more big apartment buildings and offices have been constructed, slightly changing the image of the district.

Processes of urban restructuring and development were inspired by ex-colonial urban planners willing for a new rational and disciplinary design (Baeten, 2003). From the 1990s onwards, the city of Brussels came up with a plan to maintain the original character of the neighbourhood, by prohibiting new projects and focusing on renovating the old houses (Ministry of the Brussels Capital Region, Direction Monuments and Landscapes; s.d.). Various plans aimed to preserve its residential aspect but could not exert a decisive influence on the area’s development (Baeten, 2003) and during the 90s several blocks designed for residential and mixed-use were absorbed in building projects linked to the European Union institutions (ibid.).

“It is unlikely that the Structure Plan, in contrast with earlier plans, will enable the preservation of the remaining housing blocks in the area. Evidence (...) from visual observations in the area suggests that speculation by developers in residential blocks adjacent to existing offices continues (...) and it does not prevent the continuation of semi-legal or illegal strategies by growth coalitions of developers, investors and politicians which have dominated and organized the development for decades” (Baeten, 2003).

Plus, documentation suggests that a sort of displacement process took part in the area at the end of the 90s with a growing pressure on housing market and a surge in dwellings’ prices.

This led “substantial numbers of low-income inner-city residents to out-migrate” (ibid.).

Today, the coexistence between the “Bruxellois” population and the “EU neighbors” is taking a kind of conflictual turn, complicated “by the institutions' continued fondness for real estate expansion” (Baume, 2018), highlighted by the Loi Urban Project (ADT, 2019).

2. 1

Squares today: Blurred Boundaries

Today, Quartier des Squares is bordered by three different and contrasting areas, namely Saint Josse-ten-Noode in the North, Schaerbeek in the East and the European Quarter in the South.

A walk along the theoric line which encompasses this area could provide an insight on how the proximity of each one of these adjacent districts exert an influence on the neighbourhood’s space. For this reason, Squares’ local culture and atmosphere seem fragmented and the only universal hallmark which can be tracked is undoubtedly the ethnic mixity.

Rue Stevin and Rue Franklin, closer to Schuman, display an atmosphere explicitly designed for EU employees, with a strategic juxtaposition of embassies, offices, institutions and fancy restaurants, pubs, gyms.

The opposite can be noticed in Chausseé de Louvain, the trafficked main road contiguous to Saint-Josse Municipality. Here, despite the public space appear more neglected, a countless number of ethnic restaurants, butchers and bakeries contributes to maintain the street lively and congested, especially when getting closer to Saint-Josse Church. At the same time, many shut-down businesses and night-shops can be found, in a more decadent atmosphere.

On the other hand, Rue du Noyer, delimiting the edge of Schaerbeek’s Municipality, looks like a residential, more affordable area, suitable for families, with many groceries, laundries, brasseries and small businesses.

Instead, the inner structure of the neighbourhood is gravitating around the central squares Ambiorix, Marguerite and Marie-Louise. The surroundings accomplish a mainly residential function, with many houses, apartment blocks but also hotels, hostels and B&B. Various construction sites can be spot around, mainly refurbishments of interiors that maintain the existing façades, with the remarkable exception of the new 7 floors Quartz office building on the Eastern side of the district.

3.

Statistical analysis

Analysing the data provided by Monitoring des Quartiers, it is possible to notice that the demographic profile of Squares changed slightly in qualitative terms during the last 20 years.

A general rise of foreign population can be highlighted, with a considerable increase of people from the EU (+16%), while the Turkish population almost disappeared (from 4.6% to 0.8%) and the number of North African people have been consistently decreasing (from 5% to 1.7%).

Also, in terms of age, the population of Squares has seen from 1997 to 2016 an increase of people aged from 30 to 44 years old, with a decrease in all the other segments of age.

At the same time, a remarkable increase of the average income in the neighbourhood (+2594 â‚Ź from 2005 to 2015) can be underlined.

The average rental price of 551 €/m in Squares in 2010 was under the average of BCR (591€/m), while in 2015 the area presented a value of 767€/m overcoming the BCR value of 709€/m. Data linked to lack of social housing in the neighbourhood (1.19% on the total Squares real estate) and this sharp rise of the housing rental price (+42.8% from 2010 to 2015), confirm the suspect of a possible substitution of part of the dwellers, with an ongoing arrival of a wealthier population.

Squares

BCR

The mobility rate of 98.2% calculated from 2001 to 2006, even if not so updated, indicates a constant replacement of a large part of people living in Squares, probably caused by the development of EU institution activities. Squares’ location just between two completely different areas clearly influences its statistical profile. At a closer sight we expect to find out some differences among the distinct zones of the neighbourhood, that should present some nuances in the passage from the European quarter towards Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode.

4.

Squares today: perceptions of the quarter

4. 1

Mind Maps: a resident’s impression

Part of the analysis of the quarter was the collection of various mental maps, sketched by residents and users that could be met in the surroundings. Most of the authors were intercepted in public spaces such as Ambiorix and Marie Louise parks or in the area close to Schaerbeek. Most of the people involved were household members, interns or students, aged between 20 and 50, both short and long-term residents.

(1) This map was drawn by a German man, aged 40, working for the European Commission.

He has been living in Squares for many years, with his family.

(2) Map drawn by an Indian man, in his early 30s, employed in the telecommunications sector.

He has been living in Squares for three years, with his wife and his baby.

(3) The map was drawn by a German girl, less than 30 years old, which just moved in the area.

She recently started her employee job for the EU institutions. She identified the district as Saint-Josse.

(4) This map was realized by a young Polish boy, aged 25. He moved to Squares just two week before due to an internship for the EU institutions.

(5) Map drawn by a French student, aged 22, studying physiotherapy in Brussels. She recently moved very close to Ambiorix Square.

What emerges from the sketches collected is that in most of the cases, Ambiorix Square was depicted as the heart of the area and was often the very first element to be drawn on the

paper; the rest of the space was mentally and graphically organized starting with it and only in a few occasions the other squares were present too. No other relevant public spaces were mentioned. Not every map included the EU institutions, always represented with the Berlaymont palace or the Schuman roundabout.

Plus, hardly anyone of the people involved identified the area as Squares, always referring to it as Saint-Josse or the EU quarter; this fact suggested a lack of solid identity of the neighbourhood. This stressed the essentially residential function of the quarter and propounded that both the working and leisure locations of the sketchers were not included in their mental representation; the hypothesis was later confirmed by several interviews: if the area was considered safe and unproblematic, the opportunities for events or cultural venues were said to be rather poor.

4. 2

Ethnographic Observations

For our ethnographic research, we divided the neighbourhood in six areas, with each of us focusing on one area. The observations resulted in some differences, but also a lot of similarities.

(1) The areas closer to the EU are, even in late Autumn, more or less well-traversed. Standing on the corner of Rues Steven, du Taciturne, and Charles Martel, the spectacle of young workers, students, families, couples young and old, and veritably any other demographic might be seen going about their daily business as befits their own routines: anything between commuting to work and simply enjoying a leisurely stroll. The languages heard in the area, like the composition of the neighbourhood in total, is varied; native French and Flemish, English with a wide spectrum of accents, Italian, German and Arabic can all be heard if one sits for long enough. The buildings surrounding the square are well-built and maintained, often of brick, stone or plaster, and The Meeting Point--a pub and pizzeria on the corner of Rues du Taciturne and Charles Martel that markets itself as a multicultural gathering place in the heart of the European Commission--sees plenty of traffic in its opening hours. The character of this area carries itself up the street to the park, where the UNESCO-protected buildings and ample green space is interrupted only by the rumble of automobiles passing on the street, and pedestrians of all stripes walk with varying degrees of briskness and leisure.

(2) The main street of this area is Rue Franklin, well connected with the rest of the city by three different bus lines. The atmosphere is rather calm and residential. Here can be found the Italian coffee/bookshop PiolaLibri, the organic and local farm-shop Roots, a supermarket, a boulangerie, some restaurants and dry-cleaners.

(3) A couple of schools are located in the surroundings; some kids apparently attend afterschool activities in the close Syriac Orthodox church, that creates a cheerful mess. In this area

we made some observations in the New London Pub, a reference point for many Moroccan young men, where virtually no one was speaking English.

