When you vote at municipal elections, what kind of things do you want to see in the political programme of the party you would vote for ? I am aware that the answer will highly depend on the municipality and country in which one lives. The power delegated to the local government is usually fairly limited.
Usually what matters most are such things as cleanliness, security (e.g. local police), urban planning (including renovation of run-down neighbourhoods), the environment (e.g. more parks), public transports (if they are public), and road infrastructure (incl. tunnels and traffic signs).
Ironically, these are all the things I want to complain about in central Brussels. Well, not all. There re enough parks and there are quite nice. Roads are also ok. The rest is everything I dislike most about living in Brussels, compared to other places where I have lived (Tokyo, London, Berlin, Rome, Belgian countryside...).
Brussels is divided in 19 municipalities, and the streets cleanliness seems to be directly proportional to the wealthiness of the neighbourhoods (or more likely the manners of the people who inhabit them). Downtown Brussels having some of the poorest inhabitants, although very nice architecturally, is a disaster of salubrity. Dog turds, cigarette butts, chewing gums and other rubbish everywhere ! Interestingly the EU district, under the same municipality but in a secluded area frequented almost only by EU workers, is much cleaner. This confirms that the problem comes from the people, more than the administration. Indeed the area just around the city administration building is one of the dirtiest ! So it means that the current cleaning system works well enough for "well-mannered" people, but is grossly insufficient for the needs of immigrant districts.
Security is another big issue in the City of Brussels. The police cannot cope with vandalism anymore. It isn't that serious crimes are so common, but the city centre just feel so unsafe - much more so than bigger cities like London or Rome (well, closer to the "bad neighbourhoods" of Paris). This is because almost all the people living downtown (anything north and west of the Grand Place) are African immigrants (mostly Moroccans). Although I do not like cops in general, I wish there were more police in the street. We only see them casually patroling in their cars, but rarely walking in the streets, ready to intervene immediately in case of emmergency. I applaud the municipality of Schaarbeek (in the Brussels Capital-Region) for copying the Japanese system of "koban" (police box), so as to keep a presence of police in busy areas, near shopping streets, schools, etc. This is something I would definitely want to see in the city centre as well.
Urban planning used to be good in Brussels, before WWI... Since then everything has been allowed, resulting in an architectural mishmash which make me ashamed of my country's capital. It is also a shame that the nicest 19th-century houses have all been taken up by economic immigrants who have quickly turned them into third-world quality accommodation, while richest people have been forced to move in ugly art-deco neighbourhoods in the suburbs. Naturally, immigrants always move to city centres, near shops and conveniences, so that they do not need a car, but also because it's easier when you arrive in a country and don't know anything. Consequently all the most beautiful neighbourhoods of Brussels (houses with neoclassical columns, high ceilings with mouldings, etc.) are now run-down, dirty and unsafe. Fortunately this is slowly changing. The local government has been giving incentives to renovate the historic centre, and investors are buying such houses (that have become some of the cheapest in the capital) to renovate them into luxury apartments. It will probably take over a decade (if not two) before central Brussels becomes neat and liveable again... :sigh:
Public transports are the last "black spot" in Brussels. Well, buses and tramways aren't that bad. It is the metro, and even more so the metro stations (again in the city centre especially) that make one think that Brussels is not the EU capital but the third world capital. :erm:
I blame the current Socialist and Christian-Democrat alliance ruling the City of Brussels for all these shortcomings. It made me all the more disappointed to see them re-elected 2 days ago with a bigger majority than before, certainly because these were the first local elections were foreign residents were able to vote. Muslim immigrants typically vote for the Socialist Party, while Black Africans may do the same or vote for the Christian-Democrats. The only party that seemed to have the competences to improve the situation, the Liberal Party (MR), only scored 18%.
Usually what matters most are such things as cleanliness, security (e.g. local police), urban planning (including renovation of run-down neighbourhoods), the environment (e.g. more parks), public transports (if they are public), and road infrastructure (incl. tunnels and traffic signs).
Ironically, these are all the things I want to complain about in central Brussels. Well, not all. There re enough parks and there are quite nice. Roads are also ok. The rest is everything I dislike most about living in Brussels, compared to other places where I have lived (Tokyo, London, Berlin, Rome, Belgian countryside...).
Brussels is divided in 19 municipalities, and the streets cleanliness seems to be directly proportional to the wealthiness of the neighbourhoods (or more likely the manners of the people who inhabit them). Downtown Brussels having some of the poorest inhabitants, although very nice architecturally, is a disaster of salubrity. Dog turds, cigarette butts, chewing gums and other rubbish everywhere ! Interestingly the EU district, under the same municipality but in a secluded area frequented almost only by EU workers, is much cleaner. This confirms that the problem comes from the people, more than the administration. Indeed the area just around the city administration building is one of the dirtiest ! So it means that the current cleaning system works well enough for "well-mannered" people, but is grossly insufficient for the needs of immigrant districts.
Security is another big issue in the City of Brussels. The police cannot cope with vandalism anymore. It isn't that serious crimes are so common, but the city centre just feel so unsafe - much more so than bigger cities like London or Rome (well, closer to the "bad neighbourhoods" of Paris). This is because almost all the people living downtown (anything north and west of the Grand Place) are African immigrants (mostly Moroccans). Although I do not like cops in general, I wish there were more police in the street. We only see them casually patroling in their cars, but rarely walking in the streets, ready to intervene immediately in case of emmergency. I applaud the municipality of Schaarbeek (in the Brussels Capital-Region) for copying the Japanese system of "koban" (police box), so as to keep a presence of police in busy areas, near shopping streets, schools, etc. This is something I would definitely want to see in the city centre as well.
Urban planning used to be good in Brussels, before WWI... Since then everything has been allowed, resulting in an architectural mishmash which make me ashamed of my country's capital. It is also a shame that the nicest 19th-century houses have all been taken up by economic immigrants who have quickly turned them into third-world quality accommodation, while richest people have been forced to move in ugly art-deco neighbourhoods in the suburbs. Naturally, immigrants always move to city centres, near shops and conveniences, so that they do not need a car, but also because it's easier when you arrive in a country and don't know anything. Consequently all the most beautiful neighbourhoods of Brussels (houses with neoclassical columns, high ceilings with mouldings, etc.) are now run-down, dirty and unsafe. Fortunately this is slowly changing. The local government has been giving incentives to renovate the historic centre, and investors are buying such houses (that have become some of the cheapest in the capital) to renovate them into luxury apartments. It will probably take over a decade (if not two) before central Brussels becomes neat and liveable again... :sigh:
Public transports are the last "black spot" in Brussels. Well, buses and tramways aren't that bad. It is the metro, and even more so the metro stations (again in the city centre especially) that make one think that Brussels is not the EU capital but the third world capital. :erm:
I blame the current Socialist and Christian-Democrat alliance ruling the City of Brussels for all these shortcomings. It made me all the more disappointed to see them re-elected 2 days ago with a bigger majority than before, certainly because these were the first local elections were foreign residents were able to vote. Muslim immigrants typically vote for the Socialist Party, while Black Africans may do the same or vote for the Christian-Democrats. The only party that seemed to have the competences to improve the situation, the Liberal Party (MR), only scored 18%.
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