What is the problem?
Our city has made tremendous progress over the past 20 years, in many areas. But lately something has been wrong. Ordinary things seem to have become impossible: an affordable home, being able to move around the city safely and freely, ... We are at a turning point.
The population in Brussels is constantly changing. On the one hand, there are many young people in Brussels. On the other hand, there are many senior citizens. For all these people, Brussels should be a good place to call home.
How do we organise the neighbourhood? How do we make public transport accessible, provide greenery in the area, where are schools, shops and nurseries located? What solutions are there if your home becomes too big or if you can no longer live independently?
Such things do not come about by themselves. Making a city pleasant for all ages requires thought and action. On many fronts. 2024 must be the year when we step up the pace again. And tackle what is going wrong. We are not leaving anyone behind.
What does Vooruit.brussels want?
A city for the many, not for the few. On a human scale. Where young and old live together in harmony and all generations thrive. Vooruit.brussels stands for a comprehensive approach.
In practical terms
- A wider range of flexible housing options such as affordable senior citizens' and service flats, intergenerational housing projects, kangaroo homes, day care centres for the elderly.
- An 'age-friendly' design of public spaces: better street lighting, safe footpaths, and crossings.
- Plenty of inclusive rest areas in all forms, clear and well-organised and user-friendly for all, instead of chaotic infrastructure.
- Stricter enforcement of the correct parking of scooters.
- Buildings and public transport carriages that are adapted for people with reduced mobility. Bus drivers should be made to start only after passengers with reduced mobility have found a seat.
- Six police zones together in one zone, chaired by the Minister-President and local police close to citizens for increased safety.
- Investment in neighbourhood-oriented care with good cooperation between CPAS social counters, neighbourhood health centres, community centres and local service centres.
- The pooling of requests for help where the different generations in the neighbourhood can help each other: shopping, babysitting, offering study space for students at elderly people's homes, ...
- The basic bill for retirement homes never higher than the minimum pension. Introduction of a maximum bill.
- A physical alternative to electronic service desks (municipal administration, banks). These are a good complement to face-to-face services but can never completely replace them.
- The appointment of an elderly rights commissioner - similar to the children's rights commissioner - to watch over the rights of senior citizens. Because they are not always in a position to enforce their rights. The corona crisis has shown that seniors are not always in a position to enforce their rights.
Being old should not mean being left out. When drawing up an urban policy, it is best to take children and the elderly into account. If they can keep up, so can the rest. – Jos Bertrand
Decisive actions in the past
- The change from a city for cars to a city on a human scale, with much more room for soft mobility, was initiated by Pascal Smet.
- Ans Persoons' new Urban Development Ordinance (2024) sets the rules for quality urban space, with more trees in the streetscape, quality renovations, affordable housing and wide pedestrian and cycle paths.
- Els Rochette kicked off the first session of the 'RVG on tour' (2023), with the theme 'growing old in the city'. RVG on tour is a citizen participation project where the people's representatives went out of their quarters (= parliament) to speak to senior citizens. No policy over people's heads.