(4) The area acts as the buffer between Saint-Josse and Squares parks. While the North part has a high density of central Asian restaurants, most of them closed and available for renting, and the streets have few people loitering, The streets that lead to the Square are mainly residential. In the shops and laundry places, most people observed are of middle-eastern/ asian ethnicity.

(5) In the northern part of this area, the distinction between the ‘European’ side and the ‘SaintJosse’ side of Squares is clearly visible. From Square Gutenberg, you can clearly see a distinction between the streets that lead to the south (Square Marie-Louise) and the streets to the north. The streets to the south are very calm, there is little traffic, and the people that are walking there are merely people with children or dogs, coming or going to the parks. The streets to the north are much more lively, with a lot of school children standing outside a shop or at the bus stop. The population looks much more diverse, with people from all kinds of ethnicities. The housing towards the south look more taken care of, and is more surrounded by green space, than the ones towards the north, which are often in bad conditions, rooftops with satellite dishes, et cetera.

(6) The Western zone of the Squares district is a narrow area where many office buildings cohabit with some residential building placed towards the area closest to Saint-Josse. The part of this area next to the “petite ceinture” houses the only new construction site in the neighbourhood (a new office building). There can be noticed also the Italian embassy and some hotel, and few artistic centres. Passers-by are rare, mostly workers of the Italian embassy. The traffic of vehicles is concentrated on the artery of rue Joseph II, remaining however much less congested than the nearby rue de la Loi and Chaussée de Louvain.

First of all, we could see a lot of diversity within the neighbourhood. In the centre, there were more (Western) European people (e.g. EU workers taking a break in the park), but when going to the borders, the diversity increased noticeably. In a laundry place, there were few white people, and the local shop was mainly visited by Middle Eastern and Northern African youngsters. In addition to this, everyone noticed that there is a lot of interaction within certain groups, but very little between different groups. For example, we noted many bars, restaurants, social spaces focused on a specific nationality. There were Irish pubs, an Italian library, an Armenian sport club, a street with mainly Central Asian restaurants, et cetera. The northern streets were much messier and more mismanaged compared to those near the EU. One of the few places where different groups came together, was at the football pitch next to Square Ambiorix. On a Sunday afternoon, we could spot a couple of teenagers of varying ethnicities enjoying a game of football, some young men smoking marijuana, and a group of old people talking to each other. This weekend observation contrasts with a regular weekday, where there is noticeably more loneliness: people going to or returning from work, and a lot of single-person cars driving around.

4. 3

Ethnographic insights on Housing

The character of Quartier des Squares is, on a superficial and largely normative level, that of a nice familial neighbourhood. The eponymous squares are generally well-maintained public spaces that see a variety of activity, and at important junctions near the European Commission, the prototypical Brusselian traffic is seen rather on the sidewalk than in the streets, with backpack-ed young workers and students sharing the space with old couples and young families on leisurely walks, even in the colder months.

Rue Archimède, leading from the European Commission to Square Ambiorix, maintains a high level of foot traffic, and small business owners along the street—like the two-partner real estate firm HSM Properties—extoll the familial environment of the boulevard and of the neighbourhood writ large. Yet these perceptions bely a largely inactive public realm overall within the area. While some select streets and squares generally enjoy a more or less aroundthe-clock pedestrian presence, many parts of the quarter are quite deserted. Observation in subdivisions of the quarter reveal that in those streets on the southern side of the district— i.e., those that run closer to the Commission—are generally more active than those in the northern and eastern parts of the neighbourhood.

It would be difficult to draw objective conclusions regarding this desertification of activity, but the relative inactivity is at least in part reflected by a lack of engagement in the neighbourhood among its inhabitants. Certainly, civic organizations exist which aim to further the interests and cohesion of the neighbourhood: these collectives range from those such as the Maison de Quartier, which organizes events in the neighbourhood to bring together its inhabitants in leisure, to those like GAQ and 1727, both of which (in collaboration with the municipality of Schaarbeek) have shown stark opposition to high-end development in the neighbourhood, most notably AG Real Estate’s proposed Project Newton, which aimed to develop the land currently occupied by a former police station-turned-squat into a luxury mid-rise apartment complex. These organizations themselves, though, do not seem to provide the sort of bonding capital that might express itself across the demographics of the neighbourhood; nearly all of our correspondents in the neighbourhood did not even know of their existence. Indeed, the organizations themselves seem largely to represent the minority native Belgian population in the area. What we can discern, then, in combination with our statistical data, is change within the social and economic structure of the neighbourhood and a certain degree of dissatisfaction with this change. Yet the conflict is largely an invisible one. Beyond those organizations and the people that associate with them, very few of our correspondents seem to identify any immediately noticeable problem in the neighbourhood, especially those people who are only temporary resident within the neighbourhood.

4. 4

Selected Interviews with residents

Turning now to the interviewees, the influence of the European Union on the neighbourhood is a recurring theme in the perceptions of the neighbourhood’s constituents. This is not to say that this is the particular focus of the people’s perceptions of the area, yet the institution’s influence is nevertheless an omnipresence in the ethnographic understanding in Squares.

Three particular interviews will here be addressed: one with a local shop-owner, another with an EU trainee, and a final with a local handyman residing in the area.

“The neighbourhood is safe and comfortable, it’s high-priced, because of how close the European Commission is…” - Ibrahim, Afghan shop owner Our first correspondent is the owner of a small aliméntaire convenience shop close to the playground of Square Marguerite. Although he arrived three years ago, he doesn’t notice any particular change in the area when prompted, though he attributes this to the fact that he spends most of his time running the shop and consequently spends little free time in the neighbourhood despite living there. He says there are no other Afghans in the area, but that his clients run the gamut of demographics ethnically, from native Belgians to a slew of other European nationals and non-European people. The most relevant comment made in relation to this project, however, is that stated above, for reasons he might not have recognized.

He directly associates the neighbourhood’s character to the presence of the European Union: the neighbourhood is nice because of the EU. Although a mountain should not be made of this molehill, and more meaning than this should not be projected onto his diction in order to avoid taking his comment out of context, it shows that there is not only a recognition of the institution’s influence on the neighbourhood, but that it is subjectively the better for it.

Although Ibrahim has only been in the area for three years—perhaps not long enough to notice any appreciable change in the neighbourhood’s character—and despite the location of his shop on the other side of the quartier from the Commission, the link between the two is intrinsically established.

“There’s loads of us” - Moira, Irish EU trainee The presence of the European Commission in the area is meaningless without the consideration of its large staff of long- and short- term employees. Moira, a 24-year-old communications trainee at the EU, had been living in the neighbourhood for only two months at the time of the interview in late October. She found her flat through word-of-mouth from a friend; her flat, shared with another Irishman, one German, and three Belgians, is leased by an Irish-national landlord. Of her roommates, none are officially registered at the house, and all rents between them are paid under the table. Moira’s contract is largely symbolic, or rather—in her own words—“fake.”

Yet that doesn’t bother her; as an EU citizen, she doesn’t need to worry about a visa, and she has little plans to stick around once her traineeship is concluded. Though she’s only said hello to the neighbors, and her housemates generally reclusive, she regularly encounters and socializes with her fellow countrymen and coworkers in the many pubs and cafes that dot the quarter: “there’s loads of us,” she says, eyeing the rowdy group of Irishmen bellowing at the football match in Kitty O’Shea’s Pub. Her story is corroborated by the experiences of other correspondents of different nationalities, notably the many Italians in the area, who also report clandestine or honorary rental contracts and a marked presence of non-Belgian EU nationals—a demographic detailed in our statistical report.

“I could ask for 50.000 or 60.000 euros... the [homeowner] would give it to me, in order for me to fix his houses.” - Bogdan, Bulgarian handyman Our final spotlight falls onto a conversation with an inhabitant of a much different demographic. His name is Bogdan, a 54 years old man of Turkish descent who was born and raised in Bulgaria and moved to Brussels 22 years ago, having since lived in Squares, on the border with Saint-Josse. He works as a custodian and handyman for no less than eighteen different buildings—mainly in Squares, but also in other places in Brussels. He usually hangs around the streets where he lives, visiting the Café Gutenberg for a beer every day. Though he rarely visits the eponymous Squares, he hangs around his street and often sees his neighbors, with whom he has a friendly relationship. He said that this is one of the most important reasons why he lives there: because people know him there. When asked if he knew more people from the European side of Squares, however, he said he didn’t, and did not betray any positive feelings about “ces gens” (“those people”). In his job, though, he does not have infrequent contact with ces gens; occasionally, he is contracted to fix the house of someone who works for the European Union. Sometimes, this extends beyond carpentry and handiwork: one man, for instance, simply pays him large sums of money to renovate the houses he owns across Brussels, and notably—for the purposes of this proposal—a handful in the Squares neighbourhood. In parallel with the short-term, somewhat-informal housing of Moira and people like her, there is a landowning population that both inhabit and, perhaps obviously, own land within the area, including those who look to invest in renovation, restoration, and develop the already affluent Quartier des Squares.

