Fight for a city

In 1957, Brussels caught the modern fever - it wanted to be like all other big cities in the world. This meant replacing the old city areas with concrete and glass. Many local residents opposed these plans and did not want to be re-housed, so they formed themselves into committees. Following protests from some committees the authorities decided to take a new look at their plans. In 1969 a local committee waged a well-organized combat against an urban policy - it was called The battle for the Marolles and the residents celebrated their victory with a big open-air party. Many other committees were formed after this success.