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Abstract
Current debates about urban sustainability tend to focus on technical issues, such as carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste management,
or on the economic aspects of urban regeneration and growth. Increasingly, however, governments recognise the contribution that built cultural
heritage makes to the social well-being of different groups living within increasingly cosmopolitan towns and cities. Heritage is seen as a major
component of quality of life, but the two main methods of identifying and protecting built heritage – the listing of individual monuments and
buildings and designation of conservation areas – are unable to deal with less tangible features of townscape, such as street patterns. Yet it is often
precisely these features that give a city its unique character and provide the sense of belonging that lies at the core of cultural identity. The purpose
of this paper, therefore, is to examine the role that built cultural heritage can play within sustainable urban development.
The paper considers changing definitions of built heritage before outlining the broad contribution it can make to sustainable urban development.
The paper then considers how the built environment contributes to the satisfaction of human needs by providing symbolic meanings that bind
cultural groups and communities across generations. Results from the development and application of a novel survey method, designed to assess
different people’s perceptions of and attitudes to urban historical areas, are presented before describing a case study of recent urban development in
Belfast that highlights the problems of intangible heritage. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of shortcomings of existing approaches to
urban regeneration and suggests how these might be overcome through a greater understanding of how people interact with the urban environment
and its heritage.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
0169-2046/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.05.008
C. Tweed, M. Sutherland / Landscape and Urban Planning 83 (2007) 62–69 63
what is currently considered as built heritage and the extent to times, the superiority of high culture can no longer be taken for
which this is embraced by evolving definitions of sustainable granted (Shusterman, 1992). Heritage by appropriation includes
development. This is followed by a discussion about how built objects and phenomena that would previously have been dis-
heritage contributes to the satisfaction of individual and societal missed as kitsch, such as the ‘black spots’ of cultural tourism
needs, such as the higher level needs of cultural identity and a cited by Rojek (1997)—death and burial sites of contemporary
sense of belonging. The paper then outlines a method developed celebrities.
to assess people’s perceptions of and attitudes to urban historical Cultural heritage, therefore, is an increasingly broad category
areas and proposed changes within them. The redevelopment of that embraces a diverse collection of phenomena. It is partly
Victoria Square in Belfast provides an interesting case study to because of its greater inclusiveness that heritage is now recog-
inform the closing discussion of some of the issues surrounding nised as so important to many people’s sense of belonging and
the conflicts between heritage and regeneration. cultural identity.
Built heritage is an important part of the cultural heritage of The definition of sustainable development in the Brundt-
towns and cities. However, current definitions of built heritage land Commission report (WCED, 1987) survives as the least
are narrow and rely on conventional conceptions of architec- contentious, probably because it lacks precise detail, and so is
tural and historical value. In many countries, these values are open to interpretations that allow different stakeholders to feel
enshrined in legislation that defines what constitutes “built her- comfortable. The difficulty in getting past this general state-
itage.” However, as Hassler and others note, the protection of ment underlines the problems in defining the actions needed
individual buildings and monuments is rarely a problem, because to ensure sustainable development. The ‘three pillars’ model
they are addressed directly by existing legislation (Hassler et al., (Keiner, 2005; UNIDO, 2005) goes some way towards clarify-
2002). Similarly, an entire district or town can be designated a ing the problem by identifying three dimensions: environmental,
conservation area to prevent significant development. The most economic and social.
pressing problem is therefore how to address areas within towns The environmental dimension is the dominant concern of
and cities that are not considered worthy as conservation areas sustainable development and is conceived as a constraint on
and yet form an essential part of the urban character. These human development. It is mainly directed towards the use of
‘urban fragments’ often epitomise a unique population density, resources – both natural and environmental – and since these
historic nature, street pattern or other urban morphological or are well-established topics of research that are readily quanti-
cultural feature. They provide the context in which the more fied, this aspect of development is seen as the most tractable. The
obvious heritage assets are located, but should not be treated as continued prominence of this dimension is guaranteed because
mere context, because it is often the ensemble of objects and their it addresses those needs that are fundamental to human sur-
context that create value. There is a need, therefore, to broaden vival. Until recently the environmental focus on built heritage
the current definition of built heritage to embrace less obvious has mainly addressed the technical problems of maintaining the
examples. fabric of existing buildings, for example, those subject to attack
The categories offered by Rautenberg (1998), as quoted by from chemical pollutants in urban environments.