There is a necessary caution that must accompany the analysis of these interviews, of course.

Three people - specifically, three people with subjective opinions and varying knowledge of the neighbourhood in question - do not necessarily reflect anything nearing a consensus in the area’s population. Yet their observations and experiences are here selected not because they speak for the entire population of the quartier, but because they are emblematic of a number of key trends in the ethnographic analysis of the area, and articulate several of the themes addressed by a number of those interviewed. These are, in order of appearance above: 1. The association of the EU with the character of the neighbourhood; 2. A presence of short-term residents, many with unofficial housing arrangements and with little real ties to

the neighbourhood; and 3. Occasional antipathy towards the EU-associated population, but nevertheless a landowning population in the area with the will and the capital to further develop the neighbourhood.

4. 5

Interviews with experts

In order to get a better understanding of the neighbourhood’s trends, we conducted several interviews with experts and stakeholders of all sorts. One the one hand, we noticed the rising protests from some neighbourhood collectives, such as 1727 and GAQ, about whose opinion we were very curious. On the other hand, we wanted to talk to real estate agencies, to find out what the main motives are to invest in this neighbourhood.

“With my house, I won the lottery.” - Alain Dewez, GAQ On the 6th of December, we interviewed Alain Dewez from GAQ. The Groupe d’Animation du Quartier Européen (GAQ) is a neighbourhood collective of the whole European Quarter (and thus includes more than Quartier des Squares). Mr. Dewez lives in Squares himself, is an active member of the GAQ and ran as a political candidate for green party Groen/Ecolo during the municipal elections of 2018. During our interview, he talked about how the neighbourhood changed during the past 30 years. “With my house, I won the lottery”, he stated, as an illustration of the massive increase in housing prices over the last decades. Furthermore, he pointed at the new typologies of dwellings, mostly small studios, and denounced the fact that regulations by the City Region are too often ignored (Dewez, 2018).

“Over the past ten years, landlords are renting out to European employees through their personal international networks, causing a situation of inbreed.” - Bob, 1727 Another interview was conducted on the 7th of December, with Barbara Bentein (GAQ) and Bob from 1727. This latter organization is a protest group against the building of the so-called Newton Project - 1727 was the year Isaac Newton deceased (1727.be, s.d.). During this double interview, we discussed the main causes of the increase in rent prices. Mrs. Bentein mainly talked about how buildings - both the original houses and more recent apartment blocks - are being overly divided into smaller housing units. She clearly stated that this is not necessarily a negative thing; however, nowadays, she thinks that this is happening too often for small oneroom studios, and not enough for social or family housing units. Bob from 1727 confirms this.

According to him, trainees and students are welcome, but the demand for schools, elderly homes, and communal services, is higher. His analysis is that, over the past years and decades, many people bought properties in Squares for purely speculative ends, to rent out to European employees through their own (international) networks. This is illustrated by Mrs. Bentein, who knows a French couple that invested in housing units in the European Quarter, renting out to other French employees of the EU. The interview is concluded by Bob’s remark that he, and many other inhabitants of the area, also see clear benefits of a international and

multicultural population. However, the housing market is losing its balance and seems to ignore the needs of the permanent residents. Both Mrs. Bentein and Bob would prefer to see a more socially mixed housing landscape (Bentein & Bob, 2018).

“We rather notice a stagnation of rent prices.” - Archimedes Real Estate After having talked to community actors, we were also curious about the reaction of real estate agencies. In the brief open interview that we conducted with an employee of the real estate agency Archimedes, different topics such as occupancy rate, nationalities, budgets and price developments were discussed. Some of our predictions, like the fact that there are many vacant listed buildings that are waiting to be refurbished, or the recent rise in rents were curiously not confirmed by the interviewee. He stated that prices in the last years have rather been stable (our statistical analysis also shows that the more important rise of rents occurred more years ago) and that there was almost no vacancies. He went on by saying that it is mostly non-Belgian Europeans who look into buying in the area and that their interest in the listed buildings is not as high, due to the high renovation and maintenance costs. Hence, the popularity of new built housing to buy, not to rent, is particularly high (Archimedes, 2018).

Deducted from the statistics of Monitoring des Quartiers, we can indeed see that, after a firm increase in rent prices between 2010 and 2015, there is indeed a stagnation in the past few years. However, this does not mean that a new future rise can be excluded. After all, the European Union is a vivid organism that is likely to still expand in the coming years and decades, attracting more (short-term) employees, and thus continuously posing new challenges.

“What really annoys me is the [landlords] ... that circumvent the regulations, the ones who deal under the table. They don’t have to do the training, or the formalities, that kind of stuff. Just frustrating. ” - Alessandro Meschi, HSM Property We also talked with Mr. Meschi from real estate agency HSM Property. Their office is situated in Rue Archimède, within Quartier des Squares. Even though our interviewee stated that their main target is not per se the short-term European employees, they often are confronted with this audience, and with the downsides of the European networks. During our conversation, Mr. Meschi, in elaborating on the state of the market in the neighbourhood, expressed marked frustration at the informal, under-the-table landlords that cater to the many trainees and interns that rent small studios, mostly under the table and without contracts.

Through their networks of European landowners and word-of-mouth contacts, the short-term population enables a subset of landlords that effectively circumvent many of the hurdles that more formalized actors must deal with. Real estate agents have to go through regular training, compliance, and other regulatory methods that are time-consuming, but landlords that deal under the table shirk these rules entirely, and international property holders—according to

Mr. Meschi—often don’t have to pay federal taxes. The result is a ‘wildcat’ housing market that, while it does not conflict with HSM’s interests directly and is not necessarily exclusive to the European quarter, nevertheless informalizes the short-term rental housing market in order to cater to a short-term populace that rarely form connections in the neighbourhood outside of their own networks.

“Thus, urban and wealthy Europeans contribute to the rise in real estate values and the reduction in the stock of available housing for the local population.” - Charlotte Casier, ULB Researcher We decided to interview a scholar involved in the study of the effect of the private real estate market on Brussels population. During our conversation, Miss Casier highlighted the recent trend of real estate developers concentration that interest some particular areas of the city, underlining the presence of Squares district among them. She underlined also how the system of such market is actually implemented, offering to landlords a block of services, from the refurbishment of the property to the management of the renting, guaranteeing an easy and sure profit to private landlords. New actors are emerging from her research, that was focused on the firms Airbnb, Cohabs and Charles’ Home.

Miss Casier explained also that usually the target of this kind of market is composed by middleclass short terms tenants, concluding that the result is a real estate market more expensive and less diversified, from which working class tenants are excluded. This can be seen as a partial confirm of our former statistical and ethnographic analysis.

5.

Research focus: The Rental-Housing situation in Squares

From all the research that we conducted in the past months and that we presented in the previous chapters, we noticed some elements that came back regularly and define a larger issue in the Squares neighbourhood. Determining our research focus was therefore a matter of connecting the dots. The most prominent aspect that came back in interviews with residents and experts, the mental maps and the ethnographic observations, is the presence of the European Union institutions, and therefore, the presence of EU employees. This creates a uniquely mixed population of original residents and European expats.

A consequence of the presence of the EU is, as was pointed out in the statistical analysis, that the mobility rate is very high in this neighbourhood. What also come forth in the interviews (both with experts and residents), is that the investors and project developers are often attracted to this neighbourhood because of the specific population consistency, causing a very peculiar housing stock in Squares. The statistical analysis shows that the rents increased by 42,8 percent in just five years, which is more than the rest of Brussels. With all these elements combined, we quickly realised the rental-housing situation in Squares is a very big issue, and we therefore decided to design a proposal to tackle this problem.

In order to make a proposal that can benefit the neighbourhood, we defined two core values.

