Country profile - (Belgium)

SOER 2010 Country profile (Deprecated)

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Urbanisation in Belgium

more info Organisation name NFP-Belgium Reporting country Belgium Organisation website Organisation website Contact link Contact link Last updated 22 Dec 2010 Content license CC By 2.5 Content provider

Key message

Belgium became highly urbanised and densely populated

Urbanisation

Belgium has become highly urbanised and densely populated (2008: 349,4 inh/km2 overall, 455,7 for the Flemish Region, 205,2 for the Walloon Region, and 6496,9 for the Brussels-Capital Region), soil sealing increased and urban sprawl around major cities expanded. As a result, commuting (distance) increased. For instance, in the Brussels-Capital Region, about 53 % of the 680 000 employments are occupied by people living in the two other regions (2007).

More than 60 % of the commuters use their car to go to work.

Urbanisation results among others in increased soil sealing of the territory. This impermeability of soil has notable environmental impacts: reduced water provision for ‘phreatic water tables/surfaces’ and aquifers, restricted development of vegetation (which involves impacts on biodiversity, well-being, micro-climate) and increased flood risk.

The results of a study concerning the evolution of soil impermeability in and around the Brussels-Capital Region, based on spatial analysis and remote sensing, illustrates the magnitude of the phenomenon.

For Brussels and surroundings, the proportion of impermeable surfaces increased from 26 % in 1955 to 47 % in 2006.