Partner institutions
Brussels Centre for Urban Studies
Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research
Research objectives
The Strategic Research Programme (SRP) “Demographic and Societal Challenges of the 21st Century” (2023–2027) builds on the achievements of its predecessor (2018–2022). Its central goal is to investigate socio-demographic and societal challenges through the lens of social sustainability, guided by the principles of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SRP adopts equity as a cross-cutting theme, addressing systemic inequalities that limit individuals’ opportunities and well-being in various spheres of life, including employment, health, housing, and migration. The project is structured around six interconnected research lines (RLs):
- Sustainable work and employment: The theme aims to develop a longitudinal (career) perspective in studying the relationship between employment quality and issues of equity in health and well-being among workers in various employment types (e.g., wage, self-employment, gig work). A central focus is on the potential and challenges associated with technological innovation—particularly digitalisation—in fostering sustainable and inclusive work and employment.
- Sustainable living environments: The theme focuses on studying the impact of climate change (e.g., heat waves, flooding), pollution, and spatial segregation on health and mortality inequalities, particularly in urban settings. The research integrates potential ‘alleviating infrastructures’—such as access to urban green and blue spaces, housing quality, and social amenities (e.g., schools, senior centres, healthcare facilities)—into a dynamic understanding of how residential and non-residential characteristics (e.g., work, schooling, and leisure contexts) affect health and mortality disparities.
- Equitable and non-discriminatory social relations: The theme investigates the causes and patterns of social (im)mobility and socio-economic and ethnic inequalities in urban environments, with particular attention to residential segregation, gentrification, housing issues, and discrimination. Adopting an intersectional and multilevel perspective, the research seeks to develop and evaluate evidence-based policy measures to address these challenges effectively.
- Global population issues and migration: The theme examines the impact of digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence on migration research and governance, as well as the daily lives of migrants, including migratory routes and access to essential services such as healthcare, employment, and education. Additionally, the research explores the stalling fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora in Belgium. A key initiative is the development of an innovative study on the health, living, and working conditions of newly arrived migrants in Belgium.
Inequality in health and mortality: This theme explores the long-term social consequences, causes, and patterns of mortality inequalities related to emerging diseases (e.g., neurodegenerative diseases, AIDS, and COVID-19). A second focus is on improving understanding of the utilisation and appropriateness of end-of-life care among migrant-background groups and deprived populations.
Each of the above research lines is supported by the horizontal axis ‘Data and research infrastructure’. It is our ambition to maintain and strengthen our crucial position regarding the preparation, linkage, exploitation and archiving of large registry datasets as well as using the potential of Big Data (i.e., internet-based data, mobile phone data, satellite data, social media data) and Artificial Intelligence.
The programme also includes an innovative and unique large-scale data collection on the living and working conditions of the major migrant groups in Belgium (‘New Voices – Migrant Survey’ project). Migrant (background) populations constitute a cross-cutting edge for research of social, demographic, economic, work-and living environment-related inequalities and their well-being consequences. The SRP funding has also been utilized to initiate new research activities across the six research lines, using ‘seed money’ to support innovative projects.
From the strategic point of view, the SRP aims to strengthen the critical context and infrastructure required to consolidate and further develop BRISPO as a social and demographic research centre. In line with its objectives, the SRP focuses on ensuring a stable and stimulating research environment that facilitates the attraction of external research funding and supports the production of excellent research output by all team members. Progress towards this goal has been made through investments in data infrastructure, coaching and support for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers, and the development of an outreach strategy.