On the one hand, we wanted to respect the permanent population of the neighbourhood in their search for housing, but also acknowledged the fact that expats and trainees need to find suitable housing as well. On the other hand, we wanted to find a balance between the preservation of the original character of the neighbourhood, and the presence of the European institutions. Some interviewees, such as Bob from 1727 and Alain Dewez from GAQ, were afraid that new projects for expat housing might ruin the original outlook of Squares.

Our core values are thus defined as follows: • •

equal accessibility to housing (for all population groups) more harmonious coexistence between Brussels and the European Union

5.1

Stakeholders Analysis

A map of stakeholders in the Rental housing market of Quartier de Squares (Further details about each stakeholder’s role in Annexe 2)

The figure above attempts to identify and analyse the set of actors actually driving the rental housing market in Squares. The closer they are to the center of the diagram, the stronger their impact on this issue.

We see that there are many private actors with a strong influence on the issue, primarily the private landlords, but overshadowed by the real-estate agents and developers. This market is catering to not just registered, long-term tenants but an increasing number of short-term renters. Many of them are trainees or interns at the EU and allied offices around the neighbourhood.

A wide range of public actors have varying influence on this market. The municipality of Ville de Bruxelles is the major regulating authority, while the neighbouring municipalities have

marginal influence. The city level social housing federation and agencies also affect what is happening in the neighbourhood, but their presence observed is minimal.

Supranational agencies like the EU or UNESCO, through their policies affect directly or indirectly, the kind of development made possible in the area: whether it is building of serviced apartments and hotels, or protection of architectural heritage.

We see a range of publicly funded social organisations. Some acting at the regional level to spread awareness about urban concerns, while Maison de Quartier runs at the local level on community engagement and providing social support. The resident homeowners collective GAQ along with a citizen action group called 1727 are engaged community actors. They have been in conflict with developers and the city with regards to the kind of speculative development in the area, and complain about the lack of participation, transparency and social orientation of these activities.

6.

Proposal

6.1

Mission

The proximity of the European Union and changing nature of the city’s demographic has resulted in a changed residential typology in the neighbourhood. The comparably high representation of trainees and students in Squares has contributed to the establishment of an informal housing market that works through so-called ‘network-renting’. Other connected problems are the unregulated fragmentation into kots, ‘absentee-landlords’, speculation and visible vacancies of historic bourgeois housing. Through our interviews we found out that especially the older generation fears to be progressively pushed out of their neighbourhood, at the same time statistical analysis showed that already the weakest part of population has been pushed out all along past years. In general, we suspect such developments to potentially lead to a lack of sense of belonging and ownership (also implying low participation and responsibility on behalf of the citizens) in the neighbourhood, we also argue that actual market situation, in absence of some effective control, is fostering episodes of dispossession and exploitation.

What we wish to achieve through our proposal is to release the pressure on the housing market creating a platform for private house owners to rent out short-term so that there is an affordable housing future for the young and the old alike. We would also want to provide a more affordable and attractive path to house owners to renovate and preserve their properties, to retain the unique character and cultural capital of the neighbourhood.

6. 2

Existing housing stock in Squares

Source: https://mybrugis.irisnet.be/brugis

Quartier des Squares, like we see it today, began taking shape as a residential neighbourhood from the mid-19th century. Strict building regulation and a socio-economic homogeneity of inhabitants since the beginning gave the area a formal unity. The residential buildings that date back to this era were mostly bourgeois houses and mansions and also mansions or workshops of architects and artists. While the most iconic ones are those belonging to the Art

Nouveau style, many of them exhibit eclecticism with classical accents, and some belong to the Beaux-Arts era.

Real estate interventions in a lot of these structures have entailed internal restructuring. What we increasingly observe today is a kind of façadism, where only the façade of a building is preserved and buildings erected behind it. Renovation is also done in old single-family houses to convert them to pied-a-terre apartments or housing for students or young employees, mostly at the EU and allied offices.

Regional measures have been taken to preserve the architectural heritage of the area, and to revitalize the neighbourhood into an open-air museum. The Squares are now in a UNESCO protected area, and many of the buildings in the area are registered as protected architectural heritage, as seen in this map. These buildings today are generally single-family homes for longstaying EU employees or original Belgian families. Many are beginning to be subdivided into small parcells for interns or students. Some unique buildings also house National Embassies, owing to the proximity of the EU offices. While Cafes or bars come up on the ground floor of some of these buildings, many are lying in disrepair.

What is also seen in the area are off-scale apartment blocks that were built in the 1950s, after much demolition. The 60s and 70s saw extensive post-war building of apartment blocks, especially near Sq. Marie Louise. Here to either European or Belgian family’s lives. Smaller apartments are rented out to short-term renters and we observe an over provision of serviced apartments and Apparthotels, or flats reserved as AirBnBs. With the setting up of the European committee since the 1960s, the area around the squares saw the development of many offices and hospitality spaces. Many buildings within the neighbourhood were also converted to hotels or serviced-apartments for people working in this European district.

A site of particular interest in the neighbourhood is Place Jamblinne de Meux. It is located at the eastern corner of Squares, very close to Cinquantenaire and the EU offices. As an abandoned government office, the building is currently occupied as a squat by artists and students. The property is owned by AG Real Estate, who have proposed ‘Project Newton’: a high-rise housing complex, with more than 150 apartments, most in smaller sizes. After a failed attempt to attain permits in 2016, they had to reduce the size of their proposal. (MdK, 2018). Even so, the project is speculative in nature and developed to extract rents from the international crowd heading to the neighbourhood. With no community-oriented functions, this project causes a lot of conflict in the area. There are arguments by the local residential committee GAQ and activists at the ‘1727 collective’ against it that range from a threat to national security (since it is opposite a military school), and lack of coherence with the lowrise built context to the lack of concern for elderly residents. There have been protests and these citizens groups have filed multiple petitions against the project, managing to postpone it further.

6. 4

Strategy

In order to alleviate some of the resulting social and financial pressures we are aiming at a more formalised channelling and (re)distribution of the housing stock in the neighbourhood.

We propose that this can be achieved through a phased experimental project to formalise the short-term rental housing market in Brussels providing housing solution at affordable prices.

The reason for proposing this at the Brussels-city-region scale is the large number of trainees, interns, students and visitors in Brussels who are looking for short term residence options. To cater to them an unregulated informal market has emerged, which is run through “networkrenting” and has been leading to speculation in housing provision and rising prices. Absentee landlords and short-term residents cause a lack of a sense of belonging and ownership in the city neighbourhoods. This causes anxiety in original residents and gives rise to conflicts. There are also insufficient statistics to analyse these informal housing patterns, which makes it difficult to posit against speculation and regulate the market.

Squares makes for the ideal neighbourhood to kickstart such a project on formalising shortterm rental housing because of the continuous escalation of students and trainees in the area.

The district shows an increase in real estate projects proposed to cater just to this crowd and numerous old houses converted to small kots and apartments, in an unregulated environment. The gradually changing context makes it ideal for experimentation and the diverse demographic reflects the rest of Brussels.

Conflict between original residents & real-estate agents has been brewing in that and uneasiness in elderly residents about change and lack-of-knowledge about the housing situation is being brought to the forefront.

The way to go about formalising is in phased experimental projects to see how they perform.

We consider a viable format a ‘Special-purpose Vehicle’ under the Brussels City Region. This kind of company is specifically designed to fulfil a narrow object and would have, in this case, sub-agencies that function in different neighbourhoods.

We took the social agency AISB (Agence Immobilière Social à Bruxelles) as a structural example. Here the state offers private landlords and associations an opportunity to take over the refurbishment and administrative tasks to rent out the property. In addition, the agency has a social agenda, turning their stock of managed dwellings into social housing and thus contributing to a larger pool of houses to meet the long waiting lists of social housing applicants (RBDH, 2017).

In our project, we do not want to replicate this concept but use its logic of exchanging service for living space and thus gradually influencing occupancy and rent prices. The main focus lies in incentivising landlords to formalise short-term renters and propagating vertically-mixed house uses.

In Squares, this public institution will mainly cooperate with two stakeholders: the European Union Staff Management Department on the one side and private landlords on the other.

Through a formalised base on which informations can be exchanged with the EU we hope to better predict and provide for the constant influx of temporary room seekers.

The long-term residents pose a smaller problem here. They do have an influence on the price levels, with their average income exceeding the local one, but in reference to the interview with the estate agent from Archimedes, since the majority of long-term employees of the EU is inclined to buy a property, they are not the main target group of our undertaking. Plus, current trends have shown that they are less interested in the time and money-intensive housing stock, usually formed by historical buildings; they indeed prefer the purchase of a more recent building stock, according to Archimedes agency’s version.

