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Theme

The confex (conference & exhibition) ‘Spaces of Possibility’ puts the spotlights on resilient and resourceful communities from the 7th until the 11th of June 2021 in Brussels, Belgium. The event brings together local inhabitants and researchers, practitioners, artists and policy makers from across the world for an inspiring exchange of experiences with community-driven transformations. The confex merges a conference and an exhibition into an interactive event. The exhibition ‘Spaces of Possibility’ showcases compelling stories about communities and environments in transformation as well as the struggles and successes that they encounter.

The event creates an opportunity to travel around the world and explore the transformative power of communities via interactive installations. Express your values through the shape of a bike’s handlebar. Learn about the aspirations of rural communities in China and Japan which often go unheard. Shine a light on the fading industrial spaces in Scotland. And reflect about your own efforts to transform the world. But watch out for the three-headed monster of bureaucracy!

The exhibition takes place in and around the Parckfarm, situated in the park Thurn & Taxis of Brussels. It opens on Monday 7th of June at noon and closes on Friday 11th of June. The exhibition is free of charge and welcomes all curious minds. For more information and regular updates vis-à-vis COVID19, please check the website.

The confex sprouts from the RECOMS project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 765389.

Man, plant and animal are at stake on the Brussels Josaphat site

The Brussels government will have to choose on the Josaphat site. Does it want to be the last government of the 20th century or the first government of the 21st century?

"We are here on the Friche Josaphat. In 20 years, an incredible source of biodiversity has developed here naturally. It should be able to last for centuries, but it may be over by next year." With these words, historian and writer David Van Reybrouck opens the video on the "Plan B Josaphat".

He is not the only one in Brussels who is worried about the future of this exceptional space. A network of citizens and associations wants to protect this jewel of Brussels' biodiversity. They are reaching out to the Brussels government to draw up a plan together for the Friche Josaphat in a new video. 

"What better way to understand what is at stake in urban development plans than by going there on-site? However, due to corona and the breeding season, it is not ideal to allow a mass of people on the Friche. We, therefore, call on everyone to watch the video. That way, people can better understand why we need to preserve this unique spot in Brussels," says Steyn Van Assche of BRAL, an urban movement for Brussels.

"The nice thing with a dossier like Josaphat's is that we bring together nature experts, such as those active in Natagora and Natuurpunt, with local residents, urban movements for Brussels, people who maintain a vegetable garden, and with a whole host of actors who make the world of tomorrow.” The basic idea of Plan B Josaphat is very simple: reinforce nature where there is now nature and reinforce the city where there is now the city. You can perfectly combine the two: green where it is now green, grey where it is already grey," adds Amandine Tiberghien of Natagora.

These citizens and associations who are committed today to protect the Friche Josaphat are not doing so because they are against politics. On the contrary, says David Van Reybrouck. "They want to think constructively about the future of this special place. That is why they are calling for a halt to the start-up phase. Before you know it, the work has started and it is too late. The Brussels Government will have to choose whether it wants to be the last government of the 20th century or the first government of the 21st century. The choice is hers."

 Through an online petition, more than 15,000 people expressed their disagreement with the current plan and demanded a different vision: a Plan B for Josaphat.

 

Note for the journalist

Press contact: 

  • Natagora: Amandine Tiberghien, 02 893 09 25 (FR + EN)
  • BRAL: Steyn Van Assche, 0498 13 25 86 (NL + EN)

Signed by:

ARAU, BRAL, Bruxelles Nature, collectif Bas Les PAD, Comité Mediapark, Natagora, Natuurpunt Brussel, Josaph’aire, Sauvons La Friche Josaphat, Sauvons le parc avenue des jardins, Comité Leopold III 

Documentation

The Brussels government will have to choose on the Josaphat site. Does it want to be the last government of the 20th century or the first government of the 21st century?

"We are here on the Friche Josaphat. In 20 years, an incredible source of biodiversity has developed here naturally. It should be able to last for centuries, but it may be over by next year." With these words, historian and writer David Van Reybrouck opens the video on the "Plan B Josaphat".

Watch the video on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube and share it with your network.

