BY SIOBHÁN BREATNACH
DESPITE political progress and a decade of peace in the North of Ireland its architecture still influences and divides the community.
This issue is the focus of both a Manchester study and a photographic exhibition in London, which claim that sectarian attitudes today can be blamed in part on mundane urban features, which would be uncontroversial in cities less blighted by conflict.
Research by Dr Ralf Brand from the University of Manchester discovered that buildings, fences, parks, footbridges and even a playground can influence the location, intensity and duration of bitter conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast.
The study also found some examples of where architecture can help to heal the wounds of the Troubles.
Dr Brand said: “There’s no doubt that great strides have been made in Northern Ireland, politically, but in terms of the urban fabric, considerable problems remain.
Our study shows that in areas of conflict, there are very few neutral features in a city. In other words, we have seen many examples of how architecture can inadvertently make things worse. But the good news is that architecture can also make an important contribution to the resolution of conflict.
“This doesn’t mean there’s a quick fix to the problem, but professionals from planners to engineers need to be more aware of the importance of architecture to urban conflict. Consultation really matters a lot. You cannot design in meaning to an object.”
As part of the study, Dr Brand handed out disposable cameras to community workers, teachers and other locals to photograph areas which they felt were trouble spots — giving a revealing picture of the city’s problems.
He added: “Every city is different with different problems and solutions. But in Belfast, a fence can be tempting to throw a stone over it simply to prove how tough you are and that can trigger a sort of arms race.
Some of the heavily-fortified structures, such as police stations and some peace walls — though needed — can reinforce tensions by their mere appearance. It’s obviously too simplistic to just dismantle them.
“We even found a park in north Belfast which had been divided with a wall, mainly to separate young people from the two adjacent neighbourhoods.”
Meanwhile London photographer Louise Jefferson and journalist Stephen Martin have created an exhibition of images from Belfast that show a city that is still not fully at ease. Belfast 2009 — Gate and Barriers: Symbols Of Separation runs in the capital until November 29 at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith.
In conjunction with the exhibition Belfast development worker Tony Macauley recently hosted an evening of debate at the centre, where he discussed the impact the peace walls have had in the North of Ireland.
Macauley, who has worked with groups trying to tackle sectarianism for the last 25 years, believes that political opinion as well as that on the ground suggests that it is now a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if ‘ the walls will come down.
He has written an independent discussion paper — A Process For Removing Interface Barriers — to stimulate discussion about what needs to be put in place to make it safe for the walls to come down. He said: “Removing the peace walls will be an enormous challenge but I think we can do it. I firmly believe that the peace walls that went up in my youth will come down in my lifetime.”