Editing Brussels (section)

==Municipalities==
{{Main|List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region}}
{|
|valign=top|
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; float:left;"
! class=unsortable|Arms
! French name
! Dutch name
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Anderlecht|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Anderlecht]]
| Anderlecht

|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Auderghem|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Auderghem]]
| Oudergem
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Berchem-Sainte-Agathe|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Berchem-Sainte-Agathe]]
| Sint-Agatha-Berchem
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Brussels|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Bruxelles-Ville]]
| Stad Brussel
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Etterbeek|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Etterbeek]]
| Etterbeek
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Evere|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Evere]]
| Evere
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Forest|link=Forest, Belgium|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Forest, Belgium|Forest]]
| Vorst
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Ganshoren|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Ganshoren]]
| Ganshoren
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Ixelles|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Ixelles]]
| Elsene
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Jette|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Jette]]
| Jette
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Koekelberg|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Koekelberg]]
| Koekelberg
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Molenbeek-Saint-Jean|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Molenbeek-Saint-Jean]]
| Sint-Jans-Molenbeek
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Saint-Gilles|link=Saint-Gilles, Belgium|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Saint-Gilles, Belgium|Saint-Gilles]]
| Sint-Gillis
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Saint-Josse-ten-Noode|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Saint-Josse-ten-Noode]]
| Sint-Joost-ten-Node
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Schaerbeek|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Schaerbeek]]
| Schaarbeek
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Uccle|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Uccle]]
| Ukkel
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Watermael-Boitsfort|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Watermael-Boitsfort]]
| Watermaal-Bosvoorde
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Woluwe-Saint-Lambert|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Woluwe-Saint-Lambert]]
| Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Woluwe-Saint-Pierre|text=none|size=15px}}
| [[Woluwe-Saint-Pierre]]
| Sint-Pieters-Woluwe
|}
|width=20|
|valign=top|
{|
| style="background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #e4e4e4, #f9f9f9);" | [[File:Brussels Municipalities.tif|484px]]
|}
|}
{{clear}}

The 19 [[Municipalities of Belgium|municipalities]] ({{langx|fr|communes|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|gemeenten|link=no}}) of the Brussels-Capital [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions|Region]] are political subdivisions with individual responsibilities for the handling of local level duties, such as law enforcement and the upkeep of schools and roads within its borders.<ref name="list">{{cite web|title=Brussels-Capital region / Communes|url=http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/en/region/region_de_bruxelles-capitale/communes.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040606023552/http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/en/region/region_de_bruxelles-capitale/communes.shtml|archive-date=6 June 2004|access-date=4 August 2008|website=Brussels Capital-Region / Région de Bruxelles-Capitale}}</ref><ref name="OECD">{{cite web|year=1997|title=Managing across levels of government|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/43/1902434.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819213027/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/43/1902434.pdf|archive-date=19 August 2008|access-date=5 August 2008|publisher=OECD|pages=107, 110}}</ref> Municipal administration is also conducted by a mayor, a council, and an executive.<ref name="OECD" />

In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, including the 19 currently located in the Brussels-Capital Region.<ref name="roots">{{cite web|last=Picavet|first=Georges|date=29 April 2003|title=Municipalities (1795-now)|url=http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/_places/bel_places.html|access-date=4 August 2008|publisher=Georges Picavet|archive-date=17 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817131741/http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/_places/bel_places.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike most of the municipalities in Belgium, the ones now located in the Brussels-Capital Region were not merged with others during mergers occurring in 1964, 1970, and 1975.<ref name="roots" /> However, a few neighbouring municipalities have been merged into the [[City of Brussels]], including [[Laeken]], [[Haren, Belgium|Haren]] and [[Neder-Over-Heembeek]] in 1921.<ref name="Brussels">{{cite web|date=4 June 2005|title=Brussels Capital-Region|url=http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/2bru/index.html|access-date=4 August 2008|publisher=Georges Picavet|archive-date=25 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725181458/http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/2bru/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> These comprise the northern bulge in the municipality. To the south-east is a strip of land along the [[Avenue Louise/Louizalaan]] that, in addition to the [[Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos]], was annexed from [[Ixelles]] in 1864. Part of the {{Lang|fr|[[Université libre de Bruxelles]]|italic=no}} (ULB)'s Solbosch campus is also part of the City of Brussels, partially accounting for the bulge in the south-eastern end.

The largest municipality in area and population is the City of Brussels, covering {{cvt|32.6|km2|sqmi|1}} and with 145,917 inhabitants; the least populous is [[Koekelberg]] with 18,541 inhabitants. The smallest in area is [[Saint-Josse-ten-Noode]], which is only {{cvt|1.1|km2|sqmi|1}}, but still has the highest population density in the region, with {{cvt|20822|PD/km2}}. [[Watermael-Boitsfort]] has the lowest population density in the region, with {{cvt|1928|PD/km2}}.

