Brussels Centre for Urban Studies

🚨Vacancy: Flows in the Construction Sector🏗️

We are looking for 2 PhD researchers to conduct research on the Brussels construction sector as a nexus of labour, materials, and capital, from the nineteenth century to the present. The PhD trajectories are part of the broader interdisciplinary research project ‘Flows in the Construction Sector. Urban-Environmental Histories of Labour, Materials, and Money’, a collaboration between the VUB research groups VUB Architectural Engineering Lab, Social History of Capitalism, and Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research

The two PhD researchers will develop their own research proposals within the broader project framework. Possible research trajectories include:
👷‍♂️mobility, migration, and entrepreneurship: who builds the city?
🚧Risk, precarity, and responsibility: under what conditions is the city built?
♻️ Extraction, circulation, and sustainability: where do building materials come from, how do they circulate, and at what cost?

📅 Start date: 1 November 2026
⏳ Application deadline: 8 July 2026
🔗 More details on the open positions via the link in bio

You have two more weeks to submit your proposal!

Does your organisation face urban challenges and need research-based expertise to address them effectively? Would you like to collaborate with dedicated students who can contribute their academic expertise and unique interdisciplinary perspectives? If so, we invite you to respond to this call for project proposals by 30 June 2026!

Please also check our project page for examples of student work from previous years: https://urbanstudies.brussels/project-seminar-applied-urban-research

🚧 Are you part of a citizen association, urban planning department or firm, NGO, cultural institution or other public, civic or private organization? Facing urban challenges and seeking research-based expertise? Willing to work with passionate students with interdisciplinary perspectives?

📢 Call for Project Proposals 2026/27
We are looking for project proposals that address a clear research question or issue, based on and anchored in the professional activities of your organization. Our annual Project Seminar in Applied Urban Research engages students in transdisciplinary research with non-academic organizations to address common urban challenges. Students work in small groups on a project or research question commissioned by a public, civic or private organization as the main client. Clients are expected to propose a well-defined project, interact with students at key moments, and provide professional support throughout the academic year. Students combine desktop research and empirical investigation to produce output that responds to the client’s brief.

📄In the project proposal, clients are invited to present their organization, describe the issue that needs to be addressed by the students, its relevance to the organization, the envisioned methodology and timing, and the expected output.

Eager to participate?
📆 Submit your proposal by June 30, 2026
🌍 Proposals welcome in EN, NL, FR, or DE.

🔗 For more info: https://lnkd.in/e-YFjh8b

On Thursday, Ward Van Hemeledonck will give a presentation on discourses around micromobility transportation modes🛴

🔍 Electric micromobility, such as e-bikes and trottinettes, is getting more popular and is promoted as a sustainable alternative to car trips. However, their acceptance is often contested, and these transport modes are at the heart of social and political debates on safety, public space, accessibility, and legitimacy. Ward’s presentation is based on a critical discourse analysis of electric micromobility in newspaper articles. He discusses how some modes become associated with ideas of sustainability, health, and progress, and others are linked to risk, nuisance, and social disorder.

🛵 Join the presentation to reflect on legitimacy and mobility justice with electric micromobility examples!

📍Where?
U-Square, U.A.0.03 (Blvd Géneral Jacques 210A, 1050 Ixelles)

📆When?
June 11, between 12:00 and 13:15. Stay longer for an informal discussion and dessert🍰

👉Read more and register on our website

Here are a few pictures from Sara Marzio’s presentation, which took place last Thursday during a Cosmopolis Lunch seminar. Sara discussed the role of Nature-based solutions for urban waterfront regeneration, exploring the divergence between theory-based categories and contextual, real-life examples. We would like to thank Sara for the presentation, and invite everyone to the next lunch seminar on June 11th (it’s going to be the last before the summer!)

On Thursday, Sara Marzio will give a presentation on how Nature-based Solutions can be used for urban waterfront regeneration

🔍Waterfronts are increasingly more vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation, which require more sustainable and adaptive responses. These challenges are particularly pressing in urban spaces, where grey infrastructure and space restrictions make urban waterfronts particularly vulnerable and important in the urban ecosystem. In her presentation, Sara explores how Nature-based Solutions can support urban waterfront regeneration by observing real-world case studies. She will present the most recurring approaches, discussing how the practice-based approaches differ from theoretical approaches, and discuss the many roles of NbS.

Join the presentation to learn more about Nature-based Solutions for urban waterfronts!

