Introduction

Research Question: Is the Molenbeek canal a bridge or a barrier to development?

Hypotheses:

1. The environmental quality will be worse on the Molenbeek side of the canal.
2. Services will reflect the ethnicity and wealth of the area.
3. The overall satisfaction of the quality of life will be lower on the Molenbeek side of the canal.
Geographical Context
Molenbeek is a municipality in Belgium that covers 5.89km² and has a population of 93,893 (est. 2013). In the
13th century, Molenbeek merged with Brussels which resulted in it losing a lot of its land to Brussels. Through the
Industrial Revolution Molenbeek regained some prosperity and attracted many people due to its industry. Many
people moved into Molenbeek causing cramped living conditions which deteriorated after the industrial decline. The
poverty left its mark on the area, with an increase in crime and cultural prejudice. A large portion of the population is
Muslim which is evident through the shops and the several mosques that are present in the commune.
Geographical Theory and Prediction
Relation to Syllabus
 

Hoyt’s model supports my predictions. I can expect to see low-income housing along main transport routes like the
canal. Also as you move closer to the CBD, housing becomes more expensive due to high bid rent and more high
order shops and businesses are present
Molenbeek is part of Brussels inner city and therefore should follow the inner city web of decline, deprivation and
despair. This geographic theory suggests that the further you move in the inner city, the worse the conditions since
they are not influenced by the CBD. Thus as the canal is crossed, features such as vandalism, poverty, dereliction
and high concentration of ethnic groups should be visible
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Methodology
How was the data collected?
The data was collected from 4 zones which were chosen through systematic sampling – they were approximately
equal in size and distance from the canal. Our two geography classes were split into 2, group A and group B. Each
group covered all 4 zones so more data was collected which results in more reliable data as anomalies are easily
identified. However the groups covered their respective sector (each zone was split in sector A and B) within a zone
to speed up the process of data collection.
Environmental Quality Survey
This survey was conducted as it assessed how well maintained we believed the environment to be, thus allowing us
to answer hypothesis 1.
Bipolar Perception Survey
The bipolar perception survey addresses hypothesis 3, and it was conducted to assess how we perceived the
environment, allowing us to predict how other people felt about living in their respective locations.

Questionnaire
The aim of the questionnaire was to gather the community’s opinion on their commune. This was random sampling
which eliminates bias as there was not one specific type of person being questioned and therefore the data is
representative of the public opinion.  This method addresses the 3rd hypothesis. This gave us insight on inhabitant’s
personal opinion on the area they lived in.
Transect of services
This was a systematic method and served to provide data on the services offered in the area. We used the high
street for the transect as it is more likely to represent the services that are available. This addresses hypothesis 2
as it recorded the services present and allowed us to judge the wealth and ethnicity of the area

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Data Presentation and Analysis

This data relates to hypothesis 1: The environmental quality will be worse on the Molenbeek side of the canal

Figure 3.0 illustrates that on average the buildings in the CBD were of better quality than that of Molenbeek (scoring
38 and 40) due to the higher demand for properties which leads to higher prices and thus richer people investing in
and maintaining the buildings. Traffic was better in the CBD than Molenbeek in terms of noise, parking availability
and ease, and pedestrian safety, due to the fact that more people frequent the CBD and thus it requires better traffic
management. The CBD also scored higher in open spaces since there was more greenery and public parks visible,
due to government investment in the area. However, zone 2 scored 40 points in relation to the quality of the
buildings which is equal to the zone 4 of the CBD side. This could be due to gentrification in the area

Molenbeek’s overall lower ranking is due to the wealth of its inhabitants since they are notably poorer due to the
high rate of unemployment in that area (see Figure 3.12). Nonetheless Figure 3.0 and 3.01 concur with hypothesis
1 with the fact that the environmental quality is higher on the CBD side
Figure 3.02 shows that the Molenbeek Canal is actually a barrier to development, since it forms a clear division
between the two areas.
Pictures of Molenbeek to illustrate level of environmental quality
Hypothesis 1 is essentially proven correct as the data collected demonstrates that the environmental quality is
worse in Molenbeek. This suggests that the Molenbeek canal is a barrier to development since there is a divide
between the environmental quality of these neighbouring communes.
The following graphs refer to hypothesis 2: Services will reflect the ethnicity and wealth of the area

The data supports hypothesis 2 which states that the shops and services will reflect the wealth and ethnicity of the
area. Figure 3.08 also supports the Hoyt model since it shows that there are more high order shops present close to
the CBD.
Figure 3.09 reflects the wealth and ethnicity of Molenbeek, showing that it is poorer and more ethnically diverse
than the CBD side. This supports Figure 1.06 as it shows that in Molenbeek there is a high concentration of ethnic
groups.

Figure 3.10 on the right side shows that there are a lot of high order shops and high street chains which supports
hypothesis 2 as the transect reflects the wealth of the area. The closer the street gets to the canal, the more low
order shops there are which shows that the wealth of the area deteriorates as one gets closer to Molenbeek. The
farther one is from the canal, the more high order shops there are as well as high street chains

 The presence of financial services shows that although not wealthy in respect to the CBD side, this area of
Molenbeek is richer than the rest or it’s the banking district so all the financial services cluster together. The banks
are located at the end of the high street, closer to the canal and thus the border with the CBD. This could be due to
its proximity to the actual CBD, making it a more desirable location for more high order services.
Molenbeek’s 30.9% unemployed persons are contrasted with the Brussels commune which has an unemployment
rate of between 25 and 30. This is rendered more significant due to the fact that the Brussels commune covers far
more land, thus has a larger population, yet it has a lower unemployment rate.
The data collated above proves hypothesis 2. It also strongly suggests that the answer to the fieldwork question is
that the Molenbeek canal is a barrier to development since there seems to be very weak influence of the CBD in
Molenbeek which is hindering development.

