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Despite major institutional and political changes in the Belgian political system in the last 25 years, the electoral organization has been very stable.The adaptations of the electoral organization have even been less in the province of Brabant, although the politica! developments have caused there additional problems. Brabant's electoral constituencies contain a rather strange mixture of heterogeneous electorates : (1) a constituency, which consists of the bilingual capital Brussels as welt as several Flemish communes, (2) a unilingual Walloon constituency, (3) a unilingual Flemish constituency. The proposed solutions for Brabant's complex situation can be summarized into six alternative systems of electoral organization, concentrating either on the functioning of the system of provincial allotment (II, III, IV : to prevent the election of a candidate from one language community in the unilingual constituency that is part of the other language community), or on a radical redrawing of the boundaries of the electoral constituencies (V, VI, VII : to separate theFlemish and French electorale more neatly).The impact of the six alternatives on the seats distribution among the political parties is rather restricted. The shifts of seats inside the parties (from one constituency to another) are more striking than between the parties. Alternatives IV and VI cause the largest reallocation of seats between the parties, whereas alternatives II, III and V result in only minor changes.

Through the observation of land property (le foncier) and, specifically, large landholdings, this research aims to take a fresh look at urbanization and urban planning in the Belgian Walloon Brabant Province. In contrast with most Belgian urban studies that tackle the issue of sprawling urbanization through small-scale parcels, fragmentation processes and individual initiatives, this investigation complements recent research on estate urbanization by examining large-scale properties and how they played a role in the city-territory's urbanization during the second half of the 20th century. Large landholdings in Walloon Brabant are remnants of 18th century territorial dominions inherited from nobility and clergy, progressively dismantled, reorganized or maintained as result of the urbanization dynamics integral to the reproduction of modern and contemporary society. The village of Rixensart is the subject of a series of these transformations. By mapping the de Merode family's large landholdings in the south of the commune and analyzing the allotments permit, we retrace urban transformations and the reordering of social and ecological relations through changing land structure. The palimpsest notion is used as a tool to unravel the set of actors involved in urbanization dynamics and to highlight the socio-spatial transformations and construction of recent urbanization. The profound transformations taking place in Walloon Brabant today present an opportunity to reflect on its future, and questions regarding landed estates suggest potential for tackling the city-territory's greater systemic challenges.

Urban troubles were endemic in early modern Europe. Not only did cities undergo sieges, conquests, and epidemics, but the rapid spread of rural protoindustrial manufacturing threatened established markets and employment patterns. The acute problems of Antwerp, captured by Spanish troops in 1685, or of Como, whose textile industry collapsed in the early seventeenth century are not isolated examples of cities in trouble. Many more could be offered. Indeed, descriptions of cities in the seventeenth century, particularly those of the Spanish Empire, stress depopulation and decay. Contemporaries saw around them scenes of urban desolation. Sir Thomas Overbury, travelling in the Spanish Netherlands around 1610, wrote of the "ruinous" towns, while visitors to Ciudad Real in Spain around 1620 noted vacant, tumbledown houses, unemployment, and urban land gone to waste (Parker 1977:253; Phillips 1979:29). After several years in which Spanish Lombardy was devastated by wars, famine, and plague, the Milan City Council complained of "the destitution of all sorts of persons and the threat of impending ruin." Moreover, throughout the state, values of houses and landed property had allegedly plummeted (Sella 1979:57,63).

Par Un Citoyen. Bruxelles le 3 Mars 1790 ; Volltext // Exemplar mit der Signatur: München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek -- Belg. 224 w-97,1/46#Beibd.22

SUMMARY Is it possible to identify the origin of the early modern printed Jewish prayer books from the Northern Netherlands? These editions are discussed in with their historical, cultural and literary context and special attention is given to the question whether the growth of a specific Dutch-Jewish liturgical tradition can be discerned. The research rom the period 1584-1700. The former is the year in which the first Jewish prayer book, containing obligatory prayers, was printed, even before Jewish settlement in this country had started. The year 1700 may be arbitrary, but is chosen as at the time Dutch Jewry had become more or less stabilized and their books had acquired international fame and attraction because the name Amsterdam had become a mark of quality for a free Jewish press. Special attention is given to the political, social and cultural context of the immigrants of Jewish origin who arrived in the Northern Netherlands and what kind of reception they may have expected from their Christian neighbours. To better understand the origins of the Jewish prayer books that were printed in the Northern Netherlands in Early Modernity a survey of the Jewish people and their prayers is provided in the first of the three parts in which the study is divided, starting in Antiquity. The second part discusses Jews and their prayer books in the Northern Netherlands, the third part analyses the treatment of the Jewish prayer book in bibliography, library practice and modern information practice. The Jewish diaspora, started in Antiquity, caused the development of many liturgical customs and liturgical rites, some of which would find their way to the Netherlands. The most important of these rites are summarily discussed and at the end of the study a checklist is provided providing the most important differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi prayer books. Jewish immigration in the Northern Netherlands is discussed with special attention to the influence of contemporary political and religious conflicts on the settlement of these early immigrants, mostly of Iberian origin, especially the influence of the many local and 'national' controversies on the fledgling Jewish community, especially in Amsterdam. The first Jewish prayer books that were printed in the Northern Netherlands precede documented Jewish presence there. The third part of this study deals with the position of the Jewish prayer book in bibliography, conventional (analogue) library practice and modern digitised information practice. Although most Jewish prayer books preceding the 19th century were written in Hebrew, a number of Sephardi early modern editions appeared in an Iberian Jewish vernacular. The position of Hebrew in Jewish law is discussed and a full anthology of Halakhic sources, culled from early rabbinic literature, the codices and important more recent decisors on the subject is provided in the original Hebrew with an English translation. Special attention is given to eventual differences between Ashkenazim and Sephardim on the halakhic position of vernacular and Hebrew for Jewish prayer. The vocalisation of Bible texts in the prayers is one of the subjects to answer the question if the growth of a specific Dutch-Jewish liturgical tradition can be discerned.

Together with several other northern European countries, the Netherlands is seen as one of the leaders in innovative environmental policy. Unfortunately, the actual policy results do not always justify this reputation. Recent signs suggest however that the Netherlands is beginning to practise what it preaches. One notable development is the incorporation of the findings of the report "Our Common Future" into a National Environmental Policy Plan. Another is the renewal of relationships between environmental authorities and their target groups, resulting in the establishment of covenants and other voluntary agreements. This renewal has also been a source of inspiration for the fifth environmental action programme of the EU.