📍Where?
U-Square, U.A.0.03 (Blvd Géneral Jacques 210A, 1050 Ixelles)

📆When?
May 21, between 12:00 and 13:15. Stay longer for an informal discussion and dessert🍰

👉Read more and register on our website https://urbanstudies.brussels/news-events/cosmopolis-lunch-seminar-w-sara-marzio

📕Brusselse Plaatsnamen is now available and in Open Access🗝️

“Brusselse Plaatsnamen: Uitdagingen van vroeger en nu” offers an analysis of Brussels’ toponymy. Beyond anecdotal value, the volume examines the meanings of place names and how they reflect broader geographical patterns in the region. Why can we see many nature-inspired names in an area, or streets referring to artists and cultural heritage in another? What do street names tell us about Belgian colonial history, and the role of women in society?

The book is now available at OAPEN, JSTOR, and ORL. A book edited by Iadine Degryse, Benjamin Wayens, Chantal Kesteloot, Dennis De Vriese, and Matthijs Degraeve.

Trump, China, Europe… Cheng Fang’s presentation on the China Concept Stocks argued that these assets are not transforming only the Chinese financial landscape. Their history and future are closely linked to US-China relationships, with Trump’s current political and financial decisions having repercussions on the global financial market. The analysis of the China Concept Stocks was used to explore political economy dynamics that are also relevant to the European context. Thank you, Cheng, for your presentation!

✨Meet Hendrik, former MUS student, passionate about territorial development✨

Following a degree in political science, Hendrik joined the Master in Urban Studies to learn more about urban economic dynamics and infrastructure investments. Yet the master gave him the opportunity to delve into many more subjects, such as cultural policy and mobility, an experience he found nourishing. After two enriching and exploratory years, he pursued a second master’s programme, connecting his knowledge about the built environment with theories of political economy and development studies. He’s now working at UN-Habitat on projects on urban and territorial development across the world.

📰 Read the full interview here: https://urbanstudies.brussels/education/msc-urban-studies/alumni/hendrik-van-de-pol
👥Discover more about the stories of our alumni here: https://urbanstudies.brussels/education/msc-urban-studies/alumni

💫Sounds like this program fits you? You still have a day to apply (Deadline on 07/05)! 📅
👉For more info on the Master in Urban Studies, have a look at our website
https://urbanstudies.brussels/education/msc-urban-studies

🚧 Are you part of a citizen association, urban planning department or firm, NGO, cultural institution or other public, civic or private organization? Facing urban challenges and seeking research-based expertise? Willing to work with passionate students with interdisciplinary perspectives?

📢 Call for Project Proposals 2026/27
We are looking for project proposals that address a clear research question or issue, based on and anchored in the professional activities of your organization. Our annual Project Seminar in Applied Urban Research engages students in transdisciplinary research with non-academic organizations to address common urban challenges. Students work in small groups on a project or research question commissioned by a public, civic or private organization as the main client. Clients are expected to propose a well-defined project, interact with students at key moments, and provide professional support throughout the academic year. Students combine desktop research and empirical investigation to produce output that responds to the client’s brief.

📄In the project proposal, clients are invited to present their organization, describe the issue that needs to be addressed by the students, its relevance to the organization, the envisioned methodology and timing, and the expected output.

Eager to participate?
📆 Submit your proposal by June 30, 2026
🌍 Proposals welcome in EN, NL, FR, or DE.

🔗 For more info: https://lnkd.in/e-YFjh8b

On Thursday, Cheng Fang presents the emergence, development, and crisis of the China Concept Stocks in the US stock market from the 1990s to the present.

🔍China Concept Stocks are shares of Chinese companies listed on overseas stock exchanges before listing domestically. Even if China’s stock market is now the second largest in the world, its financial operations are closely entangled with the US financial market. This phenomenon reflects the broader trend of transnational financial interconnection, which challenges the role of state power, no longer bound by territorial boundaries. In his research, Cheg examines the roles played by state and market actors in shaping Chinese and global financial dynamics through the lenses of political economy and financial geography.

Join the presentation to learn more about transnational finance and how it affects state-market relationships in China!

📍Where?
U-Square, Open Lab U.A.1.23 (Blvd Géneral Jacques 210A, 1050 Ixelles)

📆When?
April 30, between 12:00 and 13:15. Stay longer for an informal discussion and dessert🍰

👉Read more and register on our website https://urbanstudies.brussels/news-events/cosmopolis-lunch-seminar-w-cheng-fang