Stijn Oosterlynck professor

Research Stijn Oosterlynck

Research team

Expertise

- Scientific advice on social inequality, poverty and social excusion - Scientific advice on urban policy and development - Scientific advice on spatial planning and governance

Trust in Governance of Societal Transitions (GOVTRUST). 01/01/2026 - 31/12/2031

Abstract

Trust in public governance is essential for a well-functioning society. This is especially so in the face of grand societal challenges, which put increasing pressure on trust and spark distrust. In this respect, it is essential to understand how trust is built through successful governance. Equally important is recognising that trust in itself is a fundamental prerequisite for successful governance. Therefore, and building on previous work of the GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence on trust and multilevel governance, the new GOVTRUST research programme focuses on trust and distrust in the governance of societal transitions. In doing so, GOVTRUST will make significant interdisciplinary contributions to both the trust literature and the scholarship regarding the governance of transitions. Contemporary governance of society is increasingly defied by uncertain and disruptive challenges affecting every part of our society. Societal challenges, such as climate change and digitalisation, represent very complex, interdependent, and multi-dimensional problems that require collaborative efforts of public, private, and non-profit actors, as well as individual citizens. In responding to these complex challenges, major societal transitions - i.e., systemic changes and deliberate alterations in the functioning of society - are necessary. The standard governance repertoire has not been able to bring about such successful transitions: e.g., at several governance levels negotiations are blocked, and regulatory and policy frameworks are strongly contested, rigid, and inapt to respond to scientific advances. It is therefore crucial to rethink governance, both regarding the arrangements and processes needed to make collective decisions, and regarding the capacities and behaviours of organisational and individual actors at different levels of governance (incl. local, regional, national, EU, international levels). Trust is a fundamental condition for such complex governance systems to perform well. Although the literature and our own GOVTRUST research have shown that a certain degree of distrust between actors within a governance system (public, private and civil society actors) might be functional in specific instances, recurring reports of distrust point to significant problems. When trust evaporates and/or distrust rises, cooperation between these governance actors is compromised, making successful governance of societal transitions very hard to achieve. Moreover, the actual (lack of) response of governance systems to societal challenges will in turn have an impact on trust by citizens in those systems. Therefore, GOVTRUST will focus on trust and distrust in and within the governance of transitions. GOVTRUST's core aim is to understand and analyse the dynamics, causes and effects of trust and distrust in and within the governance of societal transitions. As interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial to achieve this aim, the GOVTRUST consortium unites strong research teams from political science, public administration, law, communication sciences, sociology, organisational behaviour, and learning sciences. By expanding the existing consortium with experts from sociology, organisational behaviour, and learning sciences, the GOVTRUST consortium has all the necessary conceptual, theoretical, and methodological expertise to make ground-breaking contributions. With its unique capacity and experience, GOVTRUST will engage in frontline conceptual and theoretical innovation, combining advanced methodological approaches that prioritise interdisciplinarity and the involvement of societal actors. In this way, the expanded GOVTRUST consortium will build on its acquired expertise to generate major scientific breakthroughs and substantial societal impacts regarding trust in the governance of societal transitions, while further consolidating and strengthening its international position and the international visibility of the University of Antwerp in the field.

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  • Research Project

InPUT - Engaging Places and Communities for Inclusive Peri-Urban Transitions 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2026

Abstract

The success of the 15-minute city is tightly linked to its implementation in the hyper-connected cities most suited to adopt it, but a sustainable urban transition requires tackling other forms of European urbanisation, namely the extensive peri-urban areas where many people live and work. In these areas, spatial morphologies and networks are not necessarily ready to receive 15-minute city models and governments and communities are not necessarily aligned with their principles. However, interventions to improve quality of life, proximity and accessibility are sorely needed. InPUT advances this effort, by analysing distinct peri-urban types and envisioning place-specific 15-minute settings that fit these diverse contexts. To achieve that, the project moves beyond considering only spatial aspects (TOD, functions, networks) to also examine social aspects, namely governance capacities, which influence investments and priorities, and aspirations of inhabitants, which determine which elements constitute 'their' 15-minute city and the desirability of the transformations. Based on a selection of peri-urban areas in four countries, InPUT establishes, together with local stakeholders, a typological catalogue of functional arrangements, mobility networks, governance dynamics and community experiences. That knowledge is then used to co-design place-appropriate spatial visions and strategic transformations enabling 15-minute settings.

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  • Research Project

Governing community space as an urban foundational amenity. 01/12/2023 - 30/11/2025

Abstract

This project will analyse the governance of community space as an urban foundational amenity in three Belgian cities. It will carry out preparatory research for the Cities4Life SBO research application, which aims to map the political and economic opportunities and threats for the urban foundational economy in the face of marketisation and financialisation. The urban foundational economy refer to the amenities that meet basic needs of residents. More specifically, this project will map the shifts in the governance, i.e. financing, provisioning, decision-making and regulation, of community space in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.