Van Reybrouck is not the only one in Brussels who is worried about the future of this exceptional space. A network of citizens and associations wants to protect this jewel of Brussels' biodiversity. They are reaching out to the Brussels government to draw up a plan together for the Friche Josaphat in a new video. 

How to understand what’s at stake in urban planning?

The government made a masterplan for Josaphat based on outdated assumptions. What better way to understand what is at stake in urban development plans than by going there on-site? However, due to corona and the breeding season, it is not ideal to allow a mass of people on the Friche. We, therefore, call on everyone to watch the video. That way, people can better understand why we need to preserve this unique spot in Brussels," says Steyn Van Assche of BRAL, City Movement for Brussels.

Plan B Josaphat

"The nice thing with a dossier like Josaphat's is that we bring together nature experts, such as those active in Natagora and Natuurpunt, with local residents, urban movements for Brussels, people who maintain a vegetable garden, and with a whole host of actors who make the world of tomorrow.”

The basic idea of Plan B Josaphat is very simple: reinforce nature where there is now nature and reinforce the city where there is now the city. You can perfectly combine the two: green where it is now green, grey where it is already grey," adds Amandine Tiberghien of Natagora.

These citizens, committees and associations who are committed today to protect the Friche Josaphat are not doing so because they are against politics. On the contrary, we want to think constructively about the future of this special place.

“That is why they are calling for a halt to the start-up phase. Before you know it, the work has started and it is too late. The Brussels Government will have to choose whether it wants to be the last government of the 20th century or the first government of the 21st century. The choice is hers." – David Van Reybrouck

Through an online petition, more than 15,000 people expressed their disagreement with the current plan and demanded a different vision: a Plan B for Josaphat.

This video is a collaboration between ARAU, BRAL, Bruxelles Nature, collectif Bas Les PAD, Comité Mediapark, Natagora, Natuurpunt Brussel, Josaph’aire, Sauvons La Friche Josaphat, Sauvons le parc avenue des jardins, Comité Leopold III and David Van Reybrouck. The video is made by the Brussels based collective Dérive.

What can you do?

Hopefully the government is watching. We will keep you posted on the results.

TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT OUR HEALTH AND THE CLIMATE!

We’re campaigning for clean, healthy and liveable cities.

Getting polluting cars off our streets and transforming the way we move around is urgently needed if we want to solve the air pollution health emergency and halt the climate crisis.

The Clean Cities Campaign is a new European movement aiming to encourage cities to transition to zero-emission transport by 2030. Together we will push European cities to become champions of active, shared and electric mobility for a more liveable and sustainable urban future.

Join citizens from across Europe and ask Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to end the sales of new diesel, petrol or gas cars and vans.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS DEMAND, PLEASE READ THE PETITION TEXT.

The inhabitants of Brussels are enthusiastic about mapping out air quality themselves. When the registration period for CurieuzenAir BXL ended on Sunday 13 June, the counter stood at 5.578. The candidate measuring points nicely cover all 19 municipalities of the Brussels region. From these, 3.000 participants were selected, who will measure the air quality in their street for a month in September. This air quality monitoring network is the largest ever to be deployed in a European city.

CurieuzenAir BXL in a short summary

  • Large scale citizen science project about air quality
  • Large response: 5.578 subscriptions across the whole of Brussels
  • Scientific selection of 3.000 measurement locations
  • Measurement of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from 25 September to 23 October 2021

The organizers are very impressed with the number of registrations. “You can sense that the air quality theme is resonating among the inhabitants of Brussels. Families and schools want to know what the situation is in their street, and many companies want to have insight into the air quality in which their employees commute daily.” says Filip Meysman, professor at the University of Antwerp and CurieuzenAir project coordinator. “This overwhelming amount of candidate measurement locations is also a great scientific asset. From all the registrations, we were able to select a dense network of 3.000 measuring locations. These will give us a very detailed picture of the air quality in the Brussels region and will allow us to test how good our computer models really are.”

