Planning

When planning Belfast's future, there are several things to be considered. One is the realization that segregation is not only negative, the positive aspects of integration must be taken into account and acted upon for new planning to succeed. Planners also must understand local opportunites and constraints as well as the link between community relations and urban planning, especially related to vehicle and pedestrian movement, the location and use of services and facilities, and the overall impact urban planning has on the people living in their constructed landscapes.

Nearly all of the planning strategies from the 1960s through 1990s concern the Belfast Urban Area (BUA), the expanded area of urban development built-up after Belfast became a regional capital and grew in importance. This area includes suburban development and is bounded by a greenbelt, the maintenance of which is integral to modern planning.

Several documents and planning strategies have been developed since the 1960s. In the '60s planning was growth oriented detailing how to steer and limit growth in general and specifically the city's expansion. The Belfast Regional Survey and Plan (1962) identified problems and suggested actions to curtail the city's sprawl. The 1970s saw planning shift towards contraction and constraint with an emphasis on security, detailed in Northern Ireland: Regional Physical Development Strategy 1975-1995 (1977). Leading up to the Belfast Urban Area Plan 2001 (1987) planners of the late 1980s, and into the early 1990s, stressed modest, flexible planning. This approach is well suited to today's planning which centers on greenbelt preservation, city center development, and socioeconomics.