Redevelopment…
The British Consulate emailed me last Tuesday, and said that my visa could take up to 15 more working days than originally expected because they have to make additional enquiries… I haven’t heard anything since, and it has been almost 6 days.
I have, however, made a revised outline for my thesis (woohoo!) and I have a ton of reading that I can do while stuck in upstate new york…
There has been a significant amount of redevelopment in Belfast in recent years. This includes a fair amount of grandiose plans for “the New Belfast”, such as the Titanic quarter http://www.titanic-quarter.com/) and Victoria’s Square http://www.victoriasquare.com/), which will announce to the international community that Belfast has moved on from the Troubles. Most of this redevelopment, however, is located in downtown Belfast, the harbor area, and the area near Queens University- mostly places that have remained relatively neutral throughout the Troubles.
Architects could never use this much glass during the Troubles.
So what does this mean for the working-class neighborhoods that remain fairly segregated and politically marked? Are current redevelopment schemes swapping ethnic segregation for socio-economic segregation? My thesis will investigate opportunities for designing shared spaces throughout Belfast- particularly along interfaces between segregated, working-class neighborhoods. The notion of shared space, itself, is quite nuanced, so first a thorough study of public space theories, especially in regards to contested cities, and the history of spaces in Belfast will be crucial.
