By means of this City Contract, Brussels is bringing special attention to encouraging social integration among its inhabitants, on the individual and collective levels, and it is doing so with a view to reinforcing social cohesion in the various districts and in the city as a whole. It thus seeks to combat the polarisation of its population, as can occur in large cities. This strategy is taking shape through several targeted measures that include, among others, the establishment of a House of Solidarity, the creation of a secular North African community centre, and renovating – in close cooperation with the inhabitants - an adventure playground important to the social fabric in a working-class neighbourhood.

Moreover, the city administration is working to improve the health and environmental aspects of its less privileged districts. Improving sanitation in the working class districts therefore comes to be one of the main priorities, along with a renewed concern for the health of some of the more fragile segments of the population. To that end, the city has tripled its Mobile Social Emergency Service and doubled the emergency shelter capacity of this service.

Finally, the city administration is redoubling its efforts to provide a supply of decent and safe housing, at a price affordable to all its inhabitants, by setting up a housing assistance service for persons with lower incomes.

In the City Contracts, the City of Brussels favours a coordinated approach that combines general prevention with a security contract. General prevention will be developed in close conjunction with the City Projects  (and their budgets, as allocated by Brussels). This task is being carried out under the auspices of the para-municipal non-profit organisation Bravvo and is structured around five mainstays:
 prevention by presence in the districts
 prevention by society and citizens
 prevention of conflicts
 prevention by specific measures and alternative penalties
 prevention by improving the quality of life.

The City Contract scheme has been developed by different agents, municipal as well as associative ones, who have been involved in varying degrees in the implementation of the projects. As coordinator of the City Contract, the non-profit organisation BRAVVO has served as a bridge linking all these partners.

The City administration is further determined to include into its projects the following lateral points found in the Urban Policy Programme: socio-professional integration, involvement and participation of its inhabitants and inter-culturalism. 

Concerning the City Contract, the City of Brussels has largely favoured a public-oriented approach, intended to be followed throughout the implementation of the various projects. Of particular interest are recently immigrated children, foreign-born populations, those in highly precarious situations and/or homeless persons and low-income households.   

Other projects are being modelled according to a territorial approach. Thus, the sanitation project is focused on the relevant districts in the City of Brussels. The City has also directed the actions of two other projects towards the area west of the Pentagon, in order to focus on districts showing unfavourable social indicators (low incomes, deteriorated housing, etc). 

An evaluation of the Brussels City Contract will be amde by the end of its duration.

Asbl BRAVVO
Boulevard Adolphe Max
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Etienne Lambert (Administrative Coordinator), tel. 32 (0)2 279.21.55

//2005

case

Urban Policy

Security & crime prevention, Social inclusion & integration, Urban environment