Dupagne et al. (2004), are helpful in this respect. Rautenberg The economic dimension is seen as the most important pre-
suggests cultural heritage can be treated either as heritage by requisite for the fulfillment of human needs and for any lasting
designation, or heritage by appropriation. improvements to the living conditions of citizens. However, it
Heritage by designation is the traditional process through is now recognised that neither economic growth in general, nor
which heritage is applied as an honorific label to sites, buildings growth of income at a personal level is enough to guarantee
and other cultural objects by experts. In most cases it follows progress of an entire society. Increasingly, qualitative aspects
a top–down strategy with little room for contributions from the of progress are seen as being just as important as material
general public, resulting in heritage designations that are mostly improvements. In other words, it is no longer satisfactory to
predictable and only rarely controversial. However, as often attend to economic growth in isolation from all other aspects
happens when expert opinions are imposed without consulta- of development. The role of historic buildings in promoting
tion, charges of elitism are inevitable and it is difficult to gain economic growth through urban regeneration is now acknowl-
recognition for anything other than conventional heritage. edged, at least in the UK (ODPM, 2004). Built heritage attracts
Heritage by appropriation generally emerges from public tourists, particularly to established heritage cities, who boost
behaviour rather than through organised lobbying. It might also the local and national economy. Sustainable cultural tourism
be referred to as de facto heritage, because it acquires its sta- is the topic of a major research project, PICTURE (Pro-active
tus through use rather than through deliberate consideration. management of the Impact of Cultural Tourism upon Urban
Heritage by appropriation underlines the growing democrati- Resources and Economies) SSPA-CT-2003-502491 (PICTURE,
sation of culture, in which citizens play a much larger part in 2005).
determining what is considered cultural. In contrast to charges The social dimension of sustainable development emphasises
elitism levelled at heritage by designation, this type of heritage the need to improve the quality of life for all citizens by raising
is open to accusations of populism. But in these postmodern base levels of material income and by increasing social equity,
64 C. Tweed, M. Sutherland / Landscape and Urban Planning 83 (2007) 62–69
such that all groups have fair access to education, livelihood Most of the effort directed towards achieving sustainable
and resources. This dimension is most relevant to the need to development focuses on the lower levels of the pyramid, tar-
consider built cultural heritage as part of sustainable develop- geting the material needs of populations by seeking to preserve
ment. Of particular relevance to this discussion is the notion of finite natural resources, such as fossil fuels, and aiming to reduce
inter-generational equity through which the current generation the damage caused by pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.
preserves cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1984) for the benefit of The argument justifying this priority is that basic needs must
future generations (UNIDO, 2005). be met before attempting to satisfy others. However, cursory
Built heritage, therefore, has a role to play in all three observation suggests that the relations between levels are com-
dimensions, and yet it is not addressed by either of the two Euro- plicated, and that it is not necessary to satisfy needs at one
pean procedures used to assess the impact of urban plans and level completely for deficiencies to be felt at higher levels.
projects on the environment: Strategic Environmental Assess- The desire to fulfil higher needs is acutely felt, even under
ment (SEA), or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The conditions of extreme deprivation, as in a concentration camp
authors, together with other European researchers, investigated (Frankl, 1945). Indeed, there are many instances of individu-
the potential for existing legislation based on SEA and EIA to als voluntarily giving up access to basic needs to try to satisfy
incorporate cultural heritage in the EC-funded SUIT project. higher needs, for example, when protesters go on hunger strike
The authors’ role in this project included research into ways of in support of an abstract ideal. The hierarchy may also fail to
assessing the value of built heritage as perceived by different explain motivation or behaviour in different cultures. In the light
groups of people. However, before we report on this work, it of increasing globalisation, it seems that some higher needs –
is worthwhile to consider how built heritage contributes to the freedom from cultural imperialism, for example – are prized
satisfaction of human needs. more in one culture than in another. Carey (2005) explores the
complex relationships between higher values and ideological
beliefs in depth. Rather crudely we may conclude that higher
4. Human needs and sustainable development level needs are important but their importance seems to vary
widely from one individual to another and from one culture to
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of five levels divided another.
