Building Regulations and Urban Development in Antwerp and Bruges, 1200-1700

This chapter compares the introduction of building regulations in Bruges and Antwerp in a longitudinal perspective. Since medieval building regulations were, strictly speaking, a breach of customary law that protected private property, their introduction had to appeal to the higher interest of the community, and refer to existing practices elsewhere. Early modern building regulations, although using the same rhetoric, were inspired by aesthetic norms and reveal a competition in city-branding. Apart from the timing in urban development and the context in which building regulations were promulgated, other variables such as economic growth, property patterns, and the wealth of private owners, bolstered their effectiveness.