13 Brussels communes win funding for quality-of-life improvements

Thirteen of Brussels' 19 communes will receive a total of €42.4 million in regional government funding to improve public spaces, sports and cultural facilities by 2020.

The money will go towards 70 projects and has been distributed among the municipalities based on population figures, average income levels, unemployment rate and the age of existing infrastructure.

The funding, which covers a range of areas around neighbourhood development and quality of life, was transferred from being a federal to a regional competence in Belgium's recent sixth state reform.

In the past, only seven districts in Brussels were eligible for the subsidies. The 13 communes that will now receive the cash are Anderlecht, Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere, Forest, Ixelles, Jette, Koekelberg, Molenbeek, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Josse, Schaerbeek and Uccle.

Objectives include developing public spaces, improving social ties and cultural exchanges, creating public housing for people in need, developing sports and cultural facilities and combating poverty.