back

privacy policy

            The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies is a centre of expertise funded by and part of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Like other academic organisations, the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies processes personal data. This privacy statement explains our guidelines for handling personal data, and further information regarding privacy and data protection at the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies according to the principles stipulated by the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that was enforced on 25 May 2018.
          

protection of personal data

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies attaches great importance to the protection of your personal privacy. The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies reserves the right to make changes to the privacy statement if needed, to address the needs and requirements of society, as well as abide by the relevant laws and regulations. Therefore, the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies advises you to consult this statement regularly.

guarantees for processing personal data

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, with registered offices at Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene (KBO 0449.012.406), is responsible for processing personal data from students, researchers and staff, alumni, third party experts and visitors. We process this data for different reasons, which we explain in detail in the “purpose and legal basis” section.

Your personal data is always treated in accordance with the applicable privacy regulations. Processing of personal data is limited to the intended objective. Personal data will not be disclosed to third parties and will not be used for direct marketing, unless you have agreed to this yourself via an 'opt in'. The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies takes the best possible security measures to prevent third parties from misusing your personal data.

indirect processing of personal data

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies will, wherever possible, inform you about any indirect processing of personal data. We will give information on the source of this personal data and the categories of personal data that are processed. For example, contact details are sometimes enriched with publicly available information, such as through LinkedIn, Facebook, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, Academia, and ORCID.

purpose and legal basis for the processing of your personal data

We will not use your personal data for commercial purposes or other purposes then the ones described below. Nor will we share your data with any other organizations.

 when using our website

You can access most of the information without you having to provide any personal information. In some cases, however, you will be asked for personal data. We do not use any cookies with the exception of strictly necessary cookies that are essential for you to browse the website.

 performing academic research

The researchers affiliated with the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies gather, analyse, and manage large quantities of data, necessary for the advancement of scientific disciplines represented at Brussels Centre for Urban Studies and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel at large. Many of the activities carried out by researchers involve processing personal data and are subject to the privacy policy of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

 registration for events

To facilitate events, the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies processes the personal data provided during registration. Registration can be done through external platforms such as Zoom, Eventbrite, Forms, etc. Following an event registration, your personal data is deleted immediately after the event took place. Legal basis: Consent

privacy policies of other websites

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies website contains links to other websites. Our privacy policy applies only to our website, so if you click on a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.

storage of your personal data

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies securely stores your personal data throughout the operational period of the funding period (2019-2024). For storage, we apply the following protection and security measures:

Data are sent encrypted via https to dedicated servers that are secured in line with the market
Data are treated confidentially
Data are only published in a summarized or aggregated way so that reidentification is impossible

Your profile on the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies website will be maintained until the end of our funding period or until you indicate that you no longer wish to be part of or use the urban studies network.

data subjects’ rights

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies would like to make sure you are fully aware of all your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:

right to access - You have the right to request the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies for copies of your personal data.
right to rectification – You have the right to request that the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies corrects any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request the Brussels Centre for Urban studies to complete the information you believe is incomplete.
right to erasure – You have the right to request that the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies deletes your personal data under the conditions determined by law.
right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies restricts the processing of your personal date, under certain conditions.
right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies’ processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
right to data portability – You have the right to request that the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies transfers the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions and as far it is technically possible.

When our processing activity is based on your prior consent, withdrawal of such given consent is always possible without this affecting the lawfulness of the processing of personal data as this is on the basis of the permission previously granted.

To exercise your rights as a concerned party, it suffices to send your question to dpo@vub.be or send a written request to Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels – Building M – Office 508. In both cases, add a copy of your identity card that only shows the front side, your name and your ID picture. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

accountability and processing – data protection officer

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel values your right to privacy. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, with registered office at Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussel, represented by its rector is responsible for processing your personal data. In case you have specific questions about your rights concerning the processing of your data, you can contact the university’s data protection officer, by email on dpo@vub.be.

complaints

Finally, should you wish to file a complaint about how your information is treated, you can contact the Belgian Data Protection Authority who is responsible for upholding the law on data protection: Data Protection Authority (GBA), Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussel, +32 2 274 48 00, contact@apd-gba.be, www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be.