HalleVilvoorde

Halle-Vilvoorde is an administrative arrondissement in the Flemish Region of Belgium, located to the north of the Brussels-Capital Region and part of the Province of Flemish Brabant. It covers a transitional zone between the capital’s metropolitan area and the Flemish countryside, and includes the cities of Halle and Vilvoorde along with several surrounding municipalities. The area is characterized by a mix of urban, suburban, and rural landscapes and is connected to Brussels by major roads and rail lines.

Historically, Halle-Vilvoorde was created in 1963 as part of the former Province of Brabant and became part of Flemish Brabant when the provinces were reorganized in the 1990s. The arrondissement is widely known for its role in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) electoral district, a cross-regional constituency that combined votes from Brussels and surrounding Flemish municipalities for federal elections. The BHV arrangement was controversial due to language and representation issues and was effectively dismantled through constitutional reforms in the early 2010s, with separate electoral arrangements established for Brussels and Flemish Brabant.

Administratively, Halle-Vilvoorde remains an arrondissement within Flemish Brabant, serving functions such as coordination among municipalities, statistical analysis, and regional planning. The area is predominantly Dutch-speaking, with language facilities for French in certain municipalities under Belgian language legislation. Economically, it benefits from proximity to Brussels, featuring services, commerce, and light industry, supported by a network of highways and commuter rail links to the capital.