Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865

Around 1865, Brussels was undergoing a profound transformation. Recent research has offered insight into the roles of various stakeholders in the growth of the city, such as government bodies and landowners. However, little is yet known about the craftspeople and construction entrepreneurs who physi...

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Main Author: Matthijs Degraeve
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB 2024-03-01
Series:Brussels Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/7359
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author Matthijs Degraeve
author_facet Matthijs Degraeve
author_sort Matthijs Degraeve
collection DOAJ
description Around 1865, Brussels was undergoing a profound transformation. Recent research has offered insight into the roles of various stakeholders in the growth of the city, such as government bodies and landowners. However, little is yet known about the craftspeople and construction entrepreneurs who physically shaped the city. Through almanacs, patent registers, electoral rolls and land registers, this article sheds light on the professional, socio-demographic and spatial profile of 2 445 businesses in the Brussels construction sector around 1865. It reveals a highly heterogeneous group who were active in various building professions. Whereas a few wealthy entrepreneurs led large companies, the labour-intensive, small-scale organisation of most construction companies meant that entrepreneurship was also open to a large group of craftspeople of relatively modest means, including women and newcomers. This also led to a wide spatial distribution, due to which construction companies could work on sites in their own neighbourhoods. The results contribute to historical knowledge of how the urban fabric and heritage of Brussels were created and also put today’s need for the urban construction sector to be locally embedded into a long-term perspective.
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spelling doaj-art-a77a1b3aa8fe4268bc59a44b99be61dd2025-08-02T16:03:00ZengUniversité libre de Bruxelles - ULBBrussels Studies2031-02932024-03-0110.4000/brussels.7359Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865Matthijs DegraeveAround 1865, Brussels was undergoing a profound transformation. Recent research has offered insight into the roles of various stakeholders in the growth of the city, such as government bodies and landowners. However, little is yet known about the craftspeople and construction entrepreneurs who physically shaped the city. Through almanacs, patent registers, electoral rolls and land registers, this article sheds light on the professional, socio-demographic and spatial profile of 2 445 businesses in the Brussels construction sector around 1865. It reveals a highly heterogeneous group who were active in various building professions. Whereas a few wealthy entrepreneurs led large companies, the labour-intensive, small-scale organisation of most construction companies meant that entrepreneurship was also open to a large group of craftspeople of relatively modest means, including women and newcomers. This also led to a wide spatial distribution, due to which construction companies could work on sites in their own neighbourhoods. The results contribute to historical knowledge of how the urban fabric and heritage of Brussels were created and also put today’s need for the urban construction sector to be locally embedded into a long-term perspective.https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/7359economyeconomic developmentterritorial development
spellingShingle Matthijs Degraeve
Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
Brussels Studies
economy
economic development
territorial development
title Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
title_full Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
title_fullStr Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
title_full_unstemmed Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
title_short Qui a bâti Bruxelles ? Profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
title_sort qui a bati bruxelles profil des artisans et entrepreneurs du secteur bruxellois de la construction vers 1865
topic economy
economic development
territorial development
url https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/7359
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