Thus, our major target group would be only a certain category of private landlords who are interested in renovating their houses or who want to reduce their responsibilities on renting activities. In addition to that, we took into consideration the group of people (often young and with smaller income) who are served by the informal market and paying a disproportionate price.

The major activities of this SPV then are: • • • • • • • • •

Acting as a mediator Working with local stakeholders Incentivising collaboration for landlords Restructuring and management done by agency Regularising the platform where rooms/apartments are rented out Rent prices controlling Functions at neighbourhood level Phased, experimental, reflective Data creation

7.

Implementing the Proposal

7. 1

Pilot Projects

For the three typologies we are proposing, three formats of pilot projects can be designed.

The first and biggest part addresses the historic bourgeois housing stock. For these houses several measurements in the scope of renovation are possible, ideally they would take place in a twofold way. First, restructuring the house to the function that goes along with the building’s and street’s balance; this ‘balance’ can vary per house, but an overall percentage of elderly residentials, short-term renters has to be respected. Then, according to location, substance and facilities a maximum rent is decided upon, with a rent cap and regulated graduation of prices so that short-term contracts and the high mobility within the area cannot be used for an overproportional increase.

Possibly after the Beta-Phase, as a vision and further step into community work, lower floors would be preferentially rented to older generations and/or used for common services and semi-public spaces so there could be the chance for a stronger intergenerational communication.

In the case of off-scale apartment blocks, the pilot project would respond to the following problem. Due to speculation, there has been a recent over-supply of up-scale apartment houses which happened to remain unused for longer periods of time (who told us that again?).

This is why a more flexible use would be beneficial for the occupancy rate.

The last and biggest coherent project would finally be project Newton. Here the creation of the studio-towers would be prevented and a compromise between the activists “vision urbaine de réutilisation” and the stakeholders ambitions to invest would be envisaged.

7. 2

Timeline

The project of formalising short-term renters and finding a residential balance goes along some basic lines: after a more detailed analysis of the landlords’ issues and potential reserves of the stakeholders involved, final adjustments to the project’s outline will be taken.

Then, the new employees will start their consulting activity and contract first house-projects; because of the length of a house’s renovation, we expect the kick-off to be a very gradual process and plan a minimum beta-phase of four years. Within this time, a moderate number of house-restructurings can be undertaken and a first critical evaluation can take place. In this occasion, we could scrutinise the project’s efficiency, look at the conflicts between stakeholders and assess whether the informal house-renting has further grown, stabilised or could be limited.

The ‘usability’ of the platform for both landlords and renters has to be questioned, linking back to efficiency and transparency and, lastly, the effect on the elderly inhabitants and longterm residents should be elaborated.

7. 3

Cost and Benefits for stakeholders

Because of the institutional character, the gradual progress and difficult estimation of demand we were struggling in putting numbers on our project. In general, it can be said that it has a very small urban footprint, since it works with the existing stock and aims at a stabilisation rather than radical change of direction.

The main obstacle to our undertaking is the compensation of the owner’s opportunity costs.

By handing over the management of their properties to our agency, their rent is no longer going to be the product of a competitive free market mechanisms but externally imposed, determined by factors such as wage and family status. But there will be an impetus for them

to participate. As the agency manages the rentals and upkeep of all the properties in the neighbourhood, the operation cost will go down for private landlords. People looking for places would prefer accountable, regular contracts as opposed to informal agreements as those leave them in a vulnerable position. For someone looking for a place to rent, an accountable association like this makes sense since they have the back-up of several other properties. The issue of absentee landlords who do not respond to calls and concerns about apartment repair etc. would also be tackled.

Another benefit is the increase in data resulting of the regularisation and formalisation of short-term rentals and can be helpful for the city’s housing and development authorities. On the basis of statistics, they can more concretely fight against speculation and over/under provision. Seasonal data will also help in creating strategies of management where the same property is rented in different ways through the year. These effects are only possible in the scope of collective rental activity for a number of dwellings, not like in the current situation of purely individual and private renting.

In general, we are hoping for our project to have a positive influence on renting practices, with a shift towards a more formalised and channelled intake of short-term renters and a stabilised remaining population which need not fear their gradual expulsion and a benefit for the social stability and accessibility. We also expect this to be of general use to further development projects, because it would ensure a more satisfied dwellers base that is less likely to impede and defer processes as we see it in the Newton Project. This way, in the perspective of investors, it could be seen as a sort of trade-off.

Lastly, ideally even if more indirectly we would like to see as a consequence the accessibility of a larger branch of wages, basically a rental market that is less exclusively dominated by unleashed market competition.

7. 4

Potential Drawbacks and Limitations of the proposal

The first challenge that we see is how we can succeed in managing a significant share of the neighbourhood’s built environment. The landlord’s collaboration cannot be forced and will depend on the informational work and quality and speed of the SPV’s service. This is also connected to the question of “hard policies”. In what way can our project compete and propose a profitable alternative to the ongoing processes of rent rising and the lucrative practices of informal short-term renting?

Our stakeholders’ analysis has shown that many powerful private actors are having a say in the neighbourhoods housing market and, being aware of the consultative and facultative nature of our proposal, we have to acknowledge the risk of falling short due to a lack of coercive measures. Factors such as general reluctance towards public intervention in housing markets and slow or no collaboration are very important challenges which we have to actively counteract. Nevertheless, we consider it necessary to start with a ‘soft policy’ for the test phase in order to establish a reputation and agency within the network of stakeholders. One more structural issue could be the continuation of informal renting, for this we would propose

more random contract check-ups to create more pressure on the landlords to abstain from such practices. Practically, we see some possible drawbacks in restrictions for the retrofitting processes for historical buildings.

8.

Bibliography

Agence de Developpement Territorial ASBL, Le Projet urbain Loi. Retrieved January 29, 2019, from

http://www.adt-ato.brussels/fr/zones-strat%C3%A9giques/quartiereurop%C3%A9en/projet-urbain-loi Baeten, G. (2003). Old Elites in a New City: Restructuring the Leopold Quarter and the Europeanisation of Brussels. In The Globalized City: Economic Restructuring and Social Polarization in European Cities (pp. 125-143). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Baume, M. D. (2018, September 8). Brussels VS. Brussels. Politico. Retrieved January 20, 2019, https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-eu-bubble-expats-belgium-vs-brussels-defusing-thetension-between-city-and-eu/

from

Bruzz, ‘Housing project Newton adjusted, but neighbors protest continues’, Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.bruzz.be/stedenbouw/woonproject-newton-bijgestuurd-maar-burenprotest-houdtaan-2018-03-19 Casier, C. (2018). ‘Des Européen·ne·s en ville : quelles contributions aux divisions sociales du territoire urbain? Étude à partir du marché du logement bruxellois’, with the courtesy of the author.

Heymans, V. (1995). Le Quartier des Squares (13th ed., Bruxelles, ville d'art et d'histoire). Bruxelles, BE: Secrétaire d'Etat chargé du patrimoine.

Le Projet urbain Loi. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://www.adt-ato.brussels/fr/zonesstratégiques/quartier-européen/projet-urbain-loi MdK. (2018, March 17). Schaerbeek: Le projet Newton une nouvelle fois recalé. DH.be. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.dhnet.be/regions/bruxelles/schaerbeek-le-projet-newton-unenouvelle-fois-recale-5afd1559cd70c60ea7082fda Ministry of the Brussels Capital Region, Direction Monuments and Landscapes: “De Noordoostwijk. De Squares en omgeving.”, from http://www.irismonument.be/pdf/nl/1002-stedenbouwku ndig_ontwikkeling_noordoostwijk.pdf (s.d., accessed on 04/10/18) RBDH, (2017). ‘Panique au Logement Social’, Art. 23 #65 VisitBrussels, Saint-Cyr House. (n.d.).

Retrieved https://visit.brussels/site/en/place/Saint-Cyr-House

January

28,

2019,

from

9.

Annexes

9. 1

Interviews

Resident Interviews The following are summarized interviews with residents of Quartier des Squares conducted during the course of our fieldwork. Formatting of the main points in these synthetic transcripts were left to the discretion of the interviewer, and our subject of conversation evolved over the course of our research, but our conversations followed roughly the following parameters: 1.

