The history of social housing in Molenbeek

It has been a little over a century since, for the first time, Belgian law committed the State's responsibility to the construction of public housing. The 1919 law thus revolutionized the housing market intended for people with modest incomes. Several industrial neighborhoods in Brussels, including those of Molenbeek, saw an expansion in their number. Over the century, the ambitions and objectives of public authorities varied and social housing took diverse forms. Molenbeek still houses a significant part of them. La Fonderie invites you to discover the evolution of their history, from the construction of popular and working-class housing in the 19th century to contemporary questions regarding the "mixity" of housing. Throughout the walk, you will thus learn how the socio-political issues of then and today have contributed to shaping the urban, socio-economic, and socio-cultural development of Molenbeek and the entire Brussels Region.