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As practitioners and citizens fighting for a better socially-just and durable society, we are often confronted with techno-scientific barriers. Our claims are countered with evidence on which we have no grip. Policy making is obscured by a mass of inaccessible, complex and highly fractured data. This often stands in the way of a transparent discussion between citizens and governments and scientists.

From our own experience, BRAL, Cosmopolis VUB, City Mine(d) and Periferia come to a joint conclusion: collective knowledge production or citizen science can be a ladder to climb over the techno-scientific wall to truly participate in the democratic debate.

In our new joint publication we elaborate on:

  • BRAL & Cosmopolis VUB: citizens measuring air quality in Brussels resulted in a movement that set the political agenda
  • City Mine(d) on the Pacco-test: a citizen water quality testing device prototyping process
  • Periferia: starting from what citizens know, five examples show how it can lead to action
  • Together we recommend how this knowledge is best produced.

At the occasion of the launch of the box containing these four publications, we want to share and discuss our learnings with you. Therefore we organize this book launch + workshop on 27 June, 13h30 – 16h in Muntpunt.

On the program:

13.30 – Book Launch Eurêka + Q&A

14.30 – Workshop (FR + NL) “How to integrate citizen science in social or environmental actions?”

We welcome all practitioners in the socio-cultural sector, associations, researchers and representatives of institutions. Participation for this event is free. Please register here.

 

Ever heard of a living lab? A living lab is not just using the city as a laboratory to do experiments. And citizens are not just guinea pigs.

In a living lab, the users of the city steer the research.

They put scientific theory into practice and experiment for and through the city. The goal is social innovation, an improvement in the lives of all.

Sounds like something for BRAL? That's right!

Many living labs fail to work in an inclusive way and only attract one particular audience. Or their living labs can only be applied to a very specific place. Too bad, isn't it?

Cosmopolis of VUB set up an international consortium to bypass these pitfalls with a 'smart' living lab. BRAL joined in. We set to work with a living lab that involved certain groups from the outset and focused on the urban level.

A Brussels lab on air quality

For the last three years, BRAL has been working on a living lab to measure air quality in Brussels, AirCasting Brussels. We did this together with Cosmopolis of VUB and with the support of Innoviris. BRAL's priority was to sustainably mobilise citizens for healthy air in Brussels. A scientific lab with citizens on air pollution was essential for BRAL to achieve this goal.

An important step was to attract people who wanted to participate in our research to measure the air quality in Brussels. We already noticed in the ExpAIR project that the attraction for a participant can be immaterial: the pleasure of discovering, learning and thinking together on a specific issue.

BRAL's role was therefore not that of an expert. We came to the citizen with the message: "We want you to become an expert".

With a mobile measuring device and an app on the smartphone, the civil scientists could quickly get down to work. Volunteers registered more than 500 hours of concentrations of PM2.5, and collected more than a million data in ten months' time.

These data were collected on an interactive map showing the daily experience of the inhabitants of Brussels. That's how we met the need for scalability of our project. Wherever you are, you could see what your exposure was. Because you also step outside of your own home. And then you are also exposed to air pollution.

We started with three groups of action researchers: residents living in the heart of Brussels, expats working for the EU and bicycle militants. Each time we adapted our lab to the lives of the volunteers, their pace, their lifestyle, their availability. We grew from three groups to about ten. BRAL learned that as a facilitator we could be very flexible according to the expectations and needs of the groups.

Gathering, measuring and combining knowledge was the key to success.

Gathering, measuring and combining knowledge was the key to success. It greatly accelerated the collective knowledge, the sense of responsibility towards the group and the empowerment and desire of the action researchers to mobilise.

For the scientists and for us, too, the process of experimental learning, the exchange of knowledge, proved to be crucial in order to improve our project.

An international consortium Smarterlabs

We weren’t the only ones organizing a living lab. For the European project SmarterLabs, three other cities (Maastricht, Graz and Bellinzona (Switzerland)) created their own living labs.

But what does a living lab mean? And how do you start one yourself? You can find our lessons learned in the guidelines (short and long version) and a video. We hope it will help anyone who wants to set up a living lab in the future: citizens, researchers of practitioners!

