Embracing the Creation of Shared Space: Considering the Potential Intersection between Community Planning and Peace-building

Abstract

The past couple of decades have brought with them substantial changes to the devolved nations of the UK. Devolution has created the opportunity for a range of stakeholders to shape their surroundings in a way that is sensitive to the history and character of a place. As part of the Review of Public Administration (RPA) underway in Northern Ireland, the recent Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 provides for the transfer of the majority of planning functions from central government to district councils. Alongside this, new ‘community planning’ powers will be introduced as part of local government reorganisation and new public policies to promote shared spaces and services, chiefly through the proposed Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) Programme. Taken together, these modernisation proposals aim to establish more effective arrangements for public participation and service delivery for a post-conflict country. However, the introduction of community planning in Northern Ireland is not straightforward, particularly because it remains a ‘contested’ place that has a deeply divided society coming to terms with the legacy of ‘The Troubles’. The purpose of this paper is to explore critically both the emerging concept of ‘shared space’ and how the CSI programme can be considered in the new community planning arrangements to create a sustainable shared future in an otherwise deeply divided polity.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous referees for their encouragement and constructive comments on the manuscript and the Editor, Ronan Paddison, for his guidance. This article draws from empirical research derived from an earlier research project supported by Queen's University Belfast, funded through the Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, and recent research project based learning supported by the University of Ulster.

Notes

In October 2011, the Secretary of State, Owen Patterson, called for an end to segregation due to the “huge social cost and a financial one too”. Prior to this in June 2011, the Prime Minister David Cameron told the devolved Stormont Assembly that “the segregation between Protestants and Catholics must come to an end” as the duplication of public services are costing the country £1.5 billion per year, which—in a time of economic uncertainty and austerity—is not practical or sustainable not only for Northern Ireland, but for the wider UK budget as well.