Among the 5.578 candidate subscriptions are (see map above):

  • 102 schools
  • 327 companies and organisations
  • 5.149 families and private persons

The 5.578 candidate measurement points show an excellent geographical spread across the Brussels capital region. “Citizen science projects often struggle with finding participants in neighborhoods with immigrants and high cultural diversity,” says Meysman. “We are therefore very pleased that we have many candidate measuring points in high-diversity areas like Molenbeek, Anderlecht and Schaerbeek.”

The CurieuzenAir project wants to be a project for and by Brussels residents from all walks of life. "Four out of ten residents in Brussels are socio-economically vulnerable. We believe it is critical to also involve them in this research project as they are proportionally more affected by air pollution," adds Florence Lepoudre of the urban movement BRAL “By working together with medical centers, community centers and anti-poverty associations, we have been able to set up more than 200 measuring points for and with this target group".

During the campaign, social media ads also specifically called for participants in less populated regions of Brussels, like Haren and Neerpede. “This has worked well” says Meysman. “For example, we are very happy that we can install a measuring device at the training ground of premier league football club RSC Anderlecht in Neerpede, because this fills a critical blind spot on our map”. The areas around Brussels Congress and the European Quarter are also difficult to target regions due to the large number of offices and the absence of local residents. “Nevertheless, we received a number of very interesting measuring points in these areas. For example, the resident of Wetstraat 16 has registered as a candidate measuring point. We are very happy to see that the Prime Minister is eager to become a citizen scientist and help us out with mapping the air quality in Brussels.”

A wide network of 3.000 measurement locations

From all registrations, a computer algorithm made a selection of the 3.000 “most optimal” measuring locations in order to obtain a detailed air quality map of Brussels. In doing so, it targeted a good geographical spread over the whole of Brussels, suitable variation in street types and traffic intensity. In order to standardize the measurements, priority was given to measuring points with a window facing the street on the first floor.

The selected participants have already received the good news by e-mail and are invited to confirm their participation. The other candidates are on a waiting list and can be still called if a measurement location drops out. Participants pay themselves a small fee, but the research project wants to be accessible to everyone. Therefore the 'Pay as you like' principle is applied: selected participants pay a contribution according to his or her capacity with a minimum of 5 euros and a guideline contribution of 15 euros (the actual cost of a measurement is 150 Euro).

From September 25, 2021 onwards, all 3.000 participants will place a measurement device at the window of their house or office (a real estate panel with two sampling tubes that measure NO2 in the outside air, an indicator of traffic-related pollution). This measurement set-up remains in place for one month. The data from all measuring points will be used to create a detailed map of NO2 across the Brussels region, thus enabling to improve existing computer models for air quality. In this way, health impacts can be better quantified at the regional level, and so policymakers have more accurate information for the implementation and adaptation of policy measures.

The results of the measurements will be announced in February 2022 via an interactive “dotted map”, which will be released on the websites of media partners De Standaard, Le Soir and BRUZZ. At the same time, participants will receive a personal report with the detailed results of their own measurement.

More information about the research can be found on the website curieuzenair.brussels

CurieuzenAir is an initiative of the University of Antwerp, urban movement BRAL and Université Libre de Bruxelles, in close collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies, Brussels Environment, De Standaard, Le Soir, BRUZZ and DPD.

Press contact :

Florence Lepoudre – BRAL (FR, NL, EN)

florence@bral.brussels

+32 472 780 772

There are currently more than 37,000 species on the planet at risk of extinction.But it’s been shown before that with the right protection efforts, we can bring them back from the brink.

Client Earth has picked seven incredible species, some with populations that are increasing, some still in decline, and one now extinct.

Can you correctly identify which is which?

Picture: Stadsbiografie, Bert Boogaerts

Oh dear, something went wrong! The page you were looking for, could not be found. Please try again with a different search term. Or go back to the homepage.

For the project "Commoning Europe", BRAL made an English version of the video "Plan B Josaphat". A network of citizens, neighbourhood comittees and urban movements wants to protect the brownfield Josaphat, North of Brussels. In this video, they reach out to the regional government of Brussels to make a new plan together to save this gem of Brussels' biodiversity. Their main principle is simple: save nature where it is and expand the city where it is grey.