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  • Research Project

Setting up learning paths and networks for local authorities in tackling online and offline polarization, disinformation and hate speech (PolarProf). 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024

Abstract

The PolarProf project is a three-year learning and exchange project for local government professionals to build expertise and develop a concrete approach around polarisation, disinformation and hate speech. The project includes both bringing together existing research, experts and (practical) expertise, setting up a digital learning trajectory (modules of knowledge transfer), and translating it concretely into practice (toolkit & action plan) and exchanging these experiences for and between local authorities.

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  • Research Project

City and change III: Towards a sustainable integration of disciplines in urban studies. 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2025

Abstract

Recent literature in urban studies tends to identify and define the city as an ever more complex and hybrid reality, referring to the urban as something 'splintered', 'assembled' and 'imagined' while seeking refuge in new concepts and catchphrases like 'post'-city, 'non'-city, or 'ex'-urban. Our collective research initiative will transcend this not by churning out even more new theories and concepts, but by analysing the very activity of defining the city as a historical process and practice. To that end, we will concentrate on four concrete, complementary domains, in which the definition of cities is at stake by nature. By focusing on (1) 'suburbanisation', (2) 'territoriality', and (3) 'urban citizenship' we examine the existence and meaningfulness of physical, social and imagined boundaries in defining the urban and urbanity. The theme of 'knowledge' (4) adds a reflexive layer by analysing the long term interconnections between the urban reality and knowledge formation – including knowledge on the city itself.

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  • Research Project

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) for Inclusive and Sustainable Rural-Urban Regions (TOD-IS-RUR). 01/01/2021 - 30/04/2025

Abstract

TOD-IS-RUR focuses on Transit Oriented Development (TOD), conceiving public transport as a backbone for socially Inclusive and environmentally Sustainable urbanisation in European Rural-Urban Regions (RURs). If Europe is to make a transition to inclusive and sustainable urbanisation, this extension of TOD to RURs is essential, as most Europeans live in RURs, not just in urban cores. TOD-IS-RUR sets up an interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral network to analyse, develop and test-case innovative approaches countering sprawl in RURs by bringing in expertise from urban studies and drawing on a wide-range of European contexts. The 9 Beneficiaries and 12 Partner Organisations create a unique platform for 10 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), providing expert-level training in analysing and improving TOD for RURs.

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  • Research Project

Solidarity in Diversity (SOLiDi). 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2024

Abstract

Over the last decade, liberal democracies in Europe have been shaken to their core by the rise of national populisms. This puts strong pressure on all forms of solidarity, especially as they cross ethnic-cultural boundaries. The increasingly successful capture of the notion of solidarity by radical right, anti-liberal democratic forces is testimony to this. The challenge for European democracies is to identify the conditions under which solidarities in diversity can be nurtured. To address this urgent challenge, the European Training Network "Solidarity in Diversity" (SOLiDi) develops a training and research program that is focused on how to generate solidarities across cultural boundaries, taking the proximity of citizens with different ethnic-cultural backgrounds in specific places and the practices they engage in as starting point. Building on the strengths of the interculturalist paradigm, SOLiDi will originally contribute with an intersectional understanding of how place-based solidarity practices are shaped by and can work around entrenched social inequalities and unequal power relations. To that end, SOLiDi brings together a group of international scholars from sociology, geography and educational science and a wide range of non-academic partners that are active in different sectors. SOLiDi will train 15 early stage researchers in relevant theories, research methods and ethics and paradigms of social change such as public pedagogy and policy and organisational change to study practices of place-based solidarities in diversity in different geographical, policy and organisational contexts. The aim is to articulate a new vision on solidarity adapted to superdiverse societies and to better equip professionals and organisations with adequate and innovative tools for facilitating solidarity in diversity. SOLiDi aims are in line with SDG10 "Reduced Inequalities" and Societal Challenge 6 'Europe in a changing world - Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies'.

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  • Research Project

A new frontier in EU urban policy-making: commons-inspired co-production arrangements (COMMONCITY). 01/09/2023 - 31/08/2024

Abstract

A new tendency is on the rise in EU urban policy-making: adopting Co-production Arrangements inspired by the paradigm of the Commons(CAC). Some pioneering casesstand out,such asthe Urban Commons Regulation in Bologna (2014), the Commons Transition Plan in Ghent (2017) and the Citizen Assets Programme in Barcelona (2017). These cities have been joined by others that either have adopted similar arrangements or are currently considering adopting them. By and large, these arrangements aim to redistribute decision making power to citizens over services and resources that are considered as essential for urban collective wellbeing (e.g. public buildings and spaces, energy and water utilities) by fostering community self-management. Preliminary and applied research on these arrangements has been carried out, mostly based on single case study analyses. However, scientific, in-depth and comparative knowledge on CAC is still scarce. By adopting an urban epistemology to the traditional state-centred political science field, COMMONCITY will produce key, useful and timely knowledge on CAC. It will comparatively analyse the i) policy models, ii) political, social and administrative challenges, iii) impact on urban democracy of recently adopted CAC in the three EU pioneering cities: Barcelona, Bologna and Ghent. By adopting a co-production-oriented approach to data collection and analysis that will foster citizen science, it will provide unique empirical data on the varieties, effective functioning and democratising effect of these arrangements. The results of COMMONCITY will contribute to the scientific debate in the broad urban study field and, specifically, in urban democracy, urban governance, urban policy-making and urban participation. It will also provide policy recommendations to various levels of government, in order to foster the adoption of CAC and improve the functioning and democratic impact of existing and under-adoption ones.