There is much controversy on the division of 19 municipalities for a highly urbanised region, which is considered as (half of) one city by most people. Some politicians mock the "19 baronies" and want to merge the municipalities under one city council and one mayor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fusie van de 19 Brusselse gemeenten|url=http://peterdedecker.eu/blog/2009/01/23/fusie_van_de_19_brusselse_gemeenten|access-date=26 August 2015|archive-date=20 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820125208/http://peterdedecker.eu/blog/2009/01/23/fusie_van_de_19_brusselse_gemeenten|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=De Brusselse Baronieën|url=http://www.vlaamsbelang.org/nieuws/4237|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903210953/http://www.vlaamsbelang.org/nieuws/4237|archive-date=3 September 2015|access-date=26 August 2015}}</ref> That would lower the number of politicians needed to govern Brussels, and centralise the power over the city to make decisions easier, thus reduce the overall running costs. The current municipalities could be transformed into districts with limited responsibilities, similar to the current structure of [[Antwerp]] or to structures of other capitals like the [[London boroughs|boroughs]] in [[London]] or ''[[Arrondissements of Paris|arrondissements]]'' in [[Paris]], to keep politics close enough to the citizen.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bruxelles vaut bien une messe?|url=https://www.vub.ac.be/home/academischeopening/archief/0506/Bruxellesvautbienunemesse.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812052919/https://www.vub.ac.be/home/academischeopening/archief/0506/Bruxellesvautbienunemesse.pdf|archive-date=12 August 2014|access-date=7 August 2014}}</ref>

In the 2010s, [[Molenbeek-Saint-Jean]] gained international attention as the [[Brussels ISIL terror cell|base]] for [[Islamist terrorists]] who carried out attacks in both [[November 2015 Paris attacks|Paris]] and [[2016 Brussels bombings|Brussels]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/brussels-attacks-terrorist-safe-haven-213768|title=My Journey To Brussels' Terrorist Safe Haven|first=Matthew|last=Levitt|work=[[Politico]]|date=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35890960|title=Brussels attacks: Molenbeek's gangster jihadists|publisher=BBC|date=24 March 2016|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-date=9 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409232025/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35890960|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the-belgian-neighborhood-indelibly-linked-to-jihad/2015/11/15/02bba49c-8b39-11e5-bd91-d385b244482f_story.html|title=The Belgian neighborhood indelibly linked to jihad|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=15 November 2015|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408075235/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the-belgian-neighborhood-indelibly-linked-to-jihad/2015/11/15/02bba49c-8b39-11e5-bd91-d385b244482f_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/beleaguered-molenbeek-struggles-to-fend-off-jihadist-recruiters/|title=Beleaguered Molenbeek struggles to fend off jihadist recruiters|work=The Times of Israel|date=3 April 2016|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407143755/http://www.timesofisrael.com/beleaguered-molenbeek-struggles-to-fend-off-jihadist-recruiters/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20151116_01972505|title=World points to "jihad Capital" Molenbeek|work=Het Nieuwsblad|date=16 November 2015|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426224536/http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20151116_01972505|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="140" caption="Municipalities of Brussels">
File:Town hall of Anderlecht (DSC 2233).jpg|[[Anderlecht]]
File:Auderghem CH2.jpg|[[Auderghem]] (Oudergem)
File:SintAgathaBerchemMC7229.jpg|[[Berchem-Sainte-Agathe]] (Sint-Agatha-Berchem)
File:Brussels, townhall oeg2043-00090 foto3 2015-06-07 08.38.jpg|[[City of Brussels]]
File:Town hall of Etterbeek (DSC 2183).jpg|[[Etterbeek]]
File:EvereTownHall.jpg|[[Evere]]
File:MaisonCommunaleForest.jpg|[[Forest, Belgium|Forest]] (Vorst)
File:Ganshoren town hall.jpg|[[Ganshoren]]
File:MAISON-40.jpg|[[Ixelles]] (Elsene)
File:Jette voormalig gemeentehuis 27-04-2013.jpg|[[Jette]]
File:Maison communale Koekelberg.jpg|[[Koekelberg]]
File:Gemeentehuis St Jans Molenbeek.jpg|[[Molenbeek-Saint-Jean]] (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek)
File:StGillesTownHall.jpg|[[Saint-Gilles, Belgium|Saint-Gilles]] (Sint-Gillis)
File:Town hall of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.01.jpg|[[Saint-Josse-ten-Noode]] (Sint-Joost-ten-Node)
File:Hôtel communal de Schaerbeek (2) - 2264-0007-0.jpg|[[Schaerbeek]] (Schaarbeek)
File:3557uccleTownHall.jpg|[[Uccle]] (Ukkel)
File:WatermaelBoitsfortTownHall.jpg|[[Watermael-Boitsfort]] (Watermaal-Bosvoorde)
File:Town hall of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert during golden hour (DSC 2171).jpg|[[Woluwe-Saint-Lambert]] (Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe)
File:Mais.Comm.W-S-P.01.JPG|[[Woluwe-Saint-Pierre]] (Sint-Pieters-Woluwe)
</gallery>