2. a. b. c. d. e.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Context: Age, Residence (with how many people do you live?), for how long in the area, where before, family origin, occupation Use of space in the neighbourhood: Where do you like to go/ spend majority of your time of the time spent in the area?

Do you go to restaurants in the neighbourhood?

Do your kids go to school around here?

Do you spend time outside? What do you usually do when your outside in the area?

Where do you live, where do you walk, Where else do you go?

Who are your neighbours, what relationship do you have with them? How often do you talk to your neighbours?

If you could add something to your area, what would that be?

How do you think the housing stock has evolved in this neighbourhood?

Have you noticed any particular trends?

What is your opinion of the current situation of rental housing here?

Have the rent prices changed over time?

Have the number/kind of residents changed?

Are you opposed to any of the changes in the neighbourhood?

What are your wishes/demands regarding housing and related functions in this area?

Aupair, 25, Estonian, living there for two months already, house in the street next to Ambriorix • • •

•

• • •

Family: single child (going to European School in Woluwé, has one friend in the area who goes to the same school, play in the park) Profession: both European Union, both Estonian, living there for 6 years Use of the Neighbourhood: walking the dog, visiting other Aupairs, for shopping goes to the city centre “because there is not much going on here, as a young person I want to hang around more where the young persons are, here are mostly families” [I suppose young person in this case means studied mid-20ies Central/Northern/Eastern Europeans In Squares only “Grocery Shopping and having a coffee at Starbucks when I’m going somewhere” Perception of the Neighbourhood: calm, which she likes, hard to say what kind of people hang around where, perceives every where to be the same people, hasn’t walked that much on the Sint Josse sides, the “huge buildings” are not much on the Southern part [referring to the big apartment blocks] Neighbours: Older people in an apartment that she doesn’t know well, other ones with two children Suggestions of Improvement: “it has almost everything that you need in an area, like playgrounds, tiny shops, big shops” Streets are small so you don’t have to be scared about traffic

Housewife, Nigerian, living there for “a long time” • • •

Family: two children (going to School in the neighbourhood, having friends there) husband also Nigerian Language: does not speak French, only English, says that people can’t speak English though and mostly approach her in French Free time: Sports, Jogging in the park, riding bicycle

• • • •

•

Shoping: sometimes Delhaize, Carrefour, not so much to the little shops, but in Madou and Sint Josse you find “other” shops Perception of the Neighbourhood: a lot of students and foreigners, “different faces, not the same faces” Neighbours: had to move out because they renovated the house, which is still empty Suggestions of Improvement: The Community office give out appointments which are not attended by the social workers, wakes up at five o’clock in the morning to get an appointment, but in general she likes the area, thinks its “nice” Dirty, Dustmen don’t work properly, leave half of the stuff on the street (not something though that can be complained about at the municipality centre)

Lourenco, Italian, 25 years old, in the area for two months now, moved to Brussels some years ago • •

• •

Pays more for the shared flat now but the common parts are of a higher quality Lives in “Schaerbeek but the part near to Cinquantenaire” Chasse de L’Ardenné but some people don’t know, its not called Squares though, doesn’t know that name – only if he would refer to the square where the good market is, which is a bit expensive though Perception of the Area: mixed, young workers like him, families, medium to high class Language: doesn’t know French, speaks to everyone in English, including his house owner, does not consider the language as a problem

Moira, 24, trainee at the European Union Studied in Cork, didn’t know anybody when she moved here. Met landlord through friend living in different apartment. Fell in with the Irish crowd: “there’s loads of us”. Isn’t overly fond of the rowdy Irish people in the bar, but doesn’t come often for the soccer games so can’t say how it normally is; there with coworkers today, both Irish, one lives in Squares but the other further West.

Only lived here for 3 months, largely spends time at work, at home, or in the city center. Doesn’t need visa or work permit (EU citizen). Likes the neighborhood; quiet, gives a friendly impression, evidently international.

Occasionally uses the squares for running, but not often for staying. Most time spent in the area is walking to and from the Commission. Doesn’t go to restaurants often; occasionally visits the pubs, but generally finds it too pricey to go out too often.

No kids, no long-term plans for staying in Brussels/Belgium, but unsure. Only said hello to the neighbors, and housemates generally reclusive. One other Irishman, one German, and three Belgians. German and one Belgian works at EU, but others are workers elsewhere. Irish landlord. Informal, under-the-table rent; contract, but not official or legally binding; “fake”(?) No roommates are domiciled.

Bogdan, Bulgarian handyman When I wanted to do my field observations at Café Gutenberg, I went in to ask if I could pay by card (since I had no money with me). The waitress said I couldn’t, but a man who was sitting there offered to buy me a coffee. We sat outside, I drank my coffee, he drank a beer, and I asked him some questions. He spoke French with a strong Bulgarian accent, and since my French is not so fantastic either, it was hard to understand everything he said. I will still do another interview since this one was short and limited, but it’s a nice start. Since it was also so spontaneous, I didn’t want to interrupt our conversation by recording it and making it an official thing. Here’s a summary.

His name was Bogdan, 54 year olds. He was from Turkish descent but grew up in Bulgaria and moved to Brussels 22 years ago. Ever since then he lived in Squares, on the border with Saint-Josse. He moved two times, but everytime within a range of two streets. He works as a custodian/handyman for 18 different buildings, mainly in Squares, but also in other places in Brussels. When I asked him about his activities in the neighborhood, he said that he usually hangs around the streets where he lives, and comes to Café Gutenberg for a beer everyday. He rarely goes to Square Ambiorix or Square Marie Louise. When I asked him about those squares, it looked like he didn’t know why he should go there. He hangs around his streets and often sees his neighbours, with whom he has a friendly relationship. He said that this is one of the most important reasons why he lives there: because people know him there.

Other than that, he doesn’t really like the neighbourhood. He said the streets are very loud and busy, and that there are too many kids. When asking about kids on the street, he replied that there is a big difference between Flemish, French and even Bulgarian kids on the one hand, and Turkish kids on the other hand. The first are “well behaved, go to bed on time”, while the Turkish kids are out on the streets by themselves till midnight or 2 AM. When I asked him about the difference between Bulgarian Turks and ‘Turkish Turks’, he mentions that there is a different mentality, since Bulgarian Turks (like himself) experienced the communist regime, and lived in big poverty, so they know how to live with very little.

After this, we continued talking about the neighbourhood and his job. He talked about how he fixes houses and looks after them, which is a lot of work, and causes him a lot of stress. That is why he will move to Vilvoorde in 2 years, to leave this neighbourhood (for which he doesn’t feel a strong affection apparently) and take it easier with all the work. This is also why, when I asked what he would change about the neighbourhood, he answered: “Rien. Bientôt, je ne serais plus là, alors ce ne sera plus mon problème” (translated: “Nothing. Soon, I’ll be gone anyway, so it won’t be my problem anymore”).

When he was talking about his job, he mentioned that he also fixes some houses for someone who works for the European Union. When I asked more about this, he told me that this guy just pays him a lot of money to fix up enormous houses he owned (mainly in Brussels, also one in Luxembourg). He said he could ask for 40.000, 50.000, 60.000 euros, the guy would pay it all to fix his houses. When I asked if he knew more people from the European side of Squares, he said he didn’t, clearly not feeling very positive about those people.

When he finished his beer, he told me he had to go. I thanked him for answering my questions and he wished me good luck.

Ibraham, Afghan, 24, working in an aliméntaire shop.

We get in and buy a pack of biscuits and some tea. We noticed this man last week, because he looked like he was really in a mood for a talk, so we decided to come back here.

He’s from Afghanistan, he arrived here three years ago. He’s 24, but he looks older. He lives in the quarter, alone: his family is not here. He works a lot, the shop is open every single day so he doesn’t have much spare time. He likes the area, there’s a lot of people around so it’s good for his business. Some of them are worried for him because they think he works too much, so people are pretty nice. Anyway, he says that in the quarter there’s no other people from Afghanistan. His clients are mostly from the surroundings, but he meets also people just passing by; there’s a bit of everything: Belgians, but also Portuguese, Bulgarians, Moroccans, not many Italians…

Generally, EU employed too. When we ask him if there is some specific problem in the area, he replies that no, he’s feeling comfortable here: the block is quite high-priced, close to the European Community, so it’s very safe with a lot of police and security around. And when we ask if some changings have been lately taking place, he states that he didn’t notice any differences from his arrival on, also because he works really hard so he spends most of the time there, arriving in the early morning and going home at the end of the day.