Commoning Europe wants to propell the rediscovery the public good as the foundation of Europe. Working together to preserve land and nature and to keep it in public hands is one of the examples, cristalized in the effort to save Josaphat. https://commoning.eu/ The English translation of the video was cofunded by the Erasmus programme of the European Union.

Plan B Josaphat is a collaboration between ARAU, BRAL, Bruxelles Nature, collectif Bas Les PAD, Comité Leopold III, Comité Mediapark, Josaph’aire, Natagora, Natuurpunt Brussel, Sauvons La Friche Josaphat, Sauvons le parc Avenue des Jardins, and author David Van Reybrouck. The video was made by the Brussels collective Dérive.

Since May 2017, the bicycle logistics cooperative Molenbike has been offering its delivery services to companies and administrations in Brussels.

By the end of March (before 31/03/2022 to be precise), we will have to leave our HQ in the former postal center (Tri Postal project of Communa ASBL).

We are therefore urgently looking for a new (even temporary) place to store our bikes and equipment.

We are looking for a space :

  • that can be locked
  • of at least 20 to 30sqm
  • accessible to cargo bikes (ground floor or slope)
  • with electricity (some bikes are electric and our smartphone needs charging)
  • in the historic city center or adjacent municipalities 
  • minimal costs (rent and/or charges)
  • adjoining coworking space is a plus

You know a space fitting our needs? Send us an e-mail: info@molenbike.be!

Gear Up Brussels!

Antoine Struelens & Team Molenbike

 

In October 2021, 3,000 Brussels residents participated in the largest ever citizen survey on air quality in Brussels.  Individuals, families, schools, businesses and organisations measured the NO2 at their windows for a month. They wanted to find out how healthy is the air they breathe every day in their street. The fact that the World Health Organisation has lowered its healthy limits based on new scientific evidence arouses curiosity all the more.

On Friday 18 March, six months after the start of the campaign, the moment of truth will come. That's when you will find out the results of the citizen survey.

BRAL is happy to invite you to an information session about CurieuzenAir in your neighbourhood. At this event, you can find out about the air quality in your district or street. Your most pressing questions will be answered. And you will be able to debate which measures could improve air quality.

Dates and venues:

CurieuzenAir reveals a striking disparity in air pollution levels across Brussels

An interactive dot map with the results of all measurement points can be found on the websites of De Standaard, Le Soir and BRUZZ starting at 5 pm on Friday 18 March.



The full scientific report can be found here

- For one month, 3,000 Brussels residents mapped the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in their street, a key indicator of air pollution caused by traffic.

- CurieuzenAir's unique dataset shows in detail the impact of traffic, with socio-economically vulnerable neighbourhoods more likely to suffer from poor air quality.

- The dataset shows air quality in Brussels has improved, but there is still a major health impact.

-The CurieuzenAir findings not only provide detailed insights for Brussels, but also shows patterns and trends relevant for other European cities.



Between 25 September and 23 October 2021, 3,000 Brussels citizens participated in CurieuzenAir, the largest ever citizen science project on air quality in our capital. For one month, citizen scientists mapped the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) -- a key indicator of air pollution caused by traffic -- in their streets via measuring tubes on the facades of their homes. The project resulted in a unique dataset showing the impact of road traffic on air quality in Brussels in great detail. Results range from ‘excellent’ to ‘extremely poor’ air quality across Brussels, with a stark contrast in air quality between socio-economically vulnerable neighbourhoods and green, well-off ones. CurieuzenAir also brings good news: the data show that air quality in Brussels has improved considerably in recent years.

Significant and striking differences across Brussels

On the interactive dot map, each measuring point was assigned a colour corresponding to the value measured. While looking at the dotted map, it is striking that the air quality differs greatly from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, and even from street to street. From blue dots (0-15 µg m-3; 'very good') to a number of jet-black dots (>50 µg m-3; 'extremely bad'), the CurieuzenAir dataset makes it clear that these differences are explained by emissions from Brussels traffic.