Nearest Neighbour Analysis

The Nearest Neighbour Analysis is a statistical test to describe settlement pattern and it was used to measure the
pattern of clustering in the given areas. It allows for comparisons to be made between two areas.
The same analysis could not be done for the CBD side because there are not more than 30 ethnic shops in the area
and a minimum of 30 points are required to complete the analysis. For the same reason the analysis in Molenbeek
could not be done on high order shops.
 Overall the analysis supports hypothesis 2. The clustering of ethnic shops in Molenbeek shows that there is a high
demand for them, thus reflecting the population of the area. The clustering of high order shops on the CBD side
reflects the wealth of the area. The high density of shops in that area is probably due to its proximity to the tourist
attractions in the centre.
The following data relates to hypothesis 3: The overall satisfaction of the quality of life will be lower on the
Molenbeek side of the canal.
 Figure 3.17 illustrates that the data supports hypothesis 3. In most aspects the CBD citizens were more satisfied
than those from Molenbeek due to the fact that there is more government and TNC investment in the area which
makes the CBD a nicer area to be in. Both sides of the canal were equally satisfied with the public transport in their
respective area which suggests equally good connection to the rest of Brussels. This is expected since the CBD
and the inner city of most cities are well connected and served by public transport. The CBD scored an average of 4
in all the questions apart from the one regarding the choice of local housing which scored a 3, equal to Molenbeek.
This could be due to the fact that the CBD is mainly occupied by shops and TNCs which means that there is not a
lot of investment into living quarters. Furthermore the flats that are available are densely packed (in the CBD) and
expensive due to their proximity to the centre.

The highest score given in the perceptions survey was a 4. Zone 2a and 1a both scored a 4 in terms of
pleasantness and colourfulness respectively: both these criteria are very subjective but still show that to some
degree, Molenbeek’s appearance gets taken care of. These could be considered pockets of gentrification and new
public parks. Both areas 1a and 2a scored a 2 in terms
of wealth which suggests Molenbeek is poorer compared to the CBD (see Figure 3.19 and 3.20).

From Figure 3.19, it is clear that we had a better perception of the CBD than Molenbeek as the scores are more
directed to the right, which is the positive side. The lowest score is a 3, whilst the highest is a 5. The points in which
the CBD scored highest was safety, attractiveness, organisation, and wealth. This is probably due to government
investment into this part of Brussels since it is a large
commune and the CBD where visitors and tourists are wanted.

Figure 3.20 illustrates how we had a higher perception of the CBD than Molenbeek, proving hypothesis 3 right. The
difference in safety perception could be due to the fact that Molenbeek is a commune with a generally low income
and high unemployment rate which leads to more frequent crime. This is supported by Figure 3.17 where the results
of the questionnaire show that citizens of Molenbeek generally feel less safe than those of the CBD. It also supports
the inner city web of decline, deprivation, and despair since it suggests rising crime rates. Another contrasting
difference between the two regions is the modern/old perception which is due to the more frequent investment in
the CBD. This suggests that the CBD side has experienced more gentrification as it is close to the St. Catherine
area which is a touristy area and thus must keep up a pleasant appearance. This means that there could be
pockets of gentrification whereas on the CBD side everywhere is perceived more or less in the same way since it is
equally well maintained.
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Conclusion
The study carried out shows that the Molenbeek Canal is indeed a barrier to development as there is a clear
division between the Molenbeek commune and the Brussels commune. Whilst there are obviously social barriers
(ethnicity and wealth) that are limiting development, the Canal also provides a physical division between the two
areas, making it easier to impede development from spreading over the border of the two communes. However
there is evidence that the proximity of the two areas does have an effect on the development as services and shops
are of better quality closer to the CBD on the Molenbeek side. Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 all proved to be true: the
environmental quality was worse on the Molenbeek side of the canal; the services on both sides of the canal
reflected the ethnicity and the wealth of the area; the overall satisfaction over the quality of life was better on the
CBD side of the canal. This all supports the overall hypothesis in claiming that the Molenbeek Canal is a barrier to
development.
Word count: 175

Methodology
The methodology for this investigation could have been improved in a variety of ways. Firstly, the areas under
examination could have been extended to gather more data and resulting in a more accurate representation of data.
By extending the area we might have been able to see the differences and possible disparities within the CBD and
Molenbeek more clearly. However under the time constraint and limited student body, the area covered was the
largest possible whilst still collecting thorough data.
Secondly, the poor weather influenced the perception survey as everything looks duller in the rain. The bad weather
also affected our collection of questionnaires as not many people were out in the streets, and those that were, were
not always willing to be stopped to answer questions. To have improved the accuracy of the data we could have
returned on another day with better weather.
Thirdly, the collection of the questionnaire data was further inhibited by the fact that there was a language barrier.
So whilst we did collect enough questionnaires, it would have improved the data if we had collected more. To
improve this we could have designated the French speakers to doing the questionnaires whilst the rest of the group
collected another part of the required data.
Word count: 209

Bibliography
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Nagle, Garrett. "Urban and Rural Deprivation in the UK." Geofile. N.p., Jan. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
"Sint-Jins-Molenbeek." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"Urban Models of MEDCs." BBC-GCSE Bitesize. BBC, 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.