Good and bad fortune of the plan for the construction of 5,000 (low- and middle-income) housing units in Brussels

Especially due to the impoverishment of the population of the capital, combined with the increasing tendency to family separation, the need for low-income housing is in constant progress in Brussels. Unfortunately, the public supply remains inadequate to absorb this demand. The Brussels authorities have actually started an extensive plan for the construction of 5,000 low- and middle-income units, but this plan is faced with, if not a failure, at least serious problems in its realization. But why is it so arduous to build social housing in the Brussels Capital Region? This question constitutes the object of this article. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008