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  • Research Project

Enhancing urban democracy through commons-based coproduction arrangements: a three-case comparative study (COMMOCRACY). 24/11/2022 - 30/11/2024

Abstract

European liberal democracies are shaken by a legitimation crisis. Over the last decades, a feeling of distrust has grown among civil society towards state institutions. There is thus an urgent need to enable processes that deepen democracy and increase trust in public institutions. The implementation of an urban collaborative governance based on Coproduction Arrangements inspired by the Paradigm of the Commons (CAPC) is increasingly considered as a means to address this need. The overarching aim of COMMOCRACY is to investigate whether and how CAPC recently adopted in three different European cities can strengthen democracy and help to rearticulate a trustful relationship between civil society and public institutions. It will look at CAPC's democratic qualities and analyse their impact on the rearticulation of civil society/public institutions relationship. The project will pay close attention to the Covid-19 crisis to understand whether and how it has affected this rearticulation. It will use a qualitative-interpretative research methodology based on a three-case comparative study: the Regulation for the Urban Commons (Bologna), the Citizen Heritage (Barcelona) and the Commons Transition Plan (Ghent). COMMOCRACY will produce results which are of high relevance for EU science, society and policy by advancing and bridging knowledge in urban theory and political science debates on democracy.

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  • Research Project

Just transition research and development services. 01/10/2022 - 30/09/2023

Abstract

The publication of a report for the attention of the Minister and the Belgian institutions (all entities) by the spring of 2023. This report will provide an answer to the question "how to organize and implement the just transition in Belgium" and will be published as a scientific contribution to the National Conference.

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  • Research Project

Participation in small- and medium-sized towns: Experiences, Exchanges, Experiments (PISTE). 01/02/2022 - 31/01/2024

Abstract

PISTE aims to improve the quality of civic and integration policies, promoting the participation of migrants in the design, implementation and evaluation of integration policies, and their peer assessment in Small and Medium-sized Towns (SMTs). To do so, PISTE involves a partnership of 3 academic institutions, 4 Municipalities and 1 NGO located in 4 European countries. The activities foreseen are: 1. Supporting evidence-based policy making, 2. Sharing and assessing policy measures, starting from partner and target municipalities and scaling up to the European level 3. Promoting civic and political participation through co-design workshops involving actors from SMTs' authorities and civil society 4. Experimenting fine-tuned and revised local measures 5. Disseminating outputs beyond the partnership via multilingual digital resources, collecting experiences and tools for policy innovation in European SMTs. The main outputs will be: 1. Guidelines for the implementation of integration and participation policy in SMTs 2. Stakeholders? assessment reports about policies implemented in SMTs 3. White Paper on the promotion of minorities' participation and activism in welcoming communities 4. Digital resources (good practices in SMTs) PISTE will lead to the increased availability of tools, methods and models designed and implemented locally - tailored to involve immigrants? in SMTs - and to multiply the number of immigrants' groups involved in the policy process. In the short run beneficiaries will be policy-makers involved in partner and target municipalities, and other stakeholders (e.g. advocacy and immigrants associations and informal groups) - estimate n.: 160; in the mid-term, policy experiments and dissemination guidelines will enable to reach both policy recipients among the immigrant population (estimate n. 750) and other policy-makers (n. 150); website and social media channels will reach an estimate n. of 30000 visits.

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  • Research Project

The Value and Meaning of Civil Social-Cultural Actors for Society 01/10/2021 - 31/03/2023

Abstract

Today, socio-cultural work in Flanders is coming under increasing pressure. At lower levels of government, socio-cultural policy is being phased out and at other levels questions are being asked about the discretionary space and the roles of socio-cultural work. Support Center Socius requires scientific substantiation of the current value of socio-cultural actors. It is about gaining insight into the external perspective on socio-cultural work: what values do market players, governments and other civil society players attribute to socio-cultural work today? Hiva (KU Leuven) and ARIA (UAntwerp) are working together in this 1.5-year study.

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  • Research Project

Bridging the gap: science and local government in search of answers. 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2021

Abstract

As a knowledge platform, valorization and training center, the Hannah Arendt Institute aims to bridge the gap between the academic world and the wider society. In doing so, we focus on themes that pose a challenge to our increasingly complex society, such as urbanity, (super) diversity, integration, equality, polarisation, radicalisation, social cohesion, digitization and citizenship.