The lowest NO2 concentration of 6.2 µg m-3was measured in the middle of the Sonian Forest, a location spared from traffic emissions. The lowest NO2 concentration in a residential area (8.1 µg m-3) was measured on a façade in the Vogelenzangstraat in Anderlecht. This is a remarkable measurement for an urban environment, where measured values below 10 µg m-3 are usually less frequent. This measurement value indicates that there are also residential areas in Brussels with very good air quality.

 

At the other end of the spectrum, there are also outliers. The highest value (60.5 µg µg m-3) was recorded along the busy Nieuwpoortlaan, and there are also measuring points along the inner ring road that exceed the limit of 50 µg m-3. These high values are explained by a combination of heavy traffic and little air circulation due to high-rise buildings. Olivier Brasseur, air quality expert at Brussels Environment, explains: "The highest nitrogen dioxide concentrations are reached in places with heavy traffic. These concentrations are amplified by a "canyon effect", the presence of buildings on either side of the street, which causes the pollutants to linger in the street, as it were. Surprisingly, there are different NO2 concentrations within one and the same street. This can be explained by the structure of the street, which gives more or less free rein to the wind in some places. In addition, stop-and-go traffic at intersections and traffic jams during the morning and evening rush hours cause increased emissions and high peaks. This translates into red and purple dots on the CurieuzenAir dot map.

Telecommuting and cleaner car fleet helping to improve air quality

Thanks to the large volume of CurieuzenAir data, Curieuzenair can estimate NO2 exposure for the entire population of Brussels. CurieuzenAir found that 1.4% of Brussels citizens – 17,000 people – are exposed to air quality exceeding the 40 µg/m3 European air quality standards. Additionally, 98.4% of the population - 1,200,000 inhabitants - live or work in areas exposed to pollution above the World Health Organization's new threshold value, above 10 µg m-3, showing the broad impact of air pollution on the community's public health.

"It is definitely not pleasant to hear that you live or work at a red location," says Professor Filip Meysman (UAntwerpen), coordinator of CurieuzenAir. "But that is also the purpose of our research: to make hotspots of air pollution visible and ensure that local policy makers can improve the traffic situation. On the other hand, we are surprised to see that this is a relatively small percentage. Only two years ago, it was estimated to be around 10%, and ten years ago, even half of the Brussels population was above the norm. The official measuring stations of Brussels Environment show the same declining trend. The air quality in Brussels is therefore clearly improving.” The researchers see a number of important explanations for the recent improvement. The corona effect caused telecommuting and thus less traffic during the measurement period. But the increasingly clean car fleet, higher bicycle use and the low-emission zone also play a role, and these are lasting effects. The CurieuzenAir data show that such measures do improve the quality of life in a large city. 

Despite the encouraging measurement results, action is needed to improve air quality in the city. In September 2021, the World Health Organisation presented a new threshold value: above 10 µg m-3, the first health effects are noticeable. And that is quite sobering: based on the CurieuzenAir data, 98.4% of the population - or 1,200,000 inhabitants of Brussels - live or work in areas exposed to pollution above this health standard.



Alain Maron, Brussels Minister for Climate Transition, Environment, Social Affairs and Health: “CurieuzenAir is a great example of the importance of citizen science. Thanks to all the citizens that took part in the project, we collected unprecedented results on air pollution in Brussels, which help us to better understand the problem in our city. While we see that the situation is slowly improving, the concentrations measured still remain unacceptable, and call for urgent, in-depth action. We need to make sure that everyone in the city, wherever they live and whatever they earn, get to breathe a clean and healthy air.”

“We know that you can’t manage what you don’t measure—and this valuable data and research will enable the Brussels-Capital-Region, Brussels Environment, and civil society to combat this air pollution crisis,” said Antha Williams, who leads environment programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Tackling air pollution in Brussels will save lives, and will especially benefit the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly who are most susceptible to the harmful effects of poor air quality.

