Anti-urbanism in Flanders: the political and social consequences of a spatial class struggle strategy

Abstract

Class struggle resulted in a anti-urban feeling in Flanders. The industrial revolution first developed in Wallonia and industrialisation came much later in Flanders. The bourgeoisie and the Church could anticipate rising secularisation and socialism in Flanders by keeping the workers away from the cities through specific housing and mobility policies. This explains the traditional Christian political hegemony in Flanders, with socialist and liberal cracks mainly in the cities. In the second part of the paper the geography of the last parliamentary elections is considered. In the light of anti-urbanism, the elections produced important spatial shifts. The Christian party is replaced by the Liberals in the core of Flanders. In the cities, the Socialists are in decline, in favour of the greens and the extreme-right, the latter being also increasingly successful in the suburban fringe and the non-urban areas. In the last part, it is argued that the regressive cultural effects of anti-urbanism, but also the struggle against extreme-right, impose that urban policies should be put higher on the Flemish political agenda.

Keywords

• anti-urbanism
• political geography
• Flanders