Belgian Cities Research Articles

Ethnic mobilization, multiculturalism and the political process in two Belgian cities: Antwerp and Liège

Abstract Next to discussing aspects of the political and social situation of migrant ethnic communities in two Belgian cities, this article provides interesting insight into identity politics in contemporary Belgium divided between the Flemish emphasis on cultural and linguistic homogenization and hegemonization and the Walloon focus on citizenship. This fundamental ideological split influences also how multiculturalism is discussed and practiced in the two parts of Belgium in general and in Antwerp and Liege in particular.

Sensation Seeking and Antisocial Behaviour in a Junior Student Sample

One hundred and sixty-nine students, between 11 and 15 years old, answered a French Junior Sensation Seeking Scale (J-SSS) and a Self-Reported Delinquency (SRD) Scale. Students were from four schools in two French-speaking cities in Belgium. The results showed a positive relationship between three subscales and the total score of J-SSS with the SRD. Subscale Boredom Susceptibility (BS) was the subscale least related to delinquency.

Do prostitutes need more health education regarding sexually transmitted diseases and the HIV infection? Experience in a Belgian city

From December 1988 till April 1989 154 women who worked in clubs (120) and behind windows (34) in and around Ghent, Belgium, were interviewed about knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in their professional life. Television scored best (98%) as a source of information for AIDS. A leaflet posted in every door in 1987 was mentioned in 60%. Less than half the women gave more than 7 correct answers on 11 questions about safety of sex techniques. Intercourse with condom, the sexual act mostly done, was considered safer than deep kissing, masturbation and even massage. In 10 to 20% of the professional sex contacts no condoms were used, which leads to 1000 to 4000 unprotected contacts every week in the sex industry in Ghent (population 500,000). Condom use with the private partner is exceptional. Proposals for condom use almost invariably come from the women themselves instead of from their clients. We conclude that up till now health education efforts to prostitutes and their clients were not sufficient and that they should be intensified.

Brugge–Zeebrugge The New Belgian Harbour on the North Sea

The history and prosperity of the Belgian city of Bruges has always been dependent on the sea. The growth of sea-borne traffic and the increasing size of vessels in recent years demanded new facilities to enable Belgium to exploit the natural advantages arising from its location. The construction of such port facilities during the last decade has employed the latest techniques in design, construction and environmental impact assessments. Contracts for the port development were drawn up to provide limits for quality control, timing and general but strict pricing, while enabling amendments during the course of the project. Now nearing completion, the major dredging and construction works have suffered no delays and will provide the most modern facilities in Zeebrugge, the port of the future.

Evolution of coronary heart disease mortality from 1958 in Belgium.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality increased during the 1950s and 1960s but then showed a steady decline over time, starting in 1970. The author reviews the evidence relating this decline in CHD mortality to a favourable evolution of the major coronary risk factors. Monitoring of trends and determinants in CHD incidence is currently in progress in two major Belgian cities.

Policy and Politics in Belgian Cities

Patterns of public policies as reflected by the expenditure of local governments of 196 Belgian cities are examined in the context of five hypotheses explaining variations in expenditure patterns. The role a city plays in the urban system of the nation-state, as reflected by the index of ecological centrality, is found to have the most pervasive effect on various types of expenditures. Population stagnation of cities, the explanation of which is essentially political, is also found to be an important factor affecting most types of expenditures, although it is in reality a surrogate for region. Socialist-controlled cities are found to spend more on social welfare expenditures than Catholic-controlled cities, but the effect of the ideological orientation of the dominant party in local politics is restricted to these kinds of expenditures. Finally, the degree of political competitiveness is found to have little or no effect on expenditures once other factors are controlled. The importance of politics in the explanation of public policies in cities is reassessed in the light of these findings.

A simulation model for a bottleneck situation on a river

The simulation model presented below is part of the feasibility study of a large public construction project in a major Belgian city. In this project, a bridge over a major river plays an important role. The quantitative evaluation of some bottleneck situations on the river turns out to be very difficult. The complexity of the real-life situation precludes the use of analytical waitingline models. A simulation model has been built in order to evaluate the effects of alternative courses of action under various circumstances. The paper contains a brief problem formulation, a detailed model description and some computational results. Le modèle de simulation présenté ici se rattache à une étude d'opportuniti d'un projet d'aménagement dans le secteur public. Le remplacement d'un certain pont à piles en rivière semble s'imposer à tour pour des raisons diverses sans que l'on ait pu, jusqu'ici, évaluer la situation en termes quantitatifs. La complexité du problème ne permet pas de faire appel à un modèle analytique de file d'attente. Par conséquent, on a construit un modèle de simulation qui donne une évaluation quantitative de la situation actuelle et de celles que résulteraient de décisions prises ou de la variation de certaines données (évolution du tra f ic). Cet article contient une brève formulation du probléme et une description du modéle de simulation.

Comparison between three different methods for the estimation of the total suspended matter in urban air

In the centre of one of the major Belgian cities, the average daily aerosol concentration during two consecutive winter months has been determined with an integrating nephelometer. by the reflectometric method and gravimetrically after collection on cellulose filters. A linear regression analysis shows that the three methods give significantly correlated results and also confirms the applicability of an integrating nephelometer as to the estimation of average dust concentrations in urban areas.

De sociale struktuur en het politieke proces : Een vergelijkende studie in 147 Belgische Gemeenten

This paper is concerned with the question of how the social and economic structure of cities affects the degree of political competition and how in turn these factors affect the degree of a political stability. It isbased on a comparative empirical study of the outcomes of the communal elections of 1952, 1958 and 1964 in 147 Belgian cities that had a population size of 10.000 or more in 1947.In the first place the following generalizations are made with regard to the election outcomes in these cities during the 1952-1964 period. 1. A general proliferation of lists or parties participating in the elections from 1952 to 1964.2. A trend from one-party-control over the college (executive committee) of the city council toward coalition-control.3. A net increase in the number of catholic lists and a net decrease in the number of socialist and liberal lists participating in the colleges of these townships.4. An increase in the number of cities in which newer, smaller and nontraditional parties or lists participated in the college of the city council.Three measures of politica! competitions are employed :1. The average number of parties or lists, that entered the communal election of 1952, 1958 and 1964.2. The average number of lists that received at least ten per cent of the vote in these three elections, and3. The presence or absence of a coalition on the college of the city council in 1952.The two measures of politica! stability, which are also based on the results of the same elections, are :1. The degree of stability in the lists and parties participating in the college of the city council, and2. The degree of stability in the list or party controlling the college of the city council.In general, measures of structural differentiation, linguistic diversity, industrial diversity, and social heterogeneity (i.e. , the presence of a large middle class) are found to be positively related to the degree of competition in local politics. In turn, measures of each of these structural factors and the measures of political competition are found to be negatively related to measures of political stability. Regression analysis supports the interpretation that diversity and heterogeneity in the social structure of cities - specifically, population size, density, and the presence of many persons with high occupational status - contribute to greater politica! competition in local polities, but that it is the degree of political competition that most strongly affects the degree of political stability.The conclusion is drawn that cities with a high degree of social and economic heterogeneity have a greater amount of conflict and cleavage. This results in greater competition in the political arena whichin turn predisposes such cities to have a high degree of instability in the control of their city governments.

Belgian Cities Germanized

Belgian Cities Germanized