Antwerp is located in the northern part of Belgium, within the Flanders region. It lies along the right bank of the river Scheldt, which connects the city to the North Sea. The climate in city is temperate maritime. It is generally humid and the city enjoys mild winters with moderate rainfalls and pleasantly warm summers.
The location of Antwerp on the bank of the river Scheldt has historically made it one of Europe’s most important port cities. Hosting Europe’s second largest port it is a major economic center and plays a central role in the Flemish area. Antwerp is Belgium’s second largest city with a population of around 550.000 Inhabitants.
Overview
Antwerp’s urban structure evolved around a medieval core. The city has a historical center with a radial street layout and experienced urban expansion in the 19th century. Post World War II, the suburban growth further expanded incorporating surrounding districts. Since the late 20th century Antwerp has invested in waterfront development.
Today Antwerp is divided into nine districts and 42 neighborhoods. The most disadvantaged neighborhoods are located in Antwerp North and in the social housing neighborhoods such as Europark/Linkeroever, Kiel and Luchtbal. The least disadvantaged neighborhoods are concentrated in the Antwerp periphery.
Antwerp Districts
Climate risk
Antwerp is highly susceptible to flooding due to its geographical location along the Scheldt River, which connects to the North Sea.
The city faces risks from both coastal flooding (due to storm surges and rising sea levels) and riverine flooding, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall or when tides combine with storm events. Urbanization in Antwerp has intensified flood risks, as the expansion of impervious surfaces reduces natural drainage and increases runoff during storms. Climate change is projected to exacerbate these risks, with sea levels expected to rise significantly and extreme precipitation events becoming more frequent.
The last major fluvial-coastal flood that hit Anwerp has been the 1953 North Sea flood, which led to over 2,500 deaths across the affected countries and prompted Belgium to develop large-scale flood defense systems, including the construction of dikes and flood control barriers. Since then, while no major fluvial-coastal floods have hit Antwerp directly, extreme precipitation events have become more frequent. In 2013, the powerful extratropical cyclone Xaver caused a large storm surge along the North Sea coast in December 2013, with water levels in the Scheldt River rising to near-critical levels. Thanks to proactive measures such as the strengthened dike systems, the city avoided major flooding. More recently, the 2021 floods in Belgium were a stark example of the growing threat posed by extreme rainfall events. Triggered by record-breaking precipitation, rivers across Wallonia, including the Meuse and Vesdre, burst their banks, resulting in 41 deaths and widespread damage to homes and infrastructure. While Antwerp was less affected, this event highlighted the increasing frequency and intensity of flood risks, especially those driven by climate variability.
Climate adaptation policy
Antwerp’s adaptation strategy to flood vulnerability combines structural defenses and nature-based solutions.
The Sigma Plan issued in 1977 and updated in 2005 focuses on dike reinforcements and flood control areas. [2] Antwerp’s nature-based approach, guided by the city’s spatial planning framework (REF) and its Water Plan (REF), emphasizes the dual function of natural landscapes as ecological resources and flood barriers. These include that certain areas around the river are designated as recreational spaces, where existing slopes, trees, and grasslands are used to naturally absorb excess water during flood events, while docks and piers promote community interaction with water bodies. However, the implementation of these measures is uneven across neighborhoods, raising concerns about how marginalised communities, including immigrants, experience disproportionate flood risks. The installation of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in urban areas seeks to mitigate flooding from intense rainfall, but these systems are not uniformly distributed, potentially leaving certain vulnerable areas underprotected.
Migration history
As a port city, Antwerp’s population has been characterised by ethnic and cultural diversity for centuries. However, the city became much more diverse after the second World War.
In the decades that followed, the Belgian government signed guest worker agreements with increasingly diverse and distant countries such as Italy (1946), Spain (1956), Greece (1957), Morocco and Turkey (1964), Tunisia (1969), Algeria and Yugoslavia (1970) (Eggerickx et al., 1999). Over the the past three decades, migration has been driven mainly by EU mobility after the establishment of the European Union in 1993 and asylum flows. For Antwerp, the migration of Polish people and (former) Yugoslavs is most significant (European Migration Network, 2012).
Compared to other European cities, Antwerp has made substantial investments in integration processes, education, and community infrastructure to support its diverse immigrant population.
In 1998, Flanders introduced its integration policies for ethnic minorities, known as minderhedenbeleid, which were subsequently revised in 2013 and 2015. Antwerp has actively implemented numerous government-sponsored initiatives in immigrant neighbourhoods, including the creation of parks, playgrounds, community centers, libraries, and public transit systems. The city even runs a halal butcher and cultural events, recognising the role of public spaces and culture in fostering social cohesion.
Current snapshot
The immigrant population is unevenly distributed across the city.
The highest concentrations of migrants are in disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods and social housing areas. Antwerp North, including Dam, and Borgerhout have historically been neighborhoods with large communities from Morocco, Turkey, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, drawn by affordable housing, which often is of low quality. Silvertop, a mono-functional social housing complex that lies in the southern part of the city , hosts a mix of long-term residents and recent refugees. The quality of the housing blocks has deteriorated due to poor maintanance and neglect and the area suffers from overcrowding and social tensions.
Frequently affected by pluvial flooding due to inadequate drainage and heavy rainfall, the district of Deurne also hosts a significant immigrant population. The second largest district of the municipality of Antwerp after the district of Antwerp itself is divided into a northern, central, eastern and southern quarter, each of them containing 20,000 inhabitants. In the northern quarter of Deurne more than 50% of the population have a foreign background.