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  • Research Project

Co-creating complementary forms of welfare support across faith-based organisations and secular welfare state institutions (SOLIGION). 01/10/2020 - 30/09/2024

Abstract

Our project sets out to produce better forms of collaboration and more complementary forms of solidarity between faith-based (including humanistic) organisations (FBOs) and secular welfare state institutions (WSIs). It does so by 1° examining the dynamic interaction between FBOs and WSIs in an interdisciplinary way and through a multi-method approach and 2° the co-creation by both FBOs and WSIs of new practices of solidarity and social support. The interdisciplinary and multi-method approach serves to 1° reveal the potentialities and frictions of FBOs in relation to the political standards of secular WSIs and 2° transcend essentialist and dichotomous views so as to understand existing forms of negotiation and mutual adaptation. In concrete terms, the project will map the FBOs active in the field of local social support in five cities (Research Project 1), examine the interaction between FBOs and WSIs from an historical and political-philosophical angle (RP2 and RP3), and create shared insights as well as new procedures and practices through action research (RP4). Building on this, the process of co-creation will involve two related working groups. WG1 will produce a concept and pilot for a dynamic and interactive social map and ICTinterface, proceeding from existing (fragmented, non-dynamic and non-interactive) social maps and the results of RP1 while jointly tackling issues of selection and definition. WG2 will build on the insights generated in the scientific part so as to conceive educational and training modules for 1° volunteers and social workers, 2° local employees (of WSIs) and policy makers, 3° instructors and mentors involved in the integration of newcomers, and 4° future professional social workers. Implementation is ensured through close collaboration with organizations targeting exactly these groups. The method of co-creation fosters implementation because the results will be based on shared concerns, insights and objectives.

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  • Research Project

Participatory and practice-oriented research of the civil society in Ghent 02/04/2020 - 01/02/2021

Abstract

The city council of Ghent aims to analyse how the relationship between local civil society and the local government and between local civil society organisations themselves can be organised in a different and more adequate way. The following questions are central. What concerns the relationship between civil society and local government, we aim to identify which forms of support civil society organisations expect from the local government, how the administrative burdens on organisations can be reduced, how the local government can work across sectoral policy fields and how it can arrive at a more clear division of labour with civil society. What concerns internal relations within civil society itself, we analyse how existing activities and provisions can be matched and overlap can be reduced and how the relationships between small self-organisations and large established organisations can be improved.

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  • Research Project

Launch of Knowledge Platform Diversity, Urbanity and Citizenship 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2020

Abstract

The Knowledge Platform aims to centralize scientific research on diversity, urbanity and citizenship and to develop further research valorization in this regard in collaboration with various societal partners. The figure of Hannah Arendt and the critical reading of her writings are an inspiration to reflect on and tackle societal challenges such as fear, frustration and indifference in an increasingly complex urban society reality. In order to realize individual engagement linked to sustainable community development, the institute wants to focus on innovative knowledge about urban democracy, learning environments with room for experiments and living labs, new ideas about urgency participation and co-productive democracy and the setting up of smart structures and lifelong learning services and experiences. We do this specifically by: 1/ Bringing together academia, the professional field and the general public (network creation); 2/ identifying evidence- and practice-based methods and practices that are effictive, feasible and impactful; 3/ setting up specific valorisation, education and training programs for various target groups

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  • Research Project

Coordination of networks for local integration policy: the importance of relational characteristics for regime performance and goal achievement. 01/11/2019 - 31/10/2023

Abstract

The integration of migrants is a complex societal challenge. There is disagreement about both the causes and the consequences, but what we do know is that the problem cannot be tackled within one policy domain, nor by the government alone. The government has to collaborate with associations and citizens to jointly create an integration policy. In this study, we assume that the objectives of such a network of partners in the field of local integration policy are twofold. On the one hand, the aim of a network is to be steady and resilient. The number of actors, the relationships between these actors and the willingness of actors to participate in the network is important. On the other hand, the intention is to achieve certain explicit and implicit goals. In this PhD research will be examined how a network can be coordinated in order to achieve the objectives. Five Flemish central cities will be investigated. On the basis of document analysis, interviews and focus group discussions, insight will be gained into local integration policy and the relationships between the partners. By means of a network analysis, the relationships between the partners in the local integration policy will be visualized. Based on these findings, a number of conditions/good practices in the field of coordination will be detected.

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  • Research Project

Class-based environmentalism: Towards a multidimensional and mixed methods approach. 01/11/2019 - 31/10/2023

Abstract

This project examines the relation between social class and environmentalism. Environmentalism refers to both attitudes about environmental problems and pro-environmental behaviour. The key research question is: "How and why do people from different social classes differ in their tendency towards environmentalism?" While previous research has been dominated by a unidimensional understanding of both social class and environmentalism, these approaches fail to appreciate the complexity of their relation. I argue that a multidimensional approach is needed because each social class dimension may relate differently to each dimension of environmentalism. Social class has an economic, cultural, social and socio-professional dimension. Environmentalism has an attitudinal dimension (the severity of environmental problems, its consequences, causes and solutions) and a behavioural dimension (behavioural practices and the reasons why people perform them). In this project, quantitative and qualitative data are combined into a mixed methods research design. Quantitative methods will examine and compare how social class dimensions relate to the dimensions of environmentalism, based on data (n= +/-1500) from the Flemish Survey on Socio-Cultural Shifts (2010, 2016, 2017) and the International Social Survey Programme (2010). Qualitative methods, based on interview data, search for explanations to understand why social class is related to environmentalism, thus explaining quantitative findings.