into two main groups, and is often depicted as a pyramid as Maslow’s work is clearly relevant to discussions of need in
shown in Fig. 1 (Maslow, 1943). The first four levels are often relation to built heritage. Buildings are essential to meeting basic
referred to as deficiency needs, or ‘D-needs. These are consid- needs in most climates, if only to provide shelter from hostile
ered to be basic needs, and if they are not met it is claimed a conditions. However, buildings are never purely functional and
subject will feel their absence and take appropriate action to so they also contribute to satisfaction of higher needs. The most
ensure they are satsified. The top level consists of being needs mundane buildings can acquire higher level meanings, often
(‘B-needs’), which include beauty, meaning, truth, wholeness, unintentionally, and these meanings may be quite different, even
justice, order, simplicity, etc. diametrically opposed, for different groups of people.
5. Meaning in the built environment However, perhaps the most important message is that built
heritage conveys different meanings to different groups of peo-
From the above discussion, it seems prudent to assume that ple and that these meanings are likely to be important in the
the built environment carries important meanings from one gen- future growth of towns and cities and so need to be considered
eration to the next, and serves as a one repository of cultural part of sustainable development. In increasingly cosmopolitan
meanings. Writing over 40 years ago, Lynch (1960) developed cities it will be important to develop a deeper understanding of
many of the ideas and themes upon which behavioural and envi- how meanings are created and sustained for different groups.
ronmental psychologists have subsequently expanded. The very
first page of his celebrated book, The Image of the City, estab- 6. Perception and attitude studies
lishes why a community’s perception of its urban surroundings
are important: “Every citizen has had long associations with There are few if any published studies on how to assess cit-
some part of his city, and his image is soaked in memories and izens’ perceptions of and attitudes to built heritage in towns
meanings.” (Lynch, 1960). and cities (Tweed et al., 2002). As part of the SUIT project the
The study of meanings can be approached in many ways. At authors led a team of researchers to develop a survey technique
a small scale, Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton (1981) that lays the groundwork for an assessment tool that local author-
develop a theory of ‘psychic energy’ to explain how differ- ities can use to help determine the value of built heritage under
ent people invest their attention in household objects. They their supervision at the scoping stage of the SEA or EIA process
emphasise the fact that meaning is created through interac- (Sutherland et al., 2002).
tions between individuals and objects and is heavily influenced The survey method sought to examine three main groups
by cultural background. Bridging the divide between environ- of indicators and collect relevant socio-economic background
mental psychology and socio-cultural studies, Rapoport (1982) information:
suggests people will extract different meanings from an envi-
ronment depending on their immediate purposes. Both of these • Indicators associated with perception. These included the
approaches emphasise the production of meanings as interac- respondents’ awareness of the surroundings, mood, familiar-
tions between humans and their environments (including the ity with the space and the perceived quality of the space.
objects they contain). This essential interaction is further under- • Indicators associated with proposed interventions. These
lined by Ingold (1992, 2000) who develops Gibson’s notion of included respondents’ recognition of proposed changes to the
affordance (Gibson, 1979). appearance of the space as shown in digitally altered pho-
Rapoport distinguishes between three levels of meaning: low, tographs, attitudes to these changes, and opinions about what
middle and high. Low-level meanings are the everyday and would constitute positive intervention.
instrumental meanings that provide mnemonic cues for iden- • Categorical indicators. These included standard measures of
tifying uses for which settings may be intended and hence respondents’ socio-economic group and education level, as
the social situations (Rapoport, 1982). Although it is rarely well as purposes in visiting the survey space.
