Brusselization
In urban planning, Brusselization (UK and US) or Brusselisation (UK variant) (French: bruxellisation, Dutch: verbrusseling) is "the indiscriminate and careless introduction of modern high-rise buildings into gentrified neighbourhoods" and has become a byword for "haphazard urban development and redevelopment."[1][2]
The notion applies to anywhere whose development follows the pattern of the uncontrolled development of Brussels in the 1960s and 1970s, that resulted from a lack of zoning regulations and the city authorities' laissez-faire approach to city planning.[1][3][4][5]
Brussels
Historical precedent and underpinnings for modernization in Brussels
The 1950s was not the first time that
The writer
From the 1960s to the 1980s
The original Brusselization was the type of urban regeneration performed by Brussels in connection with the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (
Further radical changes resulted from Brussels's role as the center of the EU and NATO,[1][10] beginning with the construction of the European Commission's headquarters in 1959.[11] The introduction of a high-speed rail network in the 1990s was the latest excuse to speculate on multiple rows of properties for modern office or hotel redevelopment, which led to the razing of neighborhood blocks near Brussels-South railway station.
These changes caused outcry amongst the citizens of Brussels and by
The 1990s: From Brusselization to façadism
In the early 1990s, laws were introduced in Brussels restricting the demolition of buildings that were deemed to have architectural or historical significance, and in 1999, the city authorities' urban development plan explicitly declared high-rise buildings to be architecturally incompatible with the existing aesthetics of the city centre.[1][11] This led to the rise of what was termed façadisme, i.e. the destruction of the whole interior of a historic building while preserving its historic façade, with new buildings erected behind or around it.[13][2][8]
These laws were the Town Planning Act 1991, which gave local authorities the powers to refuse demolition requests on the grounds of historical, aesthetic, or cultural significance, and to designate architectural heritage zones; and the Heritage Conservation Act of 1993, which gave the government of the Brussels-Capital Region the power to designate buildings to be protected for historic reasons. However, this system had its deficiencies. Whilst the Capital Region's government could designate historic buildings, it was the nineteen municipal authorities within it that were responsible for demolition permits. Not until the introduction of a permis unique system was this internecine conflict resolved.[11]
See also
- Californication
- Historic preservation
- Jardin du Maelbeek
- Manhattanization
- Venice Charter
- Redevelopment of Norrmalm
- Vancouverism
References
Cross-reference
- ^ a b c d e State 2004, p. 51–52.
- ^ a b Stubbs & Makaš 2011, pp. 121.
- ^ a b Béghain & Gabilliet 2004, p. 109.
- ^ Papadopoulos 1996, p. 66.
- .
- ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Le Palais de Justice de Bruxelles - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Vandendaele & Leblicq 1980, p. 270.
- ^ a b De Vries 2003, p. 14.
- ^ Swyngedouw & Moyersoen 2006, p. 158.
- ^ a b Elliott & Cole 2010, p. 64.
- ^ a b c Stubbs & Makaš 2011, pp. 120.
- ^ Lagrou 2003, p. 303.
- ^ Hein 2004, p. 264.
Sources used
- Béghain, Véronique; Gabilliet, Jean-Paul (2004). The cultural shuttle: the United States in/of Europe. European contributions to American studies. Vol. 57. VU University Press. ISBN 978-90-5383-949-2.
- De Vries, André (2003). Brussels: a cultural and literary history. Signal Books. ISBN 978-1-902669-47-2.
- Elliott, Mark; Cole, Geert (2010). "Brussels". Belgium and Luxembourg. Country Guide Series (4th ed.). Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-989-3.
- Hein, Carola (2004). The capital of Europe: architecture and urban planning for the European Union. Perspectives on the twentieth century. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-97874-7.
- Lagrou, Evert (2003). "Brussels: A superimposition of social, cultural, and spatial layers". In Salet, W. G. M.; Kreukels, Anton; Thornley, Andy (eds.). Metropolitan governance and spatial planning: comparative case studies of European city-regions. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-27449-4.
- Papadopoulos, A. G. (1996). Urban regimes and strategies: building Europe's central executive district in Brussels. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-64559-9.
- State, Paul F. (2004). "Brusselization". Historical dictionary of Brussels. Historical dictionaries of cities of the world. Vol. 14. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5075-0.
- Stubbs, John H.; Makaš, Emily G. (2011). "Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands". Architectural Conservation in Europe and the Americas. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-90099-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7425-4122-1.
- Vandendaele, Richard; Leblicq, Yvon (1980). Poelaert et son temps (exhibition catalogue) (in French). Brussels: Crédit Communal de Belgique.
Further reading
- Käpplinger, Claus (1993). "Façadisme et Bruxellisation". Bauwelt (in German). 84 (40–41): 2166–75.
- Robert, Francois (10 July 2009). "Un " sacré " chancre en voie de disparition". Le Soir (in French).
- Robert, Francois (9 July 2009). "L'îlot Falstaff submergé par la brique". Le Soir (in French).
- "Le façadisme: conservation ou bruxellisation?". Les Nouvelles du Patrimoine (in French) (49). May 1993.