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  • Research Project

A critical perspective on diversity in the workplace: discourses, practices and identities in nonprofit organizations. 01/11/2019 - 31/10/2023

Abstract

The central aim of this research is to explore to what extent nonprofit organizations are able to manage an increasingly diverse workforce. Focusing on ethnic minorities in Flemish nonprofit organizations, the proposed research has two goals. Firstly, the research aims to propose a sociological and empirical assessment of how the existing discourses and strategies on diversity management are shaped within the organization and its broader structural and societal context. Secondly, I will investigate the role of ethnic groups' competencies and cultural identities within the organization and their ability or inability to fully employ them in the workplace. On a practical level, my aim is to identify organizational characteristics that facilitate or prevent the crafting of broader norms on competencies and identities. This gives me the opportunity to provide organizations with a set of alternative diversity management tools

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  • Research Project

Nonprofit change-makers? A mixed methods study on the political role of NPOs. 01/10/2019 - 30/09/2023

Abstract

It is widely recognized that many nonprofit organizations (NPOs) adopt a political role and strive towards societal change. On the one hand, there is a vast body of research in non-profit management that acknowledges the value of nonprofit advocacy (Al-Mog Bar & Schmid, 2014), defined as the use of several strategies and tactics 'attempting to influence the decisions of an institutional elite on behalf of a collective interest' (Kimberlin, 2010). On the other hand, mainly outside of the field of non-profit management, there has been a lot of reflection on the changing nature of the political role of NPOs, referring notably to life style, deliberative and agonistic politics (Beck, 1997; Fung & Wright, 2001; Mouffe, 2005). This suggests a possible shift in the strategies and tactics in non-profit advocacy. A dearth of studies investigates to what extent NPOs adopt strategies in achieving policy changes as well as creating public debate on issues of concern. This study aims to combine these two bodies of research to add to the debate on the NPOs political role by identifying the factors underlying engagement in (a) political advocacy, and (b) civic awareness on public issues, as perceived by NPOs in Flanders (the northern region of Belgium). We adopt a mixed methods approach. The quantitative logistic regression analysis is based on data collected by means of a two-wave survey directed to the directors of NPOs (N = 496) active at the Flemish leveli in the human well-being-, social economy- and sociocultural domain. We subsequently aim to test and refine our findings by means of in-depth interviews with nonprofit representatives (leaders, social workers and volunteers) that indicated either successful or unsuccessful engagement in nonprofit political activity. Doing so, this study contributes to the study of the political role of non-profit organizations in two ways. First, this study draws on relevant insights on the changing political strategies of NPOs from outside the field of non-profit management to enrich our understand of NPOs advocacy role. Second, this study responds to the call for more multi-methods studies in the field of nonprofit in order to compensate for the inherent weaknesses associated with individual methods.

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  • Research Project

Leisure time in a circle: how can we make the province's leisure time offer fit even better in a circular economic model. 01/10/2019 - 30/09/2021

Abstract

With its recreation facilities the province of Antwerp addresses a basic need (wellbeing, health and leisure). The challenge that is central to this research project is to turn these into 'smart' facilities that create value for different stakeholders and adapt it to a circular economic paradigm. Based on insights from consumer behaviour, product-service design and social sciences, we aim for a research design in which different stakeholders co-create a sustainable (planet, profit, people) leisure model with a 'provincial domain' as case study.

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  • Research Project

Solidarity and religion in a modernizing and post-secular context: an historical, politico-philosophical and sociological analysis. 01/01/2019 - 31/12/2022

Abstract

Our project proceeds from the observation that the needs of those who fall victim to globalisation and welfare chauvinism are often addressed by faith-based organisations. These organisations do not sit easily in the current intellectual context, because social scientists are entrapped in old conceptions of solidarity, in which solidarity is seen as emanating from specific societal structures, rather than from a personal inner drive induced by a belief in god's presence and word. This is unfortunate because faith-based forms of solidarity can potentially lead to less calculated, more disinterested and less reciprocal forms of solidarity. In first instance, our project will therefor examine whether religious inspirations and faith-based practices could provide answers to some of the problems facing solidarity mechanisms today – particularly the need to look beyond the logic of the nation state. Specifically, we analyze the impact of religion on the way the community of givers and receivers is conceived. (RQ1) In order to avoid essentializing religions or denominations, we do so by concentrating on the relationship between faith-based motivations on the one hand and the secular and the modern or modernizing context on the other. In that respect, we also analyze to what extent the conception of the recipient was at odds with such 'modern' notions as natural rights and universal equality. (RQ2) In concrete terms, two projects in which faith-based forms of solidarity are empirically examined for two historically different contexts form the basis for a comparative approach to the question (1) whether proximity matters or networks stretching beyond the boundaries of the city or the state and (2) whether a sense of gratitude, dependence and paternalism was implied, or rather the emancipation and empowerment of the individual. Our methodological approach starts from the observation that the present-day social science scholar cannot be conceived as a neutral, objective and immutable observer. The analysis will by definition have a normative dimension, in which specific forms of solidarity are confronted with such broader political standards as human rights, democracy, fairness and justice (hence the involvement of political philosophy). Moreover, the ultimate outcome of the project will be conceptual and epistemological in that social science approaches to solidarity will themselves be transformed. To that end, a third subproject rethinks the concept of solidarity, based on the empirical analyses and the comparison of the two subprojects, in addition to interdisciplinary conceptual work. Overall, our project thus creates a hermeneutical feedback loop between social scientists and their subject matter (i.e. the views and attitudes of historical actors).