SmarterLabs was supported by the Urban Europe Joint Programming Initiative of the European Union. You can find more information on the project here. https://smarterlabs.uni-graz.at/en/publications-results/

If you want to cite this document, you can use the following reference: Dijk, M., da Schio, N., Diethart, M., Höflehner, T., Wlasak, P., Castri, R., Cellina, F., Boussauw, K., Cassiers, T., Chemin, L., Cörvers, R., de Kraker, J., Kemp, R., van Heur, B. (2019). How to anticipate constraints on upscaling inclusive Living Lab experiments, SmarterLabs project 2016-2019, JPI Urban Europe.

Smarterlabs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smarterlabs/

AirCasting Brussels + curious citizens + instruments for citizen science = measurements of exposure to air pollution + citizen science that leads to action

Citizens are daily exposed to air pollution. But how strongly exactly, depends on when and where you are located. You’re often not aware that where you live, work or frequently pass by is actually heavily polluted. This is why BRAL and Cosmopolis VUB, together with many citizens, undertook the project AirCasting Brussels.

Citizens measured their exposure with mobile devices. Thus they became experts on their environment. And once they had this knowledge, citizens became actors. They undertook action to improve their environment.

BRAL and Cosmopolis took great pleasure in firing on these sprouting citizens’ initiatives to demand the right for clean air. Because we all deserve a better, livable and healthier air.

We made six videos together with the wonderful people of ZinTV. We as BRAL and Cosmopolis present our project. We give the mic to five AirCasters who threw themselves in the project and the demand for clean air in Brussels: Patricia, Rajaa, Katia, Olivier K en Oliver D.

We thank them profoundly for their participation and testimony!

Cosmopolis VUB: http://www.cosmopolis.be/research/aircastingbxl

BRAL: www.bral.brussels/cleanair

Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/6055752

 

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Bruxsel'air, Critical Mass Brussels, GRACQ Brussel and urban movement BRAL invite you for an afterwork drink on de Wetstraat/Rue de la Loi.

There is a new government in town. A great reason to raise our glasses! 

We count on these officials to urgently improve the air quality in the capital of Europe, a capital *praised* by the European Commission for her unhealthy air.

We invite all newly elected officials for an afterwork on one of the most emblematic (and polluted) streets: de Wetstraat/Rue de la Loi, to encourage them to make it their number one priority.

This afterwork will provide the perfect occasion for every citizen to meet the new government officials and to discuss the improvement of the air quality in Brussels, thanks to (f.i.) proper foot paths and cycle paths.

Ideally, de Wetstraat/Rue de la Loi is currently carfree due to roadworks. Let's reimagine it together!

Spread the word and bring your friends and family!



#BXLDemandsCleanAir

https://www.thebulletin.be/citizens-group-take-over-rue-de-la-loi-apero-cum-protest

 

 

 

 

 

How important is urban green in Brussels for you? Which green spaces do you use and why? What do you do in these spaces?

VUB, ULB & Innoviris are looking for participants for our online survey on the use of green spaces in Brussels. With this research, we hope to gain insight into the role green spaces play in the lives of Brussels residents, how Brussels residents use parks and small green spaces in the city, how they feel about these spaces, and which green space characteristics they find important.

Click the link below to take the survey!

https://www.co-nature.org/survey

After the Brussels’ city walls were dismantled, the vacant space was designed by architect Vifquin into a green space for encounter and walking. Halfway through the 20th century, this space, in the shape of the R0, became almost entirely devoted to the automobile.

Gradually the so-called “berme central” first became an illegal, then an official parking place. These interventions that place the importance of the car above that of people still have a disastrous influence on the living conditions of the local residents and residents of Brussels. This influence is of course felt most strongly in the neighborhoods where the supply of high-quality public space is among the lowest in Europe and where the air & noise pollution has serious consequences for the health of the residents. This is why we, The Young Urban Foxes, as a sign of resistance, claim the central space at the Porte d’Anderlecht for a weekend just for humans.

