Neighbourhoods in Crisis and Sustainable Urban Development : Proceedings of a Seminar Held on 29 October 1999 in Brussels, Belgium

This book is the result of a seminar organised on 29 October 1999 in Brussels by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) which is part of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts of Belgium.

The seminar dealt with the urban environment and its sustainable development.

Currently urban areas everywhere in Europe struggle with neighbourhoods in crisis.

These are areas in which less affluent people are concentrated and in which social ills such as poverty, unemployment and environmental problems are rampant.

The seminar examined how deprived areas in cities can benefit from the implementation of the principles of sustainable urban development. Its aims were: a) to explain what sustainable development means for local communities in general and neighbourhoods in crisis in particular; b) in this context, to examine physical, social, health, and ecological aspects of urban neighbourhoods in crisis; c) to compare neighbourhoods in crisis with other urban areas and to examine the interaction between the two; and d) to result in an in-depth analysis of the problems of deprived urban areas in a sustainable development framework in order to improve living conditions for all urban citizens.

The target groups for this publication are international, national and local authorities, academics, NGOs, and concerned citizens.