Our publications
What is ePub format?
If you are a regular reader of our journal, you will have noticed that a new text format has
been added to the others. It is called ePub format (electronic publication), which is intended
for tablet computers and smartphones. It has two main advantages: it adapts automatically
to the size of the screen on the device used for reading it and is able to contain multimedia
content (video and audio, for example). Brussels Studies has therefore established a
partnership with the Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles for the production of videos to be inserted in
some of its articles.
ePub documents may also be read with an adapted viewer on your computer. An add-on exists
for Firefox for example, as well as specific programs (such as Calibre). You may find more
information on the Wikipedia page about ePub.
If you cannot or do not wish to read texts in ePub format, we will continue to publish texts
in PDF format, from now on in ‘landscape’ mode to make them easier to read on a computer
screen.
The multimedia content integrated into the Brussels Studies ePub documents is also available
online on our Vimeo channel.
As the ePub version of our journal is still in its infancy, we would appreciate your feedback
regarding your reading experience.
Finally, please note that the paragraphs of our texts are now numbered, with an aim to allow
easier citations. As ePub documents do not have a fixed pagination, we suggest that paragraph
numbers rather than page numbers should be used in academic references in order to allow
easy identification of citations in both PDF and ePub documents.
Spiritual Geographies: mobility of Pentecostal ministers and migratory ‘miracles’ between Africa or Latin America and Europe
By taking into account spatiality and identity in the movements of transnational religious stakeholders, this article intends to investigate the link between migratory and religious experiences as expressed by the ministers of four different Brussels-based Pentecostal congregations. The analysis of the ministers' narratives – reassessing the circumstances which led them from Sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America to Belgium – reveals an interwoven process of geographical shifts and ‘divine’ actions, offering an opportunity to consider a twofold process involving mobility and religion. On the one hand, we can see how Pentecostalism transforms and subverts the migratory experience by allowing an alternativ ...
Photographic representations of Brussels at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries: from documentation to artistic expression
The period between 1880 and 1900 was a determining moment for urbanism in Brussels as well as for the recognition of photography as an art form. The policy regarding major work sites during the reign of Léopold II was essential in the definition of the Brussels urban identity. At the same time, the status of photographers was redefined. The pioneering photographers from the previous period were followed by a generation of amateurs – in the noble sense of the term – who defended the autonomy of what they considered to be an art form in itself. As part of a fundamental international movement referred to as ‘Pictorialism’ which emerged in the mid 1880s, they modelled their work after painting and favoured t ...
New RER stations for Brussels? Challenges, methods and constraints
This article goes back over the debate which still remains to be settled and which divides the Brussels-Capital Region and the SNCB regarding the creation of new urban railway stations in the framework of the RER project. Our aim is to provide an objective (or at least methodologically transparent and clearly presented) assessment which is up to date as regards the relevance of these stations. Thus, after presenting the problem and discussing possible methods, we propose a calculation of the potential of each of the stations proposed by the different urban planning documents of the Brussels Region.
We thus illustrate the pertinence of most of them, a significant share of which are more relevant than some of the existing sec ...
The political representation of Muslims in Brussels
Compared with other major European cities, the Brussels-Capital Region has a unique configuration in terms of the political representation of elected representatives descended from diverse ethnocultural groups, and in particular Muslim elected representatives. Nearly one out of five members of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region is of Muslim origin. This is all the more unique given that, for the first time in Brussels and in the entire European Union, one of the seats in the Brussels Parliament is held by a Muslim member who wears a headscarf (Mahinur Ozdemir). The present article is based on documentary work as well as an empirical approach carried out using interviews which were conducted with Brussels MPs and community s ...
Brussels at the heart of urban legends?
This article presents urban legends told in Brussels which reflect an urban imagination crossed with local characteristics. Presented as news items although their truthfulness is questionable, these stories mentioning Brussels tell of attacks or harm committed against an anonymous person or the friend of a friend, in everyday public spaces, places of constant coming and going, personal itineraries or familiar shops. These legends feature the confrontation with others, machines or nature, and present Brussels as a dangerous place where security is everybody’s business. These legends serve as warnings and allow people to reassert their identity by designating scapegoats. The stories which take place in Brussels may, however, come ...
Commercial transactions and social relations between the Greeks and Turks of Brussels
This article examines how the extent to which Greeks and Turks 'live together' in Brussels can be measured by means of commercial transactions. The question is knowing what the impact of monetary exchanges on the symbolic borders between these social groups is and how these exchanges have changed over time. Whereas the market interactions between Greeks and Turks in the years that followed their moving to Brussels were defined by the attitude of affinity (out of conviction or necessity), those that occur today belong more to the framework of an urban cosmopolitanism defined by the attitude of indifference. Even if the commercial transactions constitute an area for hierarchizing the players, they also operate as a place of enco ...
Regional building archaeology. The stakes involved in the improved management of historic architecture in Brussels
Although the situation in Brussels has improved considerably in recent years, the management –identification, protection and preservation – of built heritage from the Old Regime is still faced with a certain number of administrative, regulatory and scientific problems. This article intends to illustrate the importance of the development of regional building archaeology: [1] by reviewing the current situation of the study and protection of historic architectural heritage in Brussels; [2] by identifying the main problems which hinder this management; and [3] by proposing several ideas for solutions and by showing the potential of this type of development for the future of the city-Region.
Population growth in Brussels and inequality of access to kindergarten
What is the social equality of access to kindergarten, the main means of entry into the education system? In Brussels, population growth combined with the social and economic divide threaten equal access to kindergarten. The demand for pre-school education starts at age 2 ½ and is widespread in the region, while the number of children has increased considerably, especially in the poorest neighbourhoods. The study presents an analysis of enrolment statistics per municipality and shows that in many areas, there is a widespread saturation of kindergartens despite the opening of more than 300 additional classes since 2000-01. This situation has led the organising authorities to enact new enrolment regulations, mainly for the first ...
Designing and developing public spaces in Brussels
This text is a short account or summary of urban imaginations which have conditioned the formal view of the development of public space since the creation of the Brussels-Capital Region.
It presents different periods which have constituted turning points and overlappings in the evolution of these imaginations.
Through concrete examples, the text illustrates in particular how development practices for public space became recognised, at first through projects which were simply aimed at a better balance in the distribution of public space, and then progressively through projects which integrated questions regarding use and the architectural qualities of developments. The author discusses in particular the influence ...
Are the municipalities of Brussels guilty of wasteful spending? A comparative analysis of the budgets of Belgium’s main urban municipalities
The municipalities of Brussels are often accused of being a source of financial chaos and of requiring urgent reforms. The present article attempts to objectivise the question of relative wasteful spending by the municipalities of Brussels based on a comparison of the finances of the 19 municipalities of Brussels with those of the municipalities of the four other major urban entities in Belgium: Antwerp, Charleroi, Ghent and Liege.?Our methodology does not allow us to affirm that the services of the municipalities of Brussels could not be provided more efficiently. It does, however, allow us to affirm that in the case of excessive spending by the municipalities of Brussels, it would not be more than that of the other entities studied, ...
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> Editor-in-Chief:
Michel Hubert
> Senior Editor Assistant:
Stefan De Corte
> Senior Editor:
Benjamin Wayens
> Editorial Assistant:
Emilie Vossen