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Understanding Housing Sprawl: The Case of Flanders, Belgium

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  • Pascal De Decker

    (Sint-Lucas School of Architecture Ghent/Brussels, University College Ghent, Sint-Denijslaan 293, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

Abstract

Between 1995 and 1999 the Flemish government succeeded in approving pieces of legislation intended to counter the spatial developments that had characterised the preceding periods, namely suburbanisation and urban decay. It passed a law to combat vacancy and slum housing (1995), a law to invest in social urban renewal (1996), a housing law (1997), a new law on spatial planning (1999), and the first comprehensive spatial plan (1997). Unfortunately, recent information and an evaluation of the spatial planning effort reveal that these initiatives have not been successful. The suburbanisation of native Belgians did not stop: on the contrary, it is accelerating again. And the population growth in the cities is due to people coming from abroad (through family reunification or formation or as asylum seekers). In this contribution I investigate suburbanisation and deurbanisation, asking why housing sprawl in Flanders is so persistent. I examine the structures behind sprawl, viewing them as the consequence of a longstanding dialectical process whereby physical artefacts interact with political choices and actions, cultural convictions, and economic possibilities that have reinforced each other in daily practice over and over again in one predominant direction. The basic argument is that Flanders' spatial planning and urban policies are locked into historical choices, making it difficult to implement new options successfully.

Suggested Citation

  • Pascal De Decker, 2011. "Understanding Housing Sprawl: The Case of Flanders, Belgium," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(7), pages 1634-1654, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:43:y:2011:i:7:p:1634-1654
    DOI: 10.1068/a43242
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pascal De Decker & Christian Kesteloot & Filip De Maesschalck & Jan Vranken, 2005. "Revitalizing the City in an Anti‐Urban Context: Extreme Right and the Rise of Urban Policies in Flanders, Belgium," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 152-171, March.
    2. Pascal De Decker, 2001. "Jammed Between Housing And Property Rights: Belgian Private Renting In Perspective," European Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 17-39.
    3. Pascal De Decker, 2001. "Jammed Between Housing And Property Rights: Belgian Private Renting In Perspective," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 17-39.
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    2. Sarah Kuypers & Ive Marx, 2018. "Estimation of Joint Income-Wealth Poverty: A Sensitivity Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 117-137, February.
    3. Staes, Jan & Broekx, Steven & Van Der Biest, Katrien & Vrebos, Dirk & Olivier, Beauchard & De Nocker, Leo & Liekens, Inge & Poelmans, Lien & Verheyen, Kris & Jeroen, Panis & Meire, Patrick, 2017. "Quantification of the potential impact of nature conservation on ecosystem services supply in the Flemish Region: A cascade modelling approach," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 124-137.
    4. De Vos, Jonas & Witlox, Frank, 2013. "Transportation policy as spatial planning tool; reducing urban sprawl by increasing travel costs and clustering infrastructure and public transportation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 117-125.
    5. Kuypers, Sarah & Marx, Ive, 2016. "Estimation of Joint Income? Wealth Poverty: A Sensitivity Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 10391, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Griet Juwet & Michael Ryckewaert, 2018. "Energy Transition in the Nebular City: Connecting Transition Thinking, Metabolism Studies, and Urban Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, March.
    7. Boussauw, Kobe & Vanoutrive, Thomas, 2017. "Transport policy in Belgium: Translating sustainability discourses into unsustainable outcomes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 11-19.
    8. De Vos, Jonas, 2016. "Road pricing in a polycentric urban region: Analysing a pilot project in Belgium," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 134-142.
    9. Sarah Kuypers & Ive Marx, 2019. "The Truly Vulnerable: Integrating Wealth into the Measurement of Poverty and Social Policy Effectiveness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 131-147, February.

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