Like La Défense in Paris, the Docklands in London or the Zuidas in Amsterdam, the Northern Quarter consists of a concentrated collection of high-rise buildings where many Belgian and multinational companies have their headquarters.

It was thus decided then to lay out new orthogonal streets on the axes of the Chaussée d'Anvers/Antwerpsesteenweg and the Boulevard d'Anvers/Antwerpselaan to accommodate this growing populace.

The boundary between the three municipalities meandered like the bed of the Senne river, which was belatedly vaulted in this northern district.

[1] The neighbourhood, deemed unhealthy, was largely razed in the 1960s at the end of the largest expropriation campaign that marked the history of Brussels.

Shortly after the first rows of residences were demolished, an economic crisis struck, leaving an urban void.

[1] It was so decried that, in 1989, the newly created Brussels-Capital Region tried to remedy the problem by giving the town planning of the district a more human side.