Good air quality is important for all inhabitants of Brussels

The CurieuzenAir dataset provides a very detailed picture of air quality in the various districts of Brussels. The NO2 concentrations show remarkable differences between neighbourhoods, streets and sometimes within the same street. Researchers from Université libre de Bruxelles placed the CurieuzenAir data alongside socio-economic characteristics of the various neighbourhoods. "What is striking is the difference in air quality between the orange and yellow dots in the centre and the blue-green periphery of Brussels," explains Dirk Jacobs, full professor in Sociology at ULB. "The three neighbourhoods with the best air quality in the region are located in Uccle and the three neighbourhoods with the highest NO2 concentration are found in the city centre and near the inner ring road." Neighbourhoods with a higher population density tend to score worse in terms of air quality. Moreover, the Curieuzenair data shows a clear link between income and air pollution exposure: the more deprived neighborhoods, the worse air quality is. "Ironically, this also means that in the neighbourhoods where car ownership per household is lower, the air quality is nevertheless worse because of the impact of nearby traffic".

"The results from CurieuzenAir show that the health effects for the people of Brussels are unevenly distributed. We are not all in the same boat," says Raf Pauly of BRAL, Brussels' urban movement, and a co-initiator of CurieuzenAir. "But the measurement result in your street is not equal to your own daily exposure. We only spend part of our time at home. People from the blue-green periphery also go to study, work or shop in the Vijfhoek. So we all have an interest in seeing the air quality across the whole of Brussels improve significantly and we need to work hard to achieve that."

CurieuzenAir is an initiative of the University of Antwerp, urban movement BRAL and Université libre de Bruxelles, in close cooperation with Brussels Environnement, De Standaard, Le Soir and BRUZZ. This program is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Brussels Clean Air Partnership.

From April 4 to 8, Toha De Brant, Yannick Schandené and Hanne Van Reusel were out and about in Florence, Italy for BRAL. They visited local practices of the commons and exchanged knowledge and experiences with other commoners as part of the Joint Staff Training Event for Commoning Europe in Campi di Bisenzio. Commoning Europe wants to rediscover the public good as the foundation of Europe. The project is co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union and aims to spread awareness on common goods and good practices in several countries.

During the Joint Staff Training Event managers, civil servants and citizens from five European countries (Italy, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands and Romania) join forces to foster commoning practices between public institutions and local governments. The commune of Campi di Bisenzio presented skilfully the experiences and practices on the countryside and the surroundings of Florence’s metropolitan area. After a short presentation of the programme, we let Hanne explain her takeaways.

Day 1

The group kicked-off with an introduction to the Commons regarding legal framework, private-public management, and regulation of the collaborations followed by a visit to Giardini Nidaici. The garden is a space for children in the city of Florence, managed by volunteers.

Day 2

Mondeggi was the second common good visit. It is located in the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli. The community pride themselves in the concept of ‘land of common good’. Free sharing of knowledge, local natural and sustainable farming are a few of their added values.

The group thereafter visited Lumen Firenze, an associative cultural space situated in a large green area of Florence. It represents an incubator of autonomous and sustainable economic dynamics, because it is a reference point for innovative projects, knowledge sharing, start-ups and new civic practices.

Day 3 & 4

After the visits, the group headed inside for round table sessions about common goods. They also learned about how to build an energy community thanks to the contribution of Legambiente Onlus - Comuni Rinnovabili – another Erasmus + project. In promoting energy communities as common good, they believe it can bring economic, environmental and social benefits to local communities.

Hanne Van Reusel’s feedback:

“As engaged commoner and member of BRAL, I joined this European commons exchange and training. Exploring the Metropolitan area of Florence and its commons, I am noting several takeaways:

  • The importance of a national law / regional framework defining commons in order to provide leverage.
  • The EU subsidiarity principles, acknowledging the role of the social sector and citizens have been written since ‘93, and acting since 2009. They provide ground for supporting commons initiatives also in Belgium and Brussels.
  • Commons from the perspective of public administrations is about acknowledging active citizenship and valuing the diverse contributions they bring to the public and common good.

Gratitude to the wonderful team from CampoBisenzio, commoning_europe and bral.brussels. Partners in commons: fermenthingsbe tohadebrant And shout out to my @osmosnetwork that allows me to disappear, learn more and go and soak up some Italian sun 🙏”

Thank you for you attendence and contributions, Hanne, Toha and Yannick! Want to know more about the project Commoning Europe? Are you interested in discovering the good practices our partners and us have put in the spotlight? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and the website www.commoning.eu!