Margolot, 20, osteopathy student at ALMA She’s from France and she has been living in the quarter only for one year, even if she’s been in Belgium for 3 years. She’s studying osteopathy at the university, and now she likes the place she’s living in. In her free time, she likes to party but she also enjoys having walks around. The quarter is fine, but there aren’t many activities to do for young people except maybe for summertime, when the parks are filled with people; so if she wants to do something, she goes in other parts of the city as Ixelles or Woulwé. She decided to live here because of her flatmate, which is studying in ALMA University: so they tried to find a place in between the two universities.

Apparently, no problematic issues are in the quarter, since it’s very calm and quiet, and very secured. She also talked about some fete du quartier (quarter party), which happens sometimes with music and people around, and looks pretty cool. But apart from that, she would not change anything because the area may be too calm since its closeness to the EU block but she can move whenever she wants.

Joris, 22, physiotherapy student He lives really close to Jubel Park in Schaerbeek, he has been there for 3 years and he’s a physiotherapy student at ALMA; he’s from France, close to the Spanish border. He choose this area because of the park, of the architecture, and for the short distance with the university; in his spare time he hangs out in the quarter, not much on this part (Rue du noyer), but more on the other side where you can find the park, Merode: here there’s a lot of shops, food, activities and stuff to do, while on this side (Squares side) is not very animated, the mood is more calm/paceful. At the moment he’s living alone, he doesn’t really have a relation with the neighbors, but he’s fine like this also because of disappointing and noisy experiences in the past (with other neighbors): he

defines himself very “old fashioned” from that perspective. He chose to live in Brussels because of the city, which apparently requires many physiotherapy employees and the university is pretty good. He’s not hanging out with people from university (he’s not too in a young/party mood), but he has other friends. He used (close to his current place) to live with a guy he knew from his previous academic career in Montpellier. Now he lives basically 10 meters away from the park, but he’s not really into jogging or sports, also because he doesn’t like the cold weather. About the changes in the area, he didn’t notice much except for many works in progress in the streets and new constructions; if he could choose in the future, he would rather stay here than move away, even if it’s not really cheap because of EU quarter.

Seller Alimentation Generale, ca. 20-years-old •

Has been working here for 6 months

•

Is from an Albanian family that has been living in Saint Josse for a ‘long time’

•

He’s always lived in the same place, went to school in the neighborhood too

•

He lives with his family

•

Identifies with Saint Josse as his neighborhood, did not recognize ‘Squares’ as an area

•

Hangs out at Italian restaurants

•

Does not know any community halls or clubs

•

Plays football with friends at the Saint Josse plaza, with whoever is around

•

Has friends who are Turkish, Moroccan, Romanian and more

•

Said a park would be nice to go play in, but has never gone to Square Marguerite

•

Does most of his shopping at shops in Saint Josse

•

Gets a lot of customers in his shop, EU people stop by to buy cigarettes etc.

2 Girls (14 years old) who study at Athénée Adolphe Max (Highschool) •

Having a sandwich on the steps opposite school (Building of Ville de Bruxelles, with creche etc.)

•

Always lived nearby and studied at this school

•

One is from a Moroccan family and one from Syrian

•

They say their parents moved in here around 20 years ago

•

Favorite restaurants are Lebanese/middle-eastern ones on Chausee de Louvain (Le Mezze, Beirut)

•

Favorite activity with friends is to go shopping to the city center

•

Do not know any community halls or clubs around

•

Are not much into sports, use the Squares parks to go running sometimes

•

No interaction with people from different countries beyond their extended family, or at the school

•

They walk the streets comfortably, alone, even after dark (but avoid stares if people are looking)

•

They say the area is fine, and didn’t want much changed (except to “stop war”)

Expert Interviews Although the contextualized questions had to be adapted for each actor according to their field and influence in the area, our conversations with experts regarding their insights and opinions on our subject of study nevertheless followed the following rough outline: • • • • • • •

· · · · · · · ·

· · · ·

What caused the rents in this area to go up?

When did it actually start changing?

What sort of demand for housing do you see in the area? (demography; housing stock; rent amount) Do you face competition here? how much, from whom?

Do you have plans to widen your market/ clientele in the coming future?

Which properties do you represent? (Location, building typology, avg. prices/rent, number of rooms) Who are your clients (landlords), where do they live? Have they changed over time?

GAQ representative Barbara Bentein and 1727 representative Bob After a decrease in population, recent times a new increase 60% of the population is foreign, mainly European. Small minorities of African, Arab, ... o European workers not per se willing to integrate in the neighbourhood Young population, but small amount of children (mainly young workers, trainees, ...)

Big influence on the demand of housing: small dwellings, one room studios o GAQ tries to prevent overly dividing old houses into smaller housing units Since the 50s/60s, increase of larger apartment buildings New buildings: GAQ asks for family housing (multiple rooms) & social housing o They want to increase mixed population (or remain the original character of the neighbourhood) What the neighbourhood needs (according 1727): elderly home, school, intergenerational housing, social housing A large of the home-owners are elderly people, who can’t stay in their house (which is not adapted to their physical condition), but want to stay in the neighbourhood o Not interesting for building promoters · Brussels region is too often tempted by the amounts of money, even though they have “regulations” in terms of housing size EU will build more in the neighbourhood, they’re concentrating their institution buildings -> consequence: 5000 more workers, a big part of them will want to move to the neighbourhood Some expats stay here, build up their lives (and children’s lives), and will invest in houses: buy 3, 4, 5, 6 houses, renovate and rent them to their network (other expats) Enormous rise of ‘aparthotels’, in different forms, which will (according to Bob) lead to failures, forced closings, ... because there is an ‘over-supply’ GAQ representative Alain interviewed 6/11/2018, 24 Rue Luther (his own home) length interview: 1h 10m Profile: 63 years old, retired photojournalist, candidate in local municipal election for the party ecologroen, married with 2 sons (28 and 30 y.o.), active member of GAQ and 1727.

He lives with his wife, they rent the last floor to students.

Main points emerged: 1.Very notable rise in property price -> his house is valuated 10 times more valuable from when he bought, his sons cannot afford buy a property in the same neighbourhood “with my property i won to the lottery” 2.Ongoing construction of the last years don’t correspond to the actual demand of Squares population and more in general to the people in need in Brussels (economic need, physical need) -> 50% of new construction are studio flat (1 room), lack of real estate address to old people (old houses have no lift and the new one are not made for them), there is a very poor offer of social housing “in France 20% of each new construction must be social housing”

3.Developers and politician in Brussels are very close and embedded one with each other, not taking in account residents needs 4.Tourism and short stay in the neighbourhood (stagists or trainees in EU institutions) are growing and changing the housing offer in Squares.

5.Many non-Belgian landlords, even if residents, don’t pay national taxes.

Alessandro Meschi, HSM Properties Monday, 10.12.18 • Been in the area for a couple of years, have very good relations with their clients • Friendly, familial neighborhood. Has had contact with the Maison de Quartier—“candle lady” across the street, responsible for the local business’ “HOA” setup (collaborating on Christmas decorations/storefronts, voicing any concerns, etc.

• Hasn’t noticed drastic change in rent prices or housing stock, but definitely has risen in the past years.

They largely cater to international/expat (i.e., EU) populations, but usually to buy/sell. They say there’s not so much connection to the area/neighbors on behalf of their clients, but they feel like connections are easy for their clients to form with other Europeans in the area.

• Lots of Europeans come to them for housing, and competition is present, but not stiff. Bidding wars between buyers is nonexistent, and there’s no need to shoulder other companies out of the area o HOWEVER, expressed frustration at ‘wildcat’ (my word, not his) landlords. Real estate agents have to go through regular training, compliance, and other regulatory methods that are timeconsuming, but landlords that deal under the table shirk these rules entirely. They don’t lose clients to them, per se, but nevertheless are frustrated by their presence in the area. o Don’t pay taxes (federal? Local?)

• No real plans to widen market except beyond that normally expected of a real estate agency • Ownings are largely residential and located in the European quarter writ large, not just Squares. Some properties in Ixelles and Saint-Josse, some commercial.

• Clientele is mostly European people looking around Schuman, generally older.

• Big owners in the area (20 or 30) in a union, both landlords and developers.

