The political and institutional development of the Brussels Metropolitan Zone: observations and prospects

Abstract

It is commonly recognised that the institutional boundaries of Brussels do not correspond to its socio-economic borders. Economic and geographical studies have demonstrated this time and again. For example, the Brussels agglomeration has been said to cover 31 communes (Dujardin et al, 2007), or even 62 1 (Luyten & Van Hecke, 2007: 26), including the 19 already part of the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR). The figures obviously vary depending on the criteria used. For the business world as well, the Region's economic hinterland stretches far beyond its political borders. The recently published Business Route 2018 for Metropolitan Brussels thus considers that metropolitan Brussels corresponds to the territory of the 19 Brussels communes with the addition of the communes in Brabant-Wallon together with those of the arrondissement of Hal-Vilvoorde (Province of Vlaams Brabant). We do not intend to enter into this discussion on the number of communes involved, which is a matter for political decisions, in other words one that transcends the purely economic, geographical or even legal issues at stake.

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