Today, 184 nationalities live together in Brussels.  Together they form this cosmopolitan region. The Belgians form the largest group, followed by the French, the Romanians and the Moroccans. Every day new people arrive and others leave. They all have their dreams, hopes and stories. These stories colour the story of Brussels.

The MigratieMuseumMigration gives a permanent home to the stories of the first generation of guest workers, of the earliest inhabitants of the Petit-Château, of the expats, the war refugees, the Europeans who move freely within the EU and many others. It is a warm environment where visitors can discover Brussels and the lives of others through memories and souvenirs. Above all, it is a museum with plenty of room to share your own story.

The MigratieMuseumMigration will never be finished. In this way, the museum is also a symbol of the constant dynamism of Brussels.

Here is the program of the opening day.

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The dream of the initiators is to realize a second Cruyff project called Schoolyard14 at the Municipal Elementary School Ket & CO in Molenbeek. This school is located within walking distance of Cruyff Court Molenbeek. The investment is designed to strengthen the sports community as well as Molenbeek at large.

The event was a warm-up for the Open Dutch Mermaid Swimming Championship in Maastricht on the 27^thof October. There, team Brussels will compete in the 100-meter speed race for adults and children in various other events. All to raise sponsorships for Schoolyard14.

“This has been the most unusual request I have received in my career so far,” says Brussels minister Sven Gatz. “At the same time the most fun one to open and watch. I send the campaigners all my support in this very entertaining, positive and sportive challenge. Bring the Dutch Mermaid cup to Brussels and swim fast for the sportive goal. That is to realize a Schoolyard14 in Brussels.”

Ultimately, the mermaids and mermen from Brussels are “fishing” for euros to realize Schoolyard14 in Molenbeek! Please help realize this worthy project by donating to their crowdfunding website.

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Molenbeek’s municipal council approved on Wednesday a “zero plastic” motion, which provides a detailed plan of action to combat plastic use.

In particular, a municipality-run “eco-team” will be responsible for creating and enforcing a charter of good practices for plastic use, with particular emphasis placed upon the elimination of “single-use” plastics.

The team is also tasked with raising awareness among the general public and businesses of the environmental impact of plastic use.

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The KBC site, building 12 and 14, consisting of green roofs is only 20 years old. However, the bank no longer needs such a big space for its activities and has decided to resell an entire block.

The new project is being carried out in collaboration with the Master Architect of the Brussels Region and the architectural competition was won by Bas Smet. The developer has decided to build 244 housing units as well as a 139-room hotel, 66m² collective-interest equipment, 1,500m² of offices, 1,300m² of shops, including a space for the catering industry and 200 parking spaces in the basement.

However, inhabitants of the region as well as environmental associations like Inter-environment and Bral, have opposed the demolition and reconstruction project. They argued that they do not understand the need for demolition, considering that the buildings are new. Local residents further complained about the densification of the canal area and the height of the buildings.

On the other side, the promoter argued that the places are unsuitable for conversion and he wants to give a new image to Avenue du Port. This will also allow for a small green space and sort of openness to the neighborhood.

A positive but conditional decision

The consultation committee gave a positive opinion on the project with a favorable majority. However, they requested that the building on the street front should have 4 instead of 5 floors. Furthermore, the number of apartments must be revised downward. The commission demanded that the collective equipment of 66m ² which is actually a nursery, grows to 150m ² in order to accommodate more children considering the number of apartments envisaged.

Originally the premises would be closed off, however, it was later requested that the premises remain open.

Brussels Environment added that the impact on mobility and parking in the neighborhood will be greater than expected by the developer.

A final decision has yet to be made. However, an appeal is expected.

The post Heated controversy: Demolition and reconstruction of the former KBC site on Avenue du Port in Molenbeek appeared first on Brussels Express.

The meeting has been attended by representatives of the SNCB, the municipalities of Molenbeek and the City of Brussels, the Stib and Brussels Mobility.

A report from the Seco expert office reports stability problems and debris falling.

Due to these security problems, the mayor of Molenbeek, Catherine Moureaux (PS), gave the order to close the bridge as a precaution. The municipality stated that it is only after this meeting that it will be decided if the bridge will be closed off definitely and until the necessary repairs have taken place.

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“It’s the most important urban failure over this mandate,” Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven (MR), the Brussels MP told DH, when he was asked to comment on this.

The idea was to set up new projects for the Heyvaert neighbourhood (both in Anderlecht and Molenbeek), which has been hosting the terminal of second-hand cars, which are supposed to go to Antwerp and to Africa, by relocating this activity in a Ro-Ro terminal in the port of Brussels. This change would also make the transfers from Brussels to Antwerp easier.

This is why a third call for proposals had been launched recently. But no investor had submitted any project, and the port of Brussels decided to let the project down.

“It is completely irresponsible from both an economic and urban perspective,” Mr. Van Goidsenhoven added. He added that the trade of second-hand cars will definitely suffer from this failure of the project over the upcoming years, as well as it surely bars any initiative in Heryvaert, which is often presented as a dirty and bad neighbourhood.