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  • Research Project

Food justice and citizen-driven governance of urban agriculture. Assessing the co-creative design of multi-stakeholder governance of urban agriculture initiatives. 01/10/2018 - 30/09/2022

Abstract

Food justice and citizen-driven governance of urban agriculture. Assessing the co-creative design of multi-stakeholder governance of urban agriculture initiatives Food has been absent as a concern for urban studies. This proposal reframes food as an urban question through a focus on citizen-driven governance of urban agriculture (UA) and its role in stimulating food justice. UA is a fast developing field and challenges top-down as well as bottom-up urban planning. This project responds to the need to improve our understanding of how multi-stakeholder governance models can be designed to enhance UA's contribution to food justice. The proposed research consists of three research phases. It starts with an overview of the state of the art literature from social sciences (sociology and political sciences), economic sciences (marketing and human behaviour) and design sciences (service design, design for complex systems). All influential parameteres are mapped into a digital system. The second research phases starts by mapping all urban agricultural initiatives in Flandres, based on the research outcomes and variables from the first research phase. A semi-qualitative research is set up (n=50) to evaluate the existing initiatives on their strenghts and weakenesses (eg. actors involved, contribution to food fairness, use of open spaces). The aim is to gain insights in the way citizens and other stakeholders govern urban agricultural initiatives and with what kind of mechanisms concerning inclusion and exclusion they are confronted. The third research phase consists of a co-creative seven steps design process (alternation of workshops, field research, concept development, concept testing) that gives input for the governance and the creation of three urban agricultural initiatives. The aim of this Participatory Research (PAR) phase is to gain insight in the complexity of governance processes by means of initiating co-creative interventions (common problem, common goal, common value creation) and to learn from their effects. The three studies will result in a report with recommendations to enrich the existing literature. The researchers aim to publish four scientific articles. Given the scope of the proposed research, the researchers moreover aim for a wider validation and desimilation of the results.

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  • Research Project

Update energy poverty barometer of EU SILC 2009-2016. 02/06/2017 - 31/01/2018

Abstract

For the update of the energy poverty barometer, we use the most recent data of the EU SILC survey (Study on Income and Living Conditions). The calculation of the barometer is described in the following report: Delbeke, B., Holzhemer, L., Oosterlynck, S. en Meyer, S. (2014) Baromètre de la Précarité Energétique. Méthodologie et détails techniques. Antwerpen: UA-OASeS/Brussel: ULB-CEESE.

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  • Research Project

Urban agriculture as an alternative to classic green structures in an urbanized environment: economic and spatial analysis. 01/01/2017 - 31/12/2018

Abstract

Research objective: which economic models are suitable for maintaining the open green space in an urbanized environment in a profitable way via urban agriculture? How can economically profitable green structures be built into an urbanized environment?

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  • Research Project

Expert Commission LABO Space Urban system coast - research by design of transformations of the built environment in the coastal area 01/09/2016 - 31/03/2017

Abstract

'Urban System Coast' is a research by design project of possible transformations of the built environment in the Belgian coastal municipalities and neighbouring hinterland municipalities, to arrive at a robust urban system. The coastal area is a dynamics area with a lot of challenges.

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  • Research Project

Literature review neighbourhood typologies and neighbourhood effects 03/05/2016 - 02/05/2017

Abstract

For decades, policy makers and social organisations have been trying to improve people's life chances, social cohesion and the living environment through neighbourhood level interventions. One of the crucial assumptions here is the existence of neighbourhood effects. In this literature review we explain why researchers and policy makers see the neighbourhood as an important scale of intervention and analysis and survey the most important scientific insights in the literature on neighbourhood effects.

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  • Research Project

GIStorical Antwerp II. The historical city as empirical lab for urban studies using high-resolution social maps. 01/05/2016 - 30/04/2020

Abstract

In a time of rapid urbanization solid long-term perspectives on the many environmental, social, economic or political challenges of urbanity are urgently needed. Uniting urban history, sociology, environmental studies and digital humanities, GIStorical Antwerp II turns the historical city into a digital lab which provides an answer to this need. For 8 snapshots between 1584 and 1984 it offers dynamic social maps including every household in the entire city of Antwerp. Construction combines innovative ways of crowd-sourcing and time-efficient spatial and text-mining methodologies (Linear Referencing, Named Entity Recognition). The result is a GIS-environment which not only allows a micro-level view of 500 years of urban development, but more importantly allows an immediate spatial and social contextualization of a sheer unlimited number of other datasets, both those realized through 30 years of research on Antwerp and the mass of structured and unstructured digital 'big data'. For both the applicants and the international research community a completely new type of longitudinal research on urban inequalities – from income over housing quality to pollution – becomes feasible.

