Country fiche Territorial patterns and relations in Belgium Demography Urbanisation Environment Accessibility Economy Interactive version: www.espon.eu/belgium Introductory remarks The content of the following overview is a summary of research results from different thematic applied research projects under the ESPON 2020 programme. As a consequence, most indicators and analyses are not based on most recent data but represent the data availability at the time when the research was undertaken. Only in a few cases, for some rather basic indicators that could easily be reproduced, more up-to-date information was used. It is therefore important to note that this overview is mainly a collection of available findings with different time stamps and not an up-to-date, comprehensive analysis. Its main goal is to showcase the wide range of ESPON research and, by zooming-in on a specific country, to raise interest for the scientific results at a more national and even regional scale. 1 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Demography Population density in 2016 Expected population development 2014-2030 Housing cost burden of population in 2015 Total population aged 24-64 with a higher education degree (level 5-8) in 2016 2 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy The map shows an area of high population density extending in a rough central location as one of the most important traffic intersections in arc from north-west England down to Milan, with a little break in the Alps. Western Europe. In Wallonia, the map shows a higher concentration of In the less populated countries, a number of metropolitan areas are population on the backbone, bringing together the main Walloon cities from recognizable as well, such as Lisbon (PT), Madrid (ES), Paris (FR), and west to east, and the centre and north of Walloon Brabant. These are the Cracow (PL). Physical factors that affect population density include water first Walloon municipalities to be affected by the peri-urbanisation of supply, climate, relief, vegetation, soils and availability of natural resources Brussels in the 1950s. A higher density zone is also developing in the and energy. Belgium shows a decreasing population density from north to extreme south of the province of Luxembourg due to the attractiveness of south. Flanders and Brussels' high population density is contributable to its the employment centres of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. 3 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Overall, large portions of Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and France have a Bastogne. Belgium’s total population of 11.3 million inhabitants increases decreasing population. For the latter two, however, an increasing each year by an average of no less than 40,000 inhabitants. This is mainly population can be observed in urban areas such as Madrid, Bordeaux, due to an increase in life expectancy and international immigration. In the Nantes or Paris. Other regions that are characterised by an increasing long term, however, demographic growth is not as strong as that observed population are the Lowlands, Western Germany, the UK and Ireland. since the beginning of the 1990s. The migration balance will halve (from These trends of population are significantly influenced by the job 48,000 in 2015 to 25,000 from 2025). In addition, the natural balance is opportunities and the economic situation of the regions. In Belgium, these decreasing, mainly due to the increase in the number of deaths (due to the conditions are particularly favourable in Brussels-Capital, Arlon and ageing of the baby boomer generation). 4 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Disposable household income is the amount of money that households a housing cost overburden are Malta, Cyprus, Ireland and Finland. have available for spending and saving after income taxes have been Conversely, only Greece shows a population of with 20 to 40% accounted for. Housing cost burden includes rental or mortgage interest experiencing a housing cost overburden. The cost of living in Belgium is payments, but also the cost of utilities such as water, electricity, gas or relatively high, but still considered affordable, including the cost of living in heating. Such costs are considered as an overburden when they represent Brussels, when compared to some of its neighbours. However, with more than 40% of equivalised disposable income. In 2015, 11.3% of the constantly growing prices, questions of affordability naturally arise. In EU population lived in households with such an overburden. Countries Belgium, the gap between poor households and the total population in where a relatively small proportion of the population live in households with terms of the cost of housing is particularly significant. 5 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Metropolitan areas in Europe generally have a greater share of people with olds held a higher education degree. Belgium thus scores well above the higher education qualifications than their surrounding areas. There is a European average, which is 39.1%. It is one of the countries where higher share in Northern Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Western Norway and education is an important lever to find work. Moreover, Belgium is one of Switzerland. Conversely, Portugal, Italy and countries in Eastern Europe the cheapest; regular students pay only some 900 EUR enrolment fee. A have a lower share. While a large portion of the higher educated working point, however, is that for children whose parents have completed population of Portugal and Italy has emigrated to other regions of Europe higher education, the chance of continuing their studies is six times higher after the financial crisis, the countries of Eastern Europe tend to have lower than those from low-educated families. Also the scores of pupils with low- participation in higher education. In Belgium in 2016, 45.6% of 30-34 year educated parents or with a migration background are much lower. 6 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Urbanisation Change in urbanisation between 2014 and 2018 Delineation of MUA, FUA & MDA for Lille Delineation of MUA, FUA & MDA for Brussels 7 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy The classification in this map is based on population density rather than in the size of the parcels of land in the countryside, and got legally building density. Nevertheless, a large portion of rural areas in Europe established by the regional zoning plans in the 1970’s. Cities grew strongly have shifted towards towns due to densification. This means there is a from the beginning of the 19th century by means of residential and traffic tendency of the population to spread over large surfaces. In the Lowlands, ribbons in the surrounding countryside. This was accompanied by Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Hungary, however, a higher dilapidation in the city centre. However, despite the continuing urban densification process can be observed with large areas shifting towards exodus, the core cities continue to grow, albeit mainly due to migration. cities. Belgium is Europe’s most urbanised nation. This urbanisation came Morphological urbanisation now extends beyond the conurbation and about through the right of leasehold in the 1820’s, which led to a reduction reaches into the banlieues. 8 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Delineation of the Morphological Urban Area (MUA), Functional Urban Area (FUA) & Metropolitan Development Area (MDA) for Lille The MDA of Lille covers 7,516 km2 with a population of about 3.9 million inhabitants and a density of 520 inh./km2. It is a cross-border urban conurbation covering 682 municipalities (622 in France and 60 in Belgium). It represents a dynamic structure of urban agglomerations that have been formed over time and is still evolving, following more recent changes in the national territorial cohesion planning framework of France The central position of Lille and its economic values makes its urban context a real ‘metropolitan heart’. The geographical location of the Lille Metropolitan Area is exceptional as it is at the crossroads between major European capitals such as Paris, London and Brussels This brings a unique cross border perspective of the metropolitan development of Lille and development issues such as commuting, population distribution and marginalization in relation to these European capitals The present economic dynamism have enabled the region to develop a genuine logistic approach, which has helped making the case for the Seine North Europe canal. 9 Demography | Urbanisation | Environment | Accessibility | Economy Delineation of the Morphological Urban Area (MUA), Functional Urban Area (FUA) & Metropolitan Development Area (MDA) for Brussels The idea for the MDA of Brussels refers to the Brussels- Capital Region and the Railway Express Network zone (Zone RER) covering a 30 km ring around Brussels. The area consists of 135 municipalities, including 19 municipalities in Brussels-Capital Region and 116 municipalities around Brussels. The demographic social and economic development trends of the Brussels Capital Region show an expansion of the urban functions far beyond its current administrative borders and across the three federal regions This process has determined the need for a strategic territorial development at a metropolitan scale Such process would help planning and addressing more effectively the current