Spatial and social segregation in the city of Belfast

Abstract

In the city of Belfast, Protestants and Catholics live side by side in a segregated city. The confrontation, which is shared in all of Northern Ireland, is carried out by religion, although it could be explained by an external set of factors. In essence, it is an irredentist conflict where each community uses flags, graffiti, murals and other elements to define and characterize the area that it considers its own. In this paper, we explore spatial and social segregation in Belfast by conducting participant and daily observations, and considering the neighbourhoods where each community lives, the walls between some neighbourhoods, and the appropriation of urban space each community undertakes to claim its ownership. In the background, there is a need of the local population to identify themselves with a national group and, by doing so, to align with a personal and collective identity.

Keywords: Northern Ireland, Ulster, segregation, national identity, urban space appropriation.