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  • Research Project

Update energy poverty barometer of EU SILC data 201, 2014, 2015. 17/03/2016 - 01/10/2016

Abstract

For the update of the energy poverty barometer, we use the most recent data of the EU SILC survey (Study on Income and Living Conditions). The calculation of the barometer is described in the following report: Delbeke, B., Holzhemer, L., Oosterlynck, S. en Meyer, S. (2014) Baromètre de la Précarité Energétique. Méthodologie et détails techniques. Antwerpen: UA-OASeS/Brussel: ULB-CEESE.

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  • Research Project

Solidarity in Diversity: community, place and citizenship 01/01/2016 - 31/12/2020

Abstract

Dit wetenschappelijk onderzoeksnetwerk zal de interdisciplinaire en internationale dialoog over de meest adequate theoretische handvaten en methodologieën om nieuwe vormen van solidariteit in diversiteit te bestuderen stimuleren.

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  • Research Project

Civil Society Innovation in Flanders- investigating and designing new models of social (CSI-Flanders). 01/01/2016 - 31/12/2019

Abstract

CSI Flanders aims to map and survey the changing environment in which Flemish CSOs operate and to assess the impact this has on their relationships with governments and citizens, and on their internal organizational dynamics. It further aims to identify and analyze innovative practices of social service delivery and political work. The state of the art in the literature suggests that, as for the relationship between CSOs and the government is concerned, challenges come from the rise of managerialism, increasing instrumentalisation, decentralization and depoliticisation. As for the relationship between CSOs and the citizen, challenges come from consumerism, increasing diversity, individualization and depoliticisation, giving rise to the emblematic figures of 'the citizen as consumer' and 'the citizen as co-producer'. As for the internal operation of CSOs, CSOs are confronted with tendencies towards hybridization, pressures on their missions and calls for innovative organization and management.

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  • Research Project

Updating vision matrix of (Flemish) city monitor. 01/01/2016 - 26/05/2016

Abstract

The aim of this project is to update the vision matrix of the Flemish city monitor by (1) asessing whether the format of a matrix is still the most adequate way of visualising a vision on liveable and sustainable cities; (2) assessing whether the intentions in the matrix are still in line the contemporary vision on liveable and sustainable cities; (3) identify new developments in cities that are not yet reflected in the vision matrix.

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  • Research Project

Outside-City: the 'suburban character' as accomplishment of place distinction (case: Antwerp, c.1860-c.1940). 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2019

Abstract

This project questions how and why places come to be the way they are, and how this matters for society over time. Elaborating on sociology of place and actor-network conceptualisations, we will analyse seven comparable suburbs around Antwerp (Wijnegem, Wommelgem, Borsbeek, Mortsel, Edegem, Wilrijk and Hoboken) to determine how and why a multitude of elements conjoin for certain reasons to create a particular sense of place or 'surburban character' at a given moment in history. Next, we question how such suburban distinctiveness becomes structured and is adapted through time in path-dependent ways. We will research these questions empirically between c.1860-c.1940 by making use of historical data and sources reflecting macro, meso and micro levels of society.

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  • Research Project

Mapping the Invisible City. Spatial Manifestations of sub-Saharan African Diaspora in the mid-size city in Europe (the case of Belgium). 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2018

Abstract

While migration from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe is omni-present in the media with hundreds of migrants arriving weekly in ramshackle boats on Lampedusa, the presence of African migrants in European cities seems almost invisible. This research proposal aims at visualizing the 'invisible' spaces that are occupied by sub-Saharan African migrants in secondary or 'mid-sized cities' in Belgium. The focus is on the places that are inhabited or daily used by African migrants, such as the house, church or shop. Since African migrants mostly occupy existing buildings in the city, this research will show how they have transformed and appropriated these buildings. This will be done through a detailed study of the outside and inside of the buildings, in which attention will be given to both the physical aspects and the use of the buildings. To better understand how African migrants use and transform buildings in Belgian cities, we will also look at comparable practices in their countries of origin, but also in other European countries where they have families or economic contacts. This research will also show the location of the buildings in the city to see if the settlement patterns of sub-Saharan African migrants differ from more established immigrant groups, such as Turkish or Moroccan people. Finally, we will examine to what extent African migrants have, outside any government intervention, contributed to the renewal of the city, by occupying and upgrading dilapidated buildings.

