Building a Shared Future: the Laganside Initiative in Belfast

Belfast, a maritime city straddling the River Lagan, has in the last decade responded to the challenge of a derelict waterfront. It has done so against a backcloth of conflict and violence. Today a transformed waterfront is an integral aspect of a city promoting itself with confidence. Whilst the scale of development is not that of Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz Belfast’s Laganside initiative is now attracting international interest as an example of how to implement regeneration. This is in a context where it is increasingly recognised that issues of social exclusion and cultural diversity must also be addressed. In Berlin and Belfast the challenge is to build a shared future. How is this to be achieved? Does new development accentuate or accommodate diversity? Can a balance be achieved between promoting an international image for the city and respecting local history and culture?