Larger rivers are set to reach or exceed the critical water level one-third more often by 2100 and smaller ones twice as often, with the percentage of buildings that can be flooded rising from 25% to 41%.

Aletha Wallace was 15 years old when she fled the civil war in Liberia.

The quality of the air in the streets of the Vlaamse Rand is question on a lot of people’s minds.

Commentators Walter Zinzen and Rik Van Cauwelaert are known for presenting political views in an entertaining way but do they view life from the same clear-sighted perspective?

More and more companies and organisations are beginning to see diversity as an asset because ‘By attracting people from different backgrounds (gender, culture, age, religion,...), you can acquire a wealth…

Back to June 2016, when the United Kingdom was holding a referendum on whether or not to stay in the European Union. The leavers won by securing 51.9% of the votes. It was a non-binding referendum but the British government was committed to respecting the outcome.

Sunday afternoon. That means tens of thousands of children and young people up and down the country are enjoying the fun and games on offer in youth clubs. Over in Sint-Brixius-Rode (Meise) 10 or so scout leaders are on hand every week to help about 130 boys and girls have a great time.

I can’t come to terms with the idea that all the things you’ve built up in your head during a whole lifetime just disappear when you die. I am really amazed by the thought that human beings are awash with a whole ocean of images, feelings and memories.

The rapidly growing interest in assisted living facilities is a positive development for both generations, according to Karine Devillers, who is currently converting her home in Zellik into such a home, in full compliance with urban standards.

‘The Bouwmeester Scan is designed to help municipalities with their spatial planning for people and nature in a liveable environment, says the Flemish Chief Architect Leo Van Broeck.

‘It all started with running errands from time to time. And then I ended up doing voluntary work on a regular basis.’

Various municipal authorities in the Rand and Pajottenland are looking for new ways of using large empty farms. Particularly in view of the high demand for multi-family dwellings and co-housing.

Whatever the outcome of the October municipal elections, no less than three mayors will be disappearing from the Flemish Rand’s political scene in 2019: Dirk Brankaer from Overijse, Eddie De Block from Merchtem and Marleen Mertens from Grimbergen.

Wim Distelmans. Josse De Pauw. The pair of them from the same year. They both followed their own paths. And look where they ended up. Far from the beaten paths. Closer to their true selves.

Something of a fixture in Zaventem, the Gezinsbond has almost 450 members and carries out a dozen or so initiatives every year.

The Flemish Rand differs from an average Flemish municipality owing to its higher population density, growth and diversity. Nor is the surrounding infrastructure the same as in a non-urban context.

The Flemish Rand abounds in small municipalities, including those with language facilities. These entities are struggling to keep operating efficiently owing to the growing number of tasks they have to contend with.

La Placette in Wezembeek-Oppem is the oldest cohousing project in the Rand.

Mobility and living together are the key challenges facing the Flemish Rand. There is no real sense of a Rand identity, although there is some cohesion in sub-regional areas such as the Druivenstreek (Grape-growing region).

Classes where everyone in all their diversity can be themselves. Where teachers have the right teaching skills to turn this diversity into an asset.

Under the NMBS’s new transport plan, the Rand will be provided with additional trains on the S-net, starting from 10 December.

Socially vulnerable families will soon be able to count on the support of a student ‘buddy’ thanks to the Buddy aan de wieg project to be launched in December by the Huis van het Kind in Asse and the Erasmus School of Higher Education in Brussels.

Eager to roll out an extension and modernisation process, the Brussels Airport Company (BAC) has developed a strategic vision to decide where Zaventem Airport should be by the year 2040.

‘Flemish people are rightly proud of their identity, their history and their language. But maybe it is time to show some flexibility in certain situations? Especially when it comes to helping people who really do need assistance.’ That is Maria Urbina’s vision of how she would like things to be.

Traffic flows within 19 Flemish Rand municipalities are being assessed in the light of information gleaned from in-car GPS systems or smartphones, with a view to identifying and preventing overflow traffic.