Beyond the walls: Dismantling Belfast's conflict architecture

Byrne, Jonny; Gormley‐Heenan, Cathy

doi:10.1080/13604813.2014.939465

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The most noticeable contemporary manifestations of this are the city's "peace walls" and "peace lines". First erected by the British military in 1969 following intense civil unrest, they were used to limit interactions and potential conflict between communities [32]. From 1969 onwards, they were seen to symbolise community boundaries and territorial ownership, as well as the influence of the British state.…”

Section: Belfast's Landscape and Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Is a Park More Than a Park? Rethinking the Role of Parks as “Shared Space” in Post-Conflict Belfast

Mell

Sturzaker

Correia

et al. 2022

Land

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With the signing of the Belfast Agreement, Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK) entered a new phase of urban development. Moving away from notions of division, Belfast City Council envisaged an inclusive and accessible city. Over a 20-year period, there have been significant changes in Belfast’s physical, socio-cultural, and political structure, reframing the city as a post-conflict space. However, there has been limited analysis of the role of parks in this process. This paper examines perceptions of parks, asking whether the promotion of a “shared spaces” policy aligns with local use. Through a mixed-methods approach, park users were surveyed to reflect on the meanings of parks in the city. We argue that although residual interpretations associated with historical socio-cultural divisions remain, parks are predominately multi-community amenities. The analysis illustrates that although destination parks attract greater patronage, there is visible clustering around ‘anchor’ sites at the local scale, especially in neighbourhoods with significant Catholic or Protestant identities.

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Section: Belfast's Landscape and Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Is a Park More Than a Park? Rethinking the Role of Parks as “Shared Space” in Post-Conflict Belfast

Mell

Sturzaker

Correia

et al. 2022

Land

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“…West Belfast is predominantly Catholic, although with significant Protestant areas; East Belfast is predominantly Protestant but with some Catholic areas; and North Belfast is a chequerboard of religious enclaves living cheek by jowl. Violence still occurs at community interfaces and some sixty so-called peace walls serve as physical barriers in the city separating ethno-religious groups, a significant number of which were constructed after the peace accord was signed (Byrne and Gormley-Heenan 2014). Although ethnoreligiously mixed areas have increased since the Good Friday Agreement, these are predominantly among the middle classes in the south of the city or in the gentrified city centre by the River Lagan waterfront; during the same period inter-communal violence increased in north and west Belfast (Murtagh 2011 (Shirlow and Murtagh 2006).…”

Section: Northern Ireland Belfast and The Troublesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not-the-Troubles: Disinterring the Marginalised Stories of the Ordinary and the Everyday

Lane

2019

Anthropological Forum

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Urban studies of Belfast, Northern Ireland, thoroughly explore the contested or postconflict city. However, these 'grand narratives' do not necessarily accord with people's day-today experiences. Although the ordinary and everyday is the lifeblood of anthropological inquiry, the mundane in Belfast dwells on the narratorial margin, as academic and political loci predominantly align to the Troubles: to the protagonists, the causes or the peace-building aftermath. Ten by Nine (Tenx9) is a monthly, public storytelling night showcasing ordinary people and their true, personal, everyday stories, juxtaposing the funny, poignant and educational, and celebrating the quotidian. Retelling Belfast at Tenx9 challenges hegemonic discourse by moving the mundane from the margin to the centre, opening up a space for small 't' troubles to be shared. The communitas at Tenx9 promotes a sense of belonging in the city outwith Troubled narratives and storytelling, an ancient Irish oral culture, becomes a new form of symbolic practice.

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“…The idea that parks offer a natural locus for peaceful co-existence, underpinned by a historically located sense that ‘nature’ is separate from ‘culture’ and therefore neutral, has inspired research and policies worldwide in recent years (Ali, 2007; Bollens, 2018; Byrne and Gormley-Heenan, 2014; Mell, 2019). This paper questions the assumption of a ‘natural’ association between parks and peace by highlighting the cultural signifiers that are often an intrinsic part of such spaces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I stick to this side of the park’: Parks as shared spaces in contemporary Belfast

Lang

Mell

2020

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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This paper presents the results of the ‘Beyond the Peace Walls’ pilot project, which examined the role of urban parks in Belfast, a city marked by a history of sectarianism. It explores the interface of culture, inclusivity and belonging through the concept of ‘shared spaces’ following the rationale that has guided policy-making in Northern Ireland since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. By examining the alternative narratives of the historical role of public parks, as spaces of community making, alongside recent efforts to overcome sectarianism, it investigates how the lived experience of parks articulated through the concept of ‘shared spaces’ is understood by policy-makers and local communities. The research draws on material collected in conversations with park goers framed by comparative analysis of research undertaken in other segregated cities to explore the extent to which urban design curbs or reinforces segregation. Findings reveal ongoing tensions between the neutralisation and the signification of space underlying place restructuring in Belfast rejecting the claim that parks are ‘neutral’ compared to other ‘interface’ locations. We argue that parks are not neutral spaces: people have very clear understandings of the demarcation of space within parks, even if the markers are not visible for all to see. Signifiers are perceived through gestures, language, names and activities, while shared spaces embody historically informed values and constraints. We also suggest that formal planning and management of shared spaces in Belfast need to be constantly evolving to meet the fluid needs and aspirations of the city’s population, while taking into account the historical and affective relevance of physical and ethno-political segregation.

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Beyond the walls: Dismantling Belfast's conflict architecture

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

When Is a Park More Than a Park? Rethinking the Role of Parks as “Shared Space” in Post-Conflict Belfast

When Is a Park More Than a Park? Rethinking the Role of Parks as “Shared Space” in Post-Conflict Belfast

Not-the-Troubles: Disinterring the Marginalised Stories of the Ordinary and the Everyday

‘I stick to this side of the park’: Parks as shared spaces in contemporary Belfast

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