possible to isolate meanings and treat them as (say) purely func-
tional, low-level meanings tend to be pan-cultural because they It should be emphasised that the primary aim of the fieldwork
relate to biologically based commonalities. Rapoport defines was not to gather extensive data on people’s perceptions and atti-
middle level meanings as those that communicate power, iden- tudes, but to carry out comparative and qualitative research using
tity, wealth and status, and notes that these are increasingly a robust sample of 100 interviews in each of three European
emphasised in modern Western society. High-level meanings cities. This was later extended to include two more sites, which
are viewed as those related to “fundamental beliefs, such were not part of the original project. As a result the tool has been
as cosmologies, cultural schemata, worldviews, philosophical tested in five important urban historical spaces allowing conclu-
systems, religion, etc.” These emphasise symbolic meanings, sions to be drawn about the potential use of such a technique in a
are increasingly absent from contemporary settings and are variety of cultural settings at the scoping stage of an EIA or SEA
usually specific to a particular culture. Neill (2004) further process. A total of 464 interviews were completed in Belfast
underlines the importance of the built environment as a repos- (UK), Liège (Belgium), Copenhagen (Denmark), Prague and the
itory for meanings that confirm identity, and provides an small world heritage city of Telč—both in the Czech Republic.
illuminating account of how past associations for specific build- The results provide useful insights into different people’s per-
ings – Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast, and the ceptions of and attitudes to the built environment, including their
Palast der Republik in the reunited Berlin – are undermined general levels of awareness and their reactions to hypothetical
by changes in political context. Neill also tackles the prob- changes to culturally significant urban historical areas.
lem of how to accommodate difference in meanings between
different cultures occupying the same physical space and con- 7. Survey design
cludes that solutions will most likely emerge from carefully
nuanced responses to local context, in which the possibility of The main research problem faced by SUIT within the param-
‘environmental citizenship’ offers the best hope for transcend- eters of this study, was to develop a reliable tool, capable of
ing the often slavish accommodation of cultural difference in measuring the strength of the perceptions and attitudes of people
planning. using an historical space. Existing indicators of environmen-
66 C. Tweed, M. Sutherland / Landscape and Urban Planning 83 (2007) 62–69
Fig. 2. Example of photomontages used to convey possible new constructions, additions or infill to members of the public. (a) Old Town Square, Prague: Old Town
Hall; (b) Old Town Square, Prague: Old Town Hall (after digital manipulation of the image).
Table 1
Summary of main findings from surveys in Belfast, Liège and Copenhagen
Indicators Belfast 100 interviews Liège 100 interviews Copenhagen 62 interviews
Mood High sense of ease, safety and happiness Mood not significantly affected by space Fairly happy, excited, safe and
while in space relaxed whilst in space
Quality Respondents perceived the space to be of a Most liked the space but found it poorly Strong perception of quality or value
high quality maintained attached to the space
Strength of mental image Importance placed on the “Activity” or Importance placed on the “Activity” or Importance placed on open space and
ambient factors ambient factors built environment factors
Sensitivity to changes Relatively low awareness of interventions in Relatively high awareness of Low awareness of interventions
space interventions in space within space
Attitudes to change Conservative attitudes towards changes Conservative attitudes towards changes Conservative attitude towards change
in the space
Participation Low confidence in further consideration of Low confidence and distrust towards
their opinion participation
tal quality, such as the Scenic Beauty Estimation (Daniel and question aims to provide a measure against identified indicators
Boster, 1976) environmental quality or the Perception of Envi- of perceived quality including those not only associated with
ronmental Quality Index (Eyles, 1990), had been tested on perception, but also with change and attitudes towards change.
mainly rural landscapes and are unable to explain the issues Following Galindon and Rodriguez (2000), the survey method-
surrounding cultural heritage and were also unsuited to urban ology makes extensive use of photographs, including digitally
contexts. It was decided therefore to design a new survey instru- altered versions, as well as maps, to test respondents’ aware-
ment which could be applied in a straightforward manner to ness of surroundings, to elicit perceived notions of quality and
historic urban settings. The survey was designed to be used to communicate proposed changes to the survey space to assess
in situ to test respondents’ awareness of their immediate sur- respondents’ attitude to changes within such historic environ-
roundings.The SUIT survey is a questionnaire in which each ments. An example of the use of altered images is shown in Fig. 2.
