School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering

1.Introduction

This project brings together three groups of MSc students from the School of Planning, Architecture & Civil Engineering (SPACE) at Queen’s; one group studying urban design, one sustainable design and the other, spatial regeneration.

The main theme of the project is the concept of ‘sustainable community’ and its application in Belfast. Sustainability is partly about how we live on and with the planet, but it is also about how we live with each other and deal with difference. The issue of difference and its expression in space is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon, as different ethnic and ethno-religious groups congregate in territories within settlements. Debates about sustainable communities that meet the needs of present and future residents, therefore, increasingly have to consider how social and ethnic divisions and the promotion of social cohesion and inclusion can be addressed.

In the context of Belfast, the issue of difference is spatially expressed in the geography of religious communities and also increasingly by social divisions. The former is most obvious in inner north Belfast where community areas are delineated by peace walls, murals, and through other markers of territory, while the latter are defined by gates and security doors. This project seeks to explore the concept of sustainable community in the context of North Belfast. It does so against a background of a city in decline and in anticipation of forthcoming stringent cuts in public expenditure. The project aims to take a strategic view of how an area such as North Belfast can develop a sustainable socio-economic and physical environment that can be shared and accessed by everyone.All of this must be seen within the context of the overall city. Murtagh, for example, hasrecently referred to Belfast as a twin speed city, with North Belfast being left behind in term of socio-economic development. The Forum for Alternative Belfast has also identified how North Belfast has been disadvantaged by its physical disconnection from centres of employment and services.

In the developing context of a range of programmes, including: neighbourhood renewal and other regeneration initiatives; the draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan (BMAP); the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) agenda; and the Review of Public Administration (RPA), there is a growing recognition that the notion of sustainable community now needs some new understanding and fresh ideas.

The proposed study area is outlined in the attached map. It effectively extends across the North Belfast Partnership Board’s spatial area of responsibility. However, the boundaries are purposively not exact and can be extended where that becomes necessary.

Project Brief

The student project this year is the first stage of a three year programme which is part of an PEACE III funded research project known as ‘Planning for Spatial Reconciliation’. Over the course of the three years, the research will explore how spatial divisions can be addressed by the forthcoming new powers that will be devolved to the new councils. These include: spatial planning; community planning; and regeneration.

This year the focus will be on strategic issues affecting North Belfast. Within this context and with regard to the underlying theme of sustainable community, the concept of ‘connectivity’ will be important.This helps to highlight issues such as:

The spatial disconnections both between local communities andto the rest of the city:
The need to connect local community initiatives to broader strategic and statutory planning initiatives and investment programmes;
Disconnections across, what has traditionally been, separate areas of responsibility; and
Disconnected disciplinesand the need to develop interdisciplinary approaches to key issues affecting North Belfast.