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Neighborhood typologies
show us who lives where in Brussels and how green their surroundings are.
We created two typologies of the Brussels Capital Region. The social typology tells us who is living where in the city. The physical typology gives us an indication of the physical environment in different parts of the city. By combining these typologies, we get a sense of the type of condition in which the different social groups live.
Social neighborhood typology
The social neighborhood typology shows which nationalities are overrepresented in different parts of the city. It also shows, relative to other typology groups, how much "capital" residents of different parts of the city have. "Capital" includes a measure of income, education level, and unemployment rate. For instance, social typology group 1 (indicated in red on the map) is made up of a relatively high number of Turkish and North African residents who tend to have lower incomes, lower education levels, and higher unemployment. On the other hand, group 4 is made up of areas where more Belgians and members of EU15 countries tend to live. These residents also tend to have higher incomes, higher education, and lower unemployment rates.
Physical neighborhood typology
The physical neighborhood typology gives us a sense of the environment in different parts of the city. Included in the typology are a measure of greenness of the street and building block, the building block's distance to a large park (i.e. who has a park within 800m of their home), and the density of buildings within each block. Group 1 is made up of densely built blocks, which are not very green and do not have access to a large green space. Group 4, on the other hand, is less densely built, has access to large parks, and tends to be greener than other areas of the city.
Combined social and physical neighborhood typologies
Finally, combining the two typologies tells us who is living in what environmental conditions. For example, the densest, least green parts of the city (physical typology group 1) tend to be characterized by lower-income populations (social typology group 1). The opposite is true for the greenest parts of the city (physical typology group 4), where the highest income groups tend to live (social typology group 4).
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