Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Culture not only plays an important role in the transformation of neighbourhoods, but also for the reputation of the entire city. Using flagship buildings designed by starchitects is one way to attract attention and bring tourism to a region. This approach can manifest itself in various forms and with different planning strategies one significant example would be flagship construction or personality branding. Nevertheless, another approach would be to involve communities in the drawing up and implementation of planning strategies at different stages of the planning process, which anticipates to enable the accommodation of a wide range of functions, some of which can be temporary or meanwhile use. In this research, the aim is to analyse the spatial and social implications of the implementation of the Connswater Greenway project in East Belfast. The project that has taken considerable time and resources to complete and is quite unique within inner East Belfast, an area that has suffered from the process of deindustrialisation as witnessed in sustained levels of deprivation and lack of investment during the last decades. Public spaces such as the CS Lewis Square and EastSide visitor centre function as new landmarks in a previously ignored part of the city.Through in-depth investigation of the CS Lewis square as a micro urban space, this research seeks to understand the urban dynamics initiated by Connswater Greenway project and CS Lewis Square in East Belfast.