Doesn’t much like the larger, high-end developments, but doesn’t bemoan any great loss or unfortunateness; takes it in stride • Overall, feels like the Rue Archimede is “like a little village,” and overall area feels convivial and familial.

9.2

List of Stakeholders

Institutional Actors → • Municipality of Ville de Bruxelles - Municipality of Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse https://urbanisme.irisnet.be/navigation-gauche/les-pouvoirs-publics/la-commune The public actor is closest to the citizen. Inside organs: municipal council + collège de bourgmestre + municipal administration •

Brussels City Region https://urbanisme.irisnet.be/navigation-gauche/les-pouvoirs-publics/la-region Official delegate (FD), helped by Direction d’Urbanisme, check if the permissions are regular and can revoke them + Government of Brussels City Region, helped by College of Urbanisme (l’instance de recours administratif contre les permis)

•

Brussels-Capital Region: Architectural Heritage Inventory http://www.irismonument.be/fr.Schaerbeek.Place_de_Jamblinne_de_Meux.html

•

SLRB-BGHM http://www.slrb.irisnet.be/fr The Brussels regional institution in charge of social housing.

•

BELIRIS http://www.beliris.be/ Beliris is a collaboration between the Federal State and the Brussels-Capital Region whose aim is to promote the influence of Brussels as the capital of Belgium and Europe. Beliris realizes construction, renovation and restoration projects in various fields: mobility, social housing, green spaces, neighbourhood revitalization, culture, heritage, sport.

•

FEDAIS https://www.fedais.be/qui-est-la-fedais FEDAIS is a non-profit organization that coordinates Social Real Estate Agencies (AIS) approved by the Brussels-Capital Region. It serves its member AIS, represents them, defends their interests and organizes the promotion of the sector. FEDAIS has no authority over AIS; it federates the sector.

•

Perspective Brussels http://perspective.brussels/fr Regional Center of Expertise and Initiator of the Brussels-Capital Regional Development Strategy

•

OCMW https://www.belgium.be/nl/familie/sociale_steun/ocmw

An OCMW, fully entitled 'Public center for social welfare', ensures a number of social services and thus ensures the well-being of every citizen. Every municipality or city has its own PCSW that offers a wide range of services. People in Belgium with insufficient means of subsistence or even no permanent place of residence can receive social assistance from the OCMW. •

CPAS: Public Center for Social Action ttps://www.belgium.be/fr/famille/aide_sociale/cpas) A CPAS, or "public center for social action", provides a number of social services and ensures the well-being of every citizen. Each town or city has its own CPAS offering a wide range of services.Every person legally residing in Belgium is entitled to social assistance. This social assistance aims to guarantee a minimum income for the entire population.

Supranational Actors → • European Union Major influence on built form, context and client base • UNESCO UNESCO protected zone and buildings can never be transformed or developed Social actor financed by public institutions → • AISB (Ville de Bruxelles)http://aisb.be/ The Agence Immobilière Sociale in Brussels is an association that manages real estate on behalf of the owners and sublets these properties to a public with limited income.

The AISB pursues a triple goal: offer a partnership to private owners too often forgotten by social real estate projects; make Brussels housing accessible to the people who need it the most; rehabilitate the private housing stock by fighting the rental void and lack of maintenance of buildings.

•

Maison de Quartier Nord-oost https://social.brussels/organisation/15326 The purpose of the association is to deal generally with families and people of all ages and conditions who may find themselves in a difficult situation and need the intervention of the community

•

ARAU -Action Urbane https://arau.org/fr/urban/detail/411/pad-loi-la-mixite-fonctionnelle-ne-peutlegitimer-la-folie-des-hauteurs L'ARAU is an association of Brussels residents, which examines urban development projects, both public and private, and attempts to improve them from the point of view of local residents, by suggesting more housing, more mixed-function buildings, a

•

•

more varied mix of social classes and devotion of public space for the use of active citizens.

Brussels Academy https://brusselsacademyblog.wordpress.com/ The Brussels Academy is an urban and citizen university. It is the meeting point for everyone who is interested in Brussels and wants to know more about the city. In this context, a number of professors and urban experts share their knowledge of Brussels with civil society. In order to achieve this, a wide range of activities are organized: courses, seminars, tours and visits, master classes, conferences, sessions on demand, consultancy, quick audit. (City level organisation- referred to by GAQ for residents to gain info about regional plans etc. ) Bral https://bral.brussels/ BRAL is a city movement that works for a sustainable Brussels. Together with members and partners they fight for an environmentally friendly, affordable and solidarity city.

BRAL carries out actions , does lobbying , supports residents' initiatives and provides advice to the government . The field of activity is the Brussels metropolitan region in all its social and cultural diversity.

Community independent Actors → • GAQ (Group d’Animation du Quartier européen) https://www.gaq.be/ Urban Planning Charter- https://www.gaq.be/2018/10/la-charte-durbanisme-du-gaq/ GAQ is an apolitical association of volunteers and solidarity residents. Founded in 1982, its goal is to ensure a harmonious evolution of the Quartier, to promote the meeting between its inhabitants, to promote the quality of life, the protection of heritage and cultural animation (Major/Central Civil Society Organization for the neighbourhood) • Collective 1727 http://www.1727.be/fr/54-2/ Collective 1727 represents the interests and concerns of many neighbourhood committees and local residents, and also the many people who signed the petitions.

(Central role in the petition against residential development at PLACE DE JAMBLINNE DE MEUX)

Private Actors → • Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/s/homes?refinement_paths%5B%5D=%2Fhomes&adults=1 &children=0&infants=0&toddlers=0&place_id=ChIJCR5MJ_Ew0cRz6wDzQ7ExVw&query=Ambiorix%2C%20Bruxelles&allow_override%5B%5D= &s_tag=BUkcJcfA

•

AG Real estate Owners of the parcel of land that the plan that got turned down was on. “AG Real Estate is the biggest property group in Belgium, with its headquarters in Brussels. As the property manager and advisor of AG Insurance, AG Real Estate acts as an investor and developer of office buildings, shopping centres, storage centres, residential buildings, car parks, rest homes and care homes… AG Real Estate manages a diverse portfolio of over €6 billion, mainly in the home markets of Belgium, France and Luxembourg. <”Real estate, PPP, investment and development Office, retail, residential; “investments across all asset classes”, Subsidiary of AG Insurance>

•

Archimedes Real Estate “We deal primarily with buying, selling and letting of residential properties, and specialize in the European quarter.” http://www.archimederealestate.be/Web.mvc/en-gb/Index Located right on Square Ambiorix; more than half of their listed properties are in the European Quarter.

•

HSM Properties “Conveniently situated in the heart of the European District, just off Rond point Schuman, our office is ideal for EU officials, their business partners and anyone else looking to buy, sell, or rent their home, their investment property, or their commercial space....”

•

RentMore.brussels “RentMore is a leading player with over 20 years of experience in serviced apartment rental, in Brussels and Antwerp. With heaps of expertise in serving expats, Eurocrats and international companies.” Owners and renters of a new luxury apartment complex in the NW of the quartier

•

easylifeinbrussels.be “Away from home you deserve comfort” - their motto, “We rent our own apartments in the EU District - Schuman area”

•

MAS residence - “Luxury Furnished Suites and Apartments in Brussels” Hotel/rental group catering to business people and tourists

•

Apartments Apart Multinational bnb-type rental service, offers apartments for short stays across Brussels; owns(?) a building in Eastern Squares, right on the main road

Annexe 3: Initial impressions from the neighbourhood, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Kevin Lynchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; analysis

No strict format is imposed for your report, but it must surely include the following elements (the order and articulations of these elements are up to you): • a general introduction to your neighbourhood; this could include a discussion of the social and spatial characteristics of the neighbourhood in space (the neighbourhood in its larger city context) and in time (its recent historical development) with the help of statistical figures and maps; DONE BY BEA • a presentation of your selected topic, including the rationale behind choosing it; • a discussion of the neighbourhood’s local culture(s) using pictures and residents’ and users’ mental maps; DONE BY BEA • a presentation of your research findings from your urban ethnography and (expert) interviews related to your topic of choice (do not forget to include excerpts of field notes and interview quotes); • a schematic mapping of the set of actors holding a stake in the neighbourhood, indicating their typologies, hierarchies and relationships, with a particular focus on the relevant ones for your selected topic; • a presentation of your master plan, clearly indicating its logic, intentions and the problems / challenges it tries to address; • a general conclusion