Author:

Keywords:

Brussels, Boundaries, Brazilian migration, Contact zones, Migration studies

Abstract:

International migration leads to an increased cultural diversity and societal complexity at the local level. As people cross borders, they meet and live together in ethnic diverse contexts or ‘contact zones’. This article focuses on such a ‘contact zone’, namely the city of Brussels, capital of Belgium and of Europe, and demonstrates how it has been influenced by the arrival of Brazilian migrants. Moreover, it is demonstrated how these Brazilian migrants construct, view and transform boundaries between themselves and other residents of the local space they inhabit.