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  • Research Project

Update energy poverty barometer in 2015 12/03/2015 - 31/12/2015

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the client. UA provides the client research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Migration and the Politics of Urban Citizenship: Contrasting Configurations of Power. 01/10/2014 - 30/09/2016

Abstract

This research project analyzes how post-war migrants are conceived as citizens in urban settings. It compares four Belgian cities (Ghent, Antwerp, Liège, Charleroi) over two different time periods (1974-1993; 1993-2012). The first goal of the research is to shed light on the range of prevailing citizenship definitions. Do they conceive citizenship as a formal status, with substantive entitlements attached to it, or is citizenship more commonly conceived as a practice, which takes form through participation and identification with the urban community? And, does the construction of urban citizenship arise from a culturalist, socio-economic or securitized inspiration? Secondly, the research explores who is responsible for circulating citizenship definitions. Do urban politicians and migrant organizations set the tone, or are intermediate urban state agencies like public welfare centers and police forces the prevailing voices? And, to what extent do regional conceptions of citizenship influence urban debates and practices? The research innovatively brings together

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  • Research Project

Soutien pour la consolidation de la Plateforme belge de lutte contre la précarité énergétique. 28/05/2014 - 31/08/2014

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand KBS. UA provides KBS research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Generation and gender-poverty: reality and social policy (2GENDERS). 01/10/2013 - 31/12/2017

Abstract

The overall aim of the project is to make a highly significant, concrete contribution to the wellbeing of Belgian society through the realisation of cutting edge, internationally informed research and in doing so will contribute to the wider understanding of energy poverty in Europe and internationally by the development of ideas worked through in the Belgian context.

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  • Research Project

Governing Urban Diversity: Creating Social Cohesion, Social Mobility and Economic Performance in Today's Hyper-diversified Cities (DIVERCITIES). 01/03/2013 - 28/02/2017

Abstract

The central hypothesis of this project is that socio-economic, socio-demographic, ethnic and cultural diversity can positively affect social cohesion, economic performance and social mobility of individuals and groups. A better social cohesion, higher economic performance and increased chances for social mobility will make European cities more liveable and more competitive. In this period of long-term economic downturn (or sometimes even crisis) and increasing competition from countries elsewhere in the world (e.g. China, India), it is important to find out how and under which circumstances European's urban diversity can be turned into social and economic advantages.

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  • Research Project

Diversity and Community Building (DieGem). 01/01/2013 - 31/12/2016

Abstract

This project represents a research agreement between the UA and on the onther hand IWT. UA provides IWT research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Energy poverty and energy efficiency. 18/12/2012 - 31/12/2013

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Migration and the Politics of Urban Citizenship: a Comparative Analysis of Four Belgian Cities (1974-2012). 01/10/2012 - 30/09/2014

Abstract

This research project analyzes how post-war migrants are conceived as citizens in urban settings. It compares four Belgian cities (Ghent, Antwerp, Liège, Charleroi) over two different time periods (1974-1993; 1993-2012). The first goal of the research is to shed light on the range of prevailing citizenship definitions. Do they conceive citizenship as a formal status, with substantive entitlements attached to it, or is citizenship more commonly conceived as a practice, which takes form through participation and identification with the urban community? And, does the construction of urban citizenship arise from a culturalist, socio-economic or securitized inspiration? Secondly, the research explores who is responsible for circulating citizenship definitions. Do urban politicians and migrant organizations set the tone, or are intermediate urban state agencies like public welfare centers and police forces the prevailing voices? And, to what extent do regional conceptions of citizenship influence urban debates and practices? The research innovatively brings together

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  • Research Project

City and city region: the spatial coherence in the development of Antwerp, the Kempen, 1950-1990. 01/07/2012 - 30/09/2013

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Province of Antwerp. UA provides the Province of Antwerp research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Poverty reduction in Europe: social policy and innovation (IMPROVE). 01/03/2012 - 29/02/2016

Abstract

This research proposal takes as its starting points: (a) the long standstill in poverty reduction, especially for people of working age, (b) the complementarity between employment, economic growth and social inclusion that is focal in the EU 2020 strategy, and, (c) the emergence of socially innovative policies and actions in the margins of the European welfare states. It aims at the evaluation of the Lisbon decade in terms of policies and actions against poverty at European, national and sub-national level and at improving the understanding of the interrelationships between employment, social protection and social inclusion and between institutionalised macro level social policies and innovative local action.

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Policy Research Centre Sustainable Space Flanders (2012-2015). 01/01/2012 - 31/12/2015

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

City and change. The City as the object of study in a historical light. 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2020

Abstract

Recent literature in urban studies tends to identify and define the city as an ever more complex and hybrid reality, referring to the urban as something 'splintered', 'assembled' and 'imagined' while seeking refuge in new concepts and catchphrases like 'post'-city, 'non'-city, or 'ex'-urban. Our collective research initiative will transcend this not by churning out even more new theories and concepts, but by analysing the very activity of defining the city as a historical process and practice. To that end, we will concentrate on four concrete, complementary domains, in which the definition of cities is at stake by nature. By focusing on (1) 'suburbanisation', (2) 'territoriality', and (3) 'urban citizenship' we examine the existence and meaningfulness of physical, social and imagined boundaries in defining the urban and urbanity. The theme of 'knowledge' (4) adds a reflexive layer by analysing the long term interconnections between the urban reality and knowledge formation – including knowledge on the city itself.

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  • Research Project