 

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exciting spaces during a site visit for a new urban project #heyvaert #productivecity #urbanism #industrialcities #plusofficearchitects

A post shared by ward (@somehowbrussels) on Jun 9, 2017 at 6:37am PDT

“The port of Brussels is disappointed about the ways this issue has turned out. Several efforts have been conducted in order to make this project concrete, as it lied within a strategic interest both to the Port and to the Region and the communes involved […],” the port of Brussels commented.

The issue consists of two parts. About 25% of garages have indeed closed down over the past years, ahead of this Ro-Ro project in the port. And flats have been built in those areas instead.

On the other side, both Anderlecht and Molenbeek had views on the future of Heyvaert. They should definitely update their plans by taking into account the fact that the terminal for second-hand cars will remain active for the upcoming years, which should have an impact on the economic and social activities in the area.

“We need to gather all the communes involved, the second-hand car sellers and the Port of Brussels, in order to work on all the alternative solutions,” Van Goidsenhoven concluded.

 

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« Need for roofs, not cars » Visiting the secondhand cars district #Heyvaert in #Molenbeek (Brussels), where inhabitants want to get rid of this noisy market. ✊📣 #photooftheday #picoftheday #urbanphotography #redandblue #wallwriting #resistance #streetmilitant #contrast #streetphotography #wallsandgates

A post shared by Arts & Beers (@arts_n_beers) on Jul 6, 2017 at 12:07pm PDT

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The complaint will be for slander and even perhaps libel – which Hopkins has been sued for a few times in the past

According to the mayor, Hopkins stigmatizes the commune by presenting it as the « European Capital of jihad ». She also interviewed the mayor and blamed her for not doing anything to prevent the Paris terror attacks in 2015 as the culprits came from her municipality.

Hopkins also tweeted about a fire in a warehouse in Koekelberg, Molenbeek on Tuesday and linked the possible causation of it to Ramadam.

Schepmans described this as the last straw on a Facebook post and has since been preparing the case.

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Since Molenbeek was put on the map at the international level in November 2015 by the aprehension of terror suspect Salah Abdeslam, many social and cultural initiatives have sprung up, alongside projects to stimulate job creation and creativity and the urban renewal of the Rive Gauche of Brussels.

While the nature of these projects and target audiences differ, what unites most of them is an attempt to reflect the diversity of a municipality, in which 28% of the population is foreign. They seek to create connections between the inhabitants of Molenbeek, as well as with those coming from the other 18 municipalities of the Brussels Capital Region.

These project’s funding comes through public and private financing, at both local and regional level. Some of the funding began already before 2015, while some has been subsequently given. In any case, a little over two years after its international exposure, the social, cultural, economic and urbanistic reality of Molenbeek is constantly undergoing change.

Just last week, the platform MolenGeek was recognized as 2017 ‘Bruxellois’ of the year, in the economic category. Launched in 2015, as a project incubator and training centre for digital technologies, it offers realistic hope for the neighbourhood’s youth.

The European Institutions have also sought to involve Molenbeek in some of their actions. For example, the Spanish writer and journalist Jordi Sebastià, in his role as former MEP, has organized poetry readings on a number of occasions in honour of the Valencian poet Vicent Andrés Estellés. The idea is to bring the work of a working-class poet to a working-class neighbourhood.

The concert-hall VK and its roster of international artists boosts the arrival of non-locals to Comte de Flandre, as does the weekly organic market, which takes place every Wednesday. Found in Molenbeek, an organisation started by a local collective of advertisers, uncovers unknown places in the municipality, in order to counter its negative image in the media.

In the Quai des Charbonnages, a giant sailboat seems to plough through the waters of the canal. Meanwhile, Le Phare du Kanaal, resembles a lighthouse. In 2015, Hanna Bonnier, founder and proprietor, set up this meeting space between entrepreneurs and freelancers from all over Europe. It helps to promote diversity and European identity and has become a key player in Molenbeek, through its collaborations with local organisations such as the Maison des Cultures et de la Cohésion Sociale.

Not far from Le Phare, in Molenbeek’s main square, Brass’Art Digitaal Café was inaugurated last year, as a café and urban artistic laboratory. In the Quartier Maritime, after leaving behind the area known as historic Molenbeek, is the Centre Communautaire Maritime, housed in an old L’Oréal factory, opposite one belonging to the Bacardi-Martini group. It plays host to the second edition of the film festival Molen Zinnema, designed to help local residents discover hidden corners of their streets through the art of cinema.

Molenbeek’s profile – Institut Bruxellois de Statistique et d’Analyse (IBSA)

• 95.576 inhabitants
• 5,9 km2 (4% of the territory of Brussels-Capital Region)
• More than a quarter of the population is under 18 and the average age is 35. Molenbeek is thus one of the youngest municipalities in the Brussels Capital Region.
• 28% of the population is of foreign nationality
• Morrocan citizens make up the majority of the populations followed by Romanians. Slightly less than a third are from EU 15 countries
• It is one of the poorest municipalities in the region. Many inhabitants are on low income or receive financial support
• The employment rate is lower than the regional average, particularly for women.
• 62% of the 60,060 people of working age (15-64 years) are active in the labour market in Molenbeek

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