VLAAMS-BRABANT - Geography and history
Vlaams-Brabant covers 2106 km² and has a high density of population (486 inhabitants per km²)
In 2002, the population counted 1 022 821 inhabitants and it was split in proportion 55/45% between its two districts, Halle-Vilvoorde and Leuven.
Flemish Brabant has an undulating landscape which gradually rises to the south to its highest point in the Zoniënwoud (139 m). It has several geographical subdivisions: the arming districts of the Pajottenland and Brabants Haspengouw, the wooded Dijleland and the fruit-growing Hageland. The Zoniënwoud and the Hallerbos form a green belt round the Brussels metropolis. Flemish Brabant belongs to the hydrographical basin of the Schelde (Scheldt), which includes the rivers Rupel, Dender, Zenne, Dijle and Gete.
Urban areas are dominated by the centrally situated city of Brussels; there are also the important regional centres of Leuven, Vilvoorde, Halle, Asse, Diest, Aarschot and Tienen.
Flemish Brabant was opened up in the 1960s by a motorway network around Brussels which, together with the international airport and freight terminal at Zaventem, gives the region excellent accessibility.
Growth problems of a flourishing region
Flemish Brabant has four major advantages:
by surrounding the Brussels metropolis, its economy reaps the benefit of the city's central role in the European Community and of the excellent transport connections;
it is a research-oriented region (universities in Leuven and Brussels; IMEC, a leading microelectronics R&D centre in Leuven; science parks in Haasrode and Zellik; innovation centres in Leuven and Brussels);
it has large areas of countryside and great scope for tourism: the Zoniënwoud, the Haller-bos and the rural districts of the Pajottenland and the Hageland;
the passenger and freight air terminals make the Zaventem area the focus of the region's distribution and transport facilities.
This success has to be paid for in three ways, however:
the motorways and expressways are reaching saturation point and the secondary road network is overloaded with commuter traffic to and from Brussels, with a consequent risk to safety and living conditions in the residential districts;
the demand for land is swallowing up the remaining open space; urban developments are constantly expanding and jeopardizing living conditions in many municipalities;
commercial sites fetch higher prices than residential ones, even though these have doubled in price; speculation is thus a threat to both countryside and agriculture.
Sub-regional disparities within a fast-growing region
There are substantial differences in economic development between areas of Flemish Brabant which cannot be overlooked.
The Halle-Vilvoorde district benefits in several ways from its favourable position near Brussels, which is becoming very attractive with the advent of the single European market. Zaventem, a hotbed of economic growth, is well placed in this respect. Yet Halle-Vilvoorde's economic development has several drawbacks: a shortage of commercial sites, creeping urbanization, the reconversion problem in the Zenne valley and the commuter problem in the agricultural Pajottenland.
The Leuven district has a strongly services-based economy (education, health, banking and insurance) and is also expected to reap the benefits of economic growth, though somewhat later. The saturation forecast for the Zaventem area and the price escalation in Halle-Vilvoorde are expected to drive many firms to seek sites near Leuven. Problems within the district include the socio-economic situation of the Hageland, a wholly agricultural area with a small economic base to the east of Leuven and adjacent to the province of Limburg.
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