Sarah De Boeck

Sarah De Boeck research focusses on how to shape the coexistence between economic activity and urbanity in urban and metropolitan areas. By linking economic geography and urban planning, she looks for less competitive and more inclusive local and regional scenarios for policy makers to do urban economic development. In her PhD research she focusses specifically on the role and the dynamics of the construction sector in the Brussels economy.

She has a background in Theatre Studies and Urban Design and Spatial Planning and has worked for a number of years as a coordinator of a social-cultural organization in Brussels.

Educational background

2012- ongoing: MSc in Urban Design and Spatial Planning (STeR*), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

2010: Train the trainer / Interculturality, Centrum voor Intercultureel Management en Internationale Communicatie (CIMIC), Mechelen, Belgium

1999-2004: MA in Theatre Studies, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Previous positions/employment

2014: Researcher on cohousing and social housing, Steunpunt Wonen, KU Leuven and University of Antwerp, Belgium

2013: Researcher on 'urban renewal in the Brussels Canal Area', Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

2010-2012: Project coordinator, AYAY! (Act Yourself!), Brussels

2008–2009: President of the Advieswerkgroep Sociaal-Cultureel Werk, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie Brussel, Brussels

2007-2013: Coordinator, Curieus Brussel vzw, Brussels

2007: Jury member, Federaal Impuls Fonds, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie Brussel, Brussels

2004-2006: Internships, traveling, interim jobs, Brussels and beyond, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie Brussel, Brussels

2000-2003: Collaborator, Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Key publications

De Boeck, S. Bassens, D., Ryckewaert, M. (2017) Easing spatial inequalities? An analysis of the anticipated effects of urban enterprise zones in Brussels. European Planning Studies, 25(10): pp. 1876-1895.

De Boeck S., Bassens D. & Ryckewaert M. (2015) Stedelijke ondernemingszones en de Brusselse Zone van Economische Uitbouw in de Stad (ZEUS), in: Ruimte maken. Paper voor Plandag 21 mei 2015: 113-124.