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Like other rivers in European cities, Brussels' Senne River was 'buried' and 'covered' in the second half of the 19th century (1866-1871). The main reason given by authorities for undertaking such huge urban works was the terrible water quality of the river. Filled with dirt and trash, the Senne was systematically associated with insalubrity, even danger. However, beyond the general opinion expressed at that time, it is hard to find any data that reflects the nature, extent, and origins of the pollution at the moment of covering, and in the years after. By addressing the question of water quality in the second half of the 19th century, this paper raises other issues related to the history of industrialisation and the silent transformation of environmental conditions. Reinterpreting an interdisciplinary study by hydro-biologists and historians on the pollution of the Senne, it also enhances the potential of such studies in renewing historical questions. Keywords Urban rivers Á 19th century Á Water quality Á Industry Á Brussels Á Transdisciplinarity Introduction: water quality as driver of transformation 1 Urban spaces underwent deep transformations during the 19th century. In the name of modernity and hygiene, to put it superficially, their landscapes were profoundly changed. In a European context, this meant the development of numerous urban projects, such as: the

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À l’image de nombreuses villes occidentales, Bruxelles a récemment vu émerger un quartier gai dans une portion de son espace central, à savoir le quartier Saint-Jacques. Fondé sur des recherches empiriques, cet article veut mettre en lumière la nature de ce nouveau type d’espace d’homosociabilité et à l’inscrire dans une géographie des multiples territoires homosexuels, plus ou moins marqués dans le paysage urbain, à l’échelle de l’ensemble de la ville. La concentration des manifestations les plus visibles de l’homosexualité (par exemple les bars ou associations) au centre-ville, dans le quartier Saint-Jacques en particulier, ne peut masquer une diffusion spatiale à la fois plus large et plus hétérogène d’autres types de territoires homosexuels moins directement visibles dans l’espace urbainBrussels has recently seen the emergence of a Gay Village in an area of the inner city known as the Saint-Jacques district. Based on empirical studies, this article investigates the nature of this new kind of space, increasingly common in Western cities, for homosociability. It also tries to position the phenomenon within a wider geography of homosexual territory on a city-wide scale. The study highlights the contrast between a concentration of visible marks of homosexual presence in the inner city (such as bars and associations), particularly in the Saint-Jacques district, and a wider spatial diffusion of more heterogeneous and less visible types of homosexual territory in urban space

Brussels and the test of water. Hydric creativity in an urban area in the Middle and Modern Ages. For the last two or three decades, historical research on urban areas has brought to light new data on the hydraulic systems built in the Middle Ages. Far from confirming the usual clichés of “ spontaneous” or “ organic” mediaeval town planning, the research has led to the rediscovery of objects and traces which bear witness to the complexity of these systems and the creative designs implemented to meet the needs or social or economic demands of some players. Brussels is one of the cities whose ancient hydraulic past has thus been rediscovered and better understood. While Brussels’ contemporary citizens are calling for the reinvention of the water distribution and sharing networks, this paper offers a synthesis of the issues surrounding the city’s mediaeval town planning strategies regarding its water system in an attempt to put them into perspective.

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