This is the reason why we, 8 young people from the neighborhood, as a sign of resistance want to claim this central space for a weekend for humans. We hope that this action, which is the culmination of our placemaking process, together with all other initiatives, can be the start of a rapid change in the formation of a vision around the Small Ring.Together with you we want to think and dream on Friday evening 22 and Saturday 23 November about alternatives for this urban highway. You can do your bit by being present and letting us and the politicians know what your dreams are for this place.

In addition to workshops on the alternatives for this place, there will also be an urban cinema, yoga (also for children), a djembe workshop, a Jane's and Feminist Walk, free waffles and smoothies, Dark Tourist: Air- and Noise Pollution Measurement, Workshops and presentation of Welkom op de Kleine Ring and Green Connections, a self-defense course, and so much more.

"It is criminal that we consider the car more important than the health of people."

- Jane Jacobs -

“A healthy city for everyone is a basic human right”

- the Young Urban Foxes -

In collaboration with OURB, Porte d'Anderlecht, Convivence / Samenleven, BRAL.Brussels, VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Cultureghem, Urbanismo Vivo, Bienvenue sur la Petite Ceinture - Welkom op de Kleine Ring en met de Steun van JINT vzw, European Solidarity Corps, Région Bruxelles-Capitale - Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Bruxelles Mobilité - Brussel Mobiliteit

On Sunday 8 December, we will all be joining forces in Brussels. Along with Climate Express and the Climate Coalition, we will create a fun but determined human chain on the doorstep of our politicians: around our federal parliament and the royal palace.



All of us will stand together for the climate – and the only thing we are waiting for now is for policymakers to get their act together!



www.unitedforclimate.be

 

The day after Valentine’s, there is a new Bal Bougé. A party of 182 nationalities. Party across boundaries, languages, cultures and nationalities.  Play along in creative workshops for kids, immerse yourself in performances and short films, enjoy delicious food and dance to fantastic music.

In addition to the four existing ones,​ BRAL will show three new short films of Selfcity Amazones Solidaires, Lets Brussel and Jouwaii.

Brussels is a beautiful but complex city. Citizens help improve the city day by day with bottom-up initiatives. BRAL and Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles put those initiatives in the spotlight. The short films show how citizens’ initiatives help jumpstart the transition to a more just and sustainable society. Moreover, you can find those in all layers of society! This year, we will add four more collectives to our Selfcity family. With 11 videos, we hope to convince the people and administration of Brussels that these collectives are incontournable in urban development.

 

Got something to share about green living, the environment, plants, vegetables, or related topics? Come and tell us at one of the weekly JOIN THE LEAVES meetings at Muntpunt.

A vegetable soup tasting session, a flower power playlist or DJ set, a plant swap, a debate on the sharing economy... You name it! Send us your proposal via http://bit.ly/jointheleaves.

Muntpunt will be encouraging visitors and citizens' initiatives between March and June. Part of this program will involve the large-scale germination and cultivation of plants on the ground floor. You’re welcome to visit this green space for a chat and to share experiences each Saturday throughout the spring.

See you at Muntpunt, every Saturday starting 21.03. Come on! Join the leaves!

 In collaboration with BRAL.Brussels.

 

It is urgent to stop the double process of deregulation of the legal framework and weakening of the public debate which brings us back to t he years of the first "Brusseliz ation" of 50 years ago

The Bas les PAD collective brings together many residents, neighbourhood committees, associations and federations active in the fields of the environment, spatial planning, sustainable development and housing in the Brussels Region.

After having mobilised separately, we took the decision to coordinate our actions independently of the political parties represented in the Parliament of the Brussels Capital Region.

Bas les PAD is alarmed by the recent proliferation of unsuitable and disproportionate urban projects.

During the last revision of Brussels Code for Spatial Planning (CoBAT/ the Region created a new legal tool, called the Territorial Development Plan ( better known in French as PAD (Plan d’Aménagement Directeur) or in Flemish as R PA (Richtplan van Aanleg). In an area determined by the government, a TDP will supersede any contradicting regulation and plan.

