Parte del Servizio "Land consumption and reduction policies in Belgium"
a cura di Stefano Salata
Lepur, Faculté des Sciencese/University of Liege, Belgium
Lepur, Faculté des Sciences/University of Liege, Belgium
In Belgium, the two main regions of Flanders and Wallonia pursue the goal of ‘no net land take’ (NNLT). Initially referred to in the media as the ‘concrete stop’ (Betonstop in Flanders and Stop béton in Wallonia), this objective has been officially termed ‘spatial optimisation’ by the Walloon authorities. This article examines the main obstacle to the effective implementation of NNLT in Wallonia: the issue of financial compensation for downzoning. After presenting the regional context and the ‘spatial optimisation’ strategy, the article explores two approaches to achieve the NNLT goal while avoiding financial compensation. The first approach involves the introduction of a new form of zoning that overlays existing land-use plans. This is currently being pursued in Wallonia through the delineation of ‘centralities’, where the development of new housing is to be concentrated. The second approach consists of downzoning areas that are not eligible for financial compensation.
Bernier C., Blain S., Boodts A., Bottieau V., Croughs T., et al. (2021), Recherche R1: Intensification et requalification des centralités pour lutter contre l’étalement urbain et la dépendance à la voiture, CPDT subvention, Rapport de recherche final.
Bottieau V., Dawance B., Defer V., Demeulemeester S., Georges M., et al. (2020), Intensification et requalification des centralités pour lutter contre l’étalement urbain et la dépendance à la voiture, CPDT subvention, Rapport de recherche final.
Defer V., Wilmotte P. F., Hendrickx S. (2022), "Réduction du potentiel foncier urbanisable au plan de secteur", Notes de recherche CPDT, no. 81.
Halleux J. M. (2012), “Vers la ville compacte qualitative ? Gestion de la périurbanisation et actions publiques”, Belgeo, no. 1-2.
Halleux J. M., Lacoere P. (2023), “Country Profile of Belgium. Hannover”, ARL Country Profiles [https://www.arl-international.com/k....
Halleux J. M., Leinfelder H. (2025), “Land policy in belgium: how to limit land take in a ’Landowners’ Paradise’?”, in T. Hartmann, A. Hengstermann, M. Jehling, A. Schindelegger, F. Wenner (eds.), Land policies in Europe. Land-use planning, property rights and spatial development, Springer, Berlin, Germany, p. 35-52.
Halleux J. M., Marcinczak S., van der Krabben E. (2012), “The adaptive efficiency of land use planning measured by the control of urban sprawl. The cases of the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland”, Land Use Policy, vol. 29, no 4, p. 887-898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.01.008
Haumont F. (1990), Les instruments juridiques de la politique foncière, Story-Scientia, Brussels.
Lacoere P., Decoville A., Delattre R., Melot R., Grimski D. (2024), “National introduction of no net land take: a comparative study of five pioneering countries seeking to limit their land consumption”, Town Planning Review, vol. 0, p. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2024.44
Lacoere P., Leinfelder H. (2022), “Land oversupply. How rigid land-use planning and legal certainty hinder new policy for Flanders”, European Planning Studies, vol. 31, issue 9, p. 1926-1948. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2022.2148456
Lorquet T., Hendrickx S., Lambotte J. M., Ruelle C. (2020), "Bilan de l’artificialisation des sols en Wallonie", Notes de recherche CPDT, no. 79.
Wallonie, Iweps - Institut wallon de l’évaluation, de la prospective et de la statistique (2024), Les chiffres-clés de la Wallonie, édition 2024 [https://www.iweps.be/wp-content/upl....
