Conflicting neighbourhoods and maritime traditions: does the waterfront regeneration help to re-design a peaceful future? Insights from Belfast

Abstract

The globalization scenario has determined the rate of increasing of urban complexity: the city has become a process of densification and multiculturalism. The port cities, in particular, could be seen as the access points of a “melting pot” process, on the one hand, and as places where these dynamics have exacerbated problems and conflicts (Beguinot, 2009). This paper focuses on the potential of an approach centred on a maritime perspective in order to analyse and interpret conflicting dynamics in neighbourhoods whose residents show distinct cultural features.

A case study research method is adopted in order to capture the multi-faceted issues embedded in such a complex condition. This paper focuses onBelfast, which has been struggling for years with problems related to inter-religious sectarian conflicts. By applying a visual analysis combined with interactions with local communities, the relationships between the urban pattern and the waterfront are analysed, in order to show if and how the waterfront regeneration could be considered pivotal for contributing to the peace process. Further research will apply the results to different contexts, in order to generalize the approach at international level.