Community planning and urban design in contested places. Some insights from Belfast

Although social conflict due to the presence of different groups divided\ud by cultural, religious or ethnic issues plagues many contemporary cities,\ud community and participatory planning methods still pay little attention\ud to segregation in contested spaces as a specific matter of concern. This\ud paper aims to contribute to filling this gap through the development of\ud a novel tool to be implemented during community planning processes\ud in contested cities, particularly in (visual) mapping processes. The pilot\ud area for developing the lexicon has been selected within the city of\ud Belfast, which has been struggling for years with problems related to\ud inter-religious sectarian conflicts. The material effects on the urban\ud structure of the long process of defensive planning during the socalled\ud Troubles and within the post-conflicts peace programmes\ud have been investigated by analysing urban artefacts including edges,\ud borders, barriers, doors, visual control points. The paper suggests that\ud a simple, recognizable lexicon may contribute to honing community\ud planning methods in contested places by integrating the traditional\ud methodology of visual mapping with a tailored taxonomy of elements\ud of urban conflict, which may be used at many stages of the planning\ud process, including developing a visual map, design and planning, and\ud developing and implementing an action plan.