this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (9 children)

I don't think the house' plot is weird, but it is weird that the surrounding fields don't have vegetation. ~~England~~Belgium does not need to be a steppe.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (4 children)

This is Belgium, it's a great example of what we call "koterijen"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (3 children)

What does koterij roughly mean in English (or German)?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It refers to the annexes you see growing out of the back of the house. People used to (and sometimes still do) start with a modest house, and then as time went on and money came in, build out into the yard, adding a new kitchen, toilet, shed, veranda, etc.

It has since also come to refer to things that get extended and patched up over time without a lot of coherence or forethought, like our tax codes (they just add rules, bonuses, penalties, etc. on top of the baseline instead of doing a thorough tax reform)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Is modularity then kind of a thing in Belgian society?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Well, we have 6 governments, does that count?

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