The analysis of the eight TDPs in progress, who already passed the public consultation, leads us to the following three main obs ervations

  1.  the TDP causes the breakdown of the regulatory framework as a whole: By making it possible to derogate from all the other town planning rules, the TDPs are a double-edged sword too powerful today and who contribute to the deregulation implemented by the government (at all levels of the Brussels regulatory hierarchy). The final adoption of the TDPs would endorse a myriad of unmeasured and unsuitable projects, most of which have already been conceived before, but were often hindered so far for various reasons (notably legal). This new regulatory tool therefore appears to be legalising what was not possible before. It is the expression of an outdated vision on urban planning.
  2. the TDP contributes to the weakening of the public debate: The too rare information sessions instead of public consultations, the insufficient duration of public inquiries and the biased nature of the environmental impact reports that accompany them or the absence of a meeting of the consultation committee, are all si gns of a worrying decline in citizen participation around issues related to the city and the living environment of its inhabitants and users, a decline taking place in parallel with the deregulation process.
  3. the TDP is the expression of an outdated vision on urban planning: Despite the good intentions regarding the need for accessible housing and public facilities or the objectives of carbon neutrality and preservation of biodiversity, the solutions proposed are far from being a match for the social and e cological crisis (climate and loss of biodiversity) that the Region must face. The intended developments are too often a brutal disruption of the existing urban fabric. On the other hand, they claim to be the only response to the demographic growth, which has been revised downwards and does not correspond to the proposed projects. The concept of the TDPs is not being evaluated nor are its effects monitored. Neither does it show any trace of adaptability required for a public instrument anticipating several decades.

We first ask for the adoption of a moratorium on the TDPs pending an evaluation of this instrument through a public debate! By taking a common position, Bas les PAD also intends to:

  • Coordinate our actions in order to strengthen, with the support of the federations, the specific positions of the committees and associations which have mobilized against the breakdown of our regulatory framework and in favor of better collective participation in the development of our Region;
  • Revitalize the public debate in decline on issues of urban development in general and on the conception of the TDP in particular, in order to get out of the dire legal and technical situation in which it is currently caught;
  • Interpellate the responsible politicians in Brussels regarding an urban planning tool which opens the door to speculation by the big financial players at the expense of the inhabitants of Brussels;
  • Encourage the Government and the Parliament to modify the Brussels Code for Spatial Planning by integrating more efficient evaluation and participation processes;
  • Demand to preserve public domain, namely to develop the public domain, too scarce in Brussels, in order to be able to respond with greater command to the social, environmental and economic challenges of today and tomorrow.

Supports of Bas les PAD

ARAU (jm.bleus@arau.org), BRAL urban movement for Brussels (steyn@bral.brussels), Inter-Environment Brussels (IEB - claire.scohier@ieb.be), NATAGORA Bruxelles, La Plaine, le comité de l’Hippodrome de Boisfort, Wolu-Inter-Quartiers (WIQ) and the Association of Committees of Ucclois district (ACQU), les amis de la Foret de Soignes

Contacts

For Bas les PAD: info@baslespad.brussels - tél. 0473.667.505

And to contact each TDP respectively:

What alternatives do commons offer in terms of housing? How do these relate to the private and public housing supply? How high-quality, affordable and sustainable are these alternatives? Who is willing, able, and eligible to live in them? Will they provide a solution to the city’s housing crisis?

A discussion evening with, among others, Nele Aernouts (Cosmopolis VUB), Geert De Pauw (Community Landtrust Brussels), Luc Lampaert (Wooncoop) and the general public.

Register here ...

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Commons in Brussels: 5 discussion evenings, 5 Thursdays in a row. All discussion sessions will be held at Muntpunt, starting at 19:00.

They’re popping up everywhere. Particularly in towns and cities. And especially in Brussels. Commons! An English term that refers to a group of people who collaborate on some predefined ‘common good’. That common ‘good’ could be anything: collective compost heaps, communal vegetable gardens, material banks, savings banks etc.

Commons appear to be used for more than just communal leisure activities. Indeed, commons enable citizens to take control of society. Commons consequently position themselves alongside public and private sector initiatives.

Can specific citizens' initiatives truly make a big impact?

During the 5 discussion evenings, we’ll talk to citizens' initiatives that are keen to share their experiences, experts who understand the wider context and the general public who will have the opportunity to ask critical and probing questions.