Brusselization

In urban planning, Brusselization (French: bruxellisation, Dutch: verbrusseling) is "the indiscriminate and careless introduction of modern high-rise buildings into gentrified neighbourhoods" and has become a byword for "haphazard urban development and redevelopment".

The notion applies to anywhere whose development follows the pattern of the uncontrolled development of Brussels in the 1960s and 1970s, that resulted from a lack of zoning regulations and the city authorities' laissez-faire approach to city planning.

The original Brusselization was the type of urban regeneration performed by the city of Brussels in connection with Expo 58. In order to prepare the city for Expo 58, buildings were torn down without regard either to their architectural or historical importance, high-capacity square office/apartment buildings were built, boulevards were created and tunnels dug. Among the most controversial was the large-scale demolition of townhouses for development of the high-rise business district in the Northern Quarter. All of these changes were designed to quickly increase the number of people working and living in the city and improve transportation.

Further radical changes resulted from Brussels's role as the center of the EU and NATO, beginning with the construction of the European Commission headquarters in 1959. The introduction of a high-speed rail network in the 1990s was the latest excuse to speculate on multiple rows of properties for modern office/hotel redevelopment, which led to the razing of neighborhood blocks near Brussels-South railway station.

These changes caused outcry amongst the citizens of Brussels and by environmentalist and preservationist organizations. The demolition of Victor Horta's Art Nouveau Maison du Peuple in 1965 was one focus of such protests, (see photograph on right for what now stands on its site), as was the construction of the IBM Tower in 1978.

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