The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies funds small projects each year to support experimental and innovative urban research. The projects focus on 1) inter- and trans-disciplinary perspectives on cities and ‘the urban’; 2) comparative urbanism; and 3) engaged research that connects academia and NGOs, civil society, governments and business. Projects awarded in 2022 include podcasts with amateur builders in Cairo and Brussels; a serious game to design green infrastructure; and an analysis of the urban topographical dynamics of anti-Semitic Nazi exclusion policy in several cities in occupied western Europe.
Research projects are otherwise initiated by member research groups, often in collaboration. Examples include:
- PUL-MOBIL: investigates the increasing role of mobile and digital technologies in the governance of minor offences, nuisances and incidents. Funded by Innoviris.
- WELCOMIN: explores community welfare mixed infrastructures as laboratories for urban transformation. Funded by Innoviris.
- SmartHubs: co-creates mobility hubs, as on-street locations to choose between shared and sustainable mobility options. Funded by JPI Urban Europe.
- GreeNexUs: proposes an approach to promote urban greening, territorial regeneration and the safety, accessibility and walkability of urban infrastructure. Funded by EC MSCA.
- COOLSCHOOLS: analyses nature-based solutions for climate action in schools. Funded by JPI Urban Europe.
- Rebuilding Brussels (1695-2025): examines how the construction sector has been an engine for social inclusion and circularity. Funded by VUB.
