Territorialities of Capital and Place in ‘Post-Conflict’ Belfast

Abstract

Belfast’s re-designation as a ‘new capitalist city’ has been an integral part of the Northern Ireland peace process. Since the signing of the Good Friday peace agreement (GFA) in 1998 the urban fabric of Belfast has undergone a visible transition from the blight and scarring of decades of violent conflict to a renovated and rebranded consumerist city with its new retail, office and recreational spaces. This transition has in places been achieved through urban regeneration projects led by property developers and public-private partnerships (Figure 13.1). These projects have been spectacular in scale and ambition and have helped in the rebranding of Belfast as a culturally diverse urban centre, open to trade, foreign direct investment and tourism. A series of new and renovated venues has also facilitated the image of Belfast as a centre for commodified cultural activities; a city of festivals and major cultural events. It has been suggested that this rebranding of the city and its physical renewal contains the prospect of ameliorating and perhaps substantially modifying the basis of ethno-national division and the potential for future violent conflict.¹