Table 2
Summary table of main findings from Old Town Square, Prague
Indicator of perception Measure
Main dimension of experience in space The majority of users were local to Prague but with a significant number of foreign visitors. The main
purpose for people being in the square was just to visit or to pass through, with a smaller number there due to
work nearby. Most people arrived by foot or public transport
Awareness of surroundings Users had a reasonable aware ness of their surroundings and demonstrated a high ability to orientate
themselves using visual images of the space
Mood Majority felt quite relaxed, happy and comfortable while in the square. Low levels of stimulation while in the
space
Perceived quality Majority perceived the space to be have a high quality; valuing individual architectural features the most.
Evidence of lack of attachment and ownership of the space by users
Awareness of change Reasonable awareness of change and ability to identify change
Attitude towards change Conservative attitude towards potential changes
Confidence in further consideration of opinion Low confidence in further consideration of opinion
C. Tweed, M. Sutherland / Landscape and Urban Planning 83 (2007) 62–69 67
Table 3
Summary table of main findings from Telč
Indicator of perception and attitude Measure
Main dimension of experience in space A majority of young people under 30, living in Telč, working near the square who visit the square regularly,
for shopping or business purposes
Public’s awareness of surroundings Very high levels of spatial cognition within the square and ability to self orientate using visual images of the
space
Mood Majority felt relaxed, happy and comfortable, but experienced fairly low levels of stimulation, whilst in the
square
Perceived quality of the environment Majority perceived the space to be of high quality, valuing individual architectural and built elements of the
space
Awareness of change Low awareness of, and ability to identify, changes introduced within the square
Attitude towards change Extremely negative attitude towards potential changes being introduced within the square
Confidence in further consideration of opinion Very low confidence in further consideration of own opinion in the introduction of changes in square
The main findings from the studies in the different cities are associated with introducing such a major development to an
summarised in Tables 1–3. historic space that has played a key role in the city’s social and
cultural past.
8. Conclusions about the efficacy of the survey tool Victoria Square was formally laid out in the early part of the
19th century (Gillespie and Royle, 2003). From its Victorian
The methodology has been successfully applied to a vari- heyday through to the first half of the 20th century, the Square
ety of European urban cultural settings and does not require was an attractive and vibrant public space featuring a theatre
expensive technology or software. It is based on digital pho- (the “Empire Theatre of Varieties”), markets, pubs, landscaping
tographs, which can be easily manipulated. The main drawback and seating. It was a busy, thriving thoroughfare for leisure and
is the time taken to complete the interviews within the survey commerce, and a prominent meeting place (Bardon and Burnett,
space: 12–15 min per interview. Photographs altered digitally 1996). The area fell into decline in the mid to late 20th century
are effective in conveying simple changes in the setting to the and before its demolition it had become underused, neglected
respondent. However, additional time and cost implications may and poorly integrated with the city centre.
follow if trying to introduce more complex or sophisticated pro- Since 1994 there has been a growing investor confidence in
posals. Judgement preference scales also proved effective in Belfast, largely because of greater political stability in North-
helping to aid the competency of respondents in making quality ern Ireland. Developers have been keen to pursue large-scale
assessments. Conclusions were reached in relation to the indi- proposals. The Dutch company, AM Developments, proposed
cators of perceived quality and importantly, showed that it is a retail-led but mixed-use scheme for Victoria Square, incorpo-
possible to provide quantitative data for a qualitative subject rating retail outlets, offices, leisure facilities, catering services,
area—“perceived value”. The survey also indicates the impor- and accommodating residential and civic and cultural activities.
tance of such techniques for eliciting context-sensitive values,
which may not otherwise be recognised. For example, in all of 10. The planning story
the cities, with the exception of Prague, respondents highlighted
the importance of visual activity and ambient concepts (such as The planning and legal journey undertaken by this develop-
sunshine, quietness, light or colours). Such factors are of course ment is characterised by delay and complicated legal processes.
difficult to protect under conventional practices such as listing. The scheme was first proposed in 1998/1999; an application for
The challenge is to interpret data collected through this planning permission, accompanied by an Environmental State-
method to help provide meaningful, easily adopted guidance ment, was submitted in June 2001, and this was finally approved
for authorities in the SEA/EIA process. Ultimately, by involv- in April 2003.The most contentious heritage issue was the pro-
ing the public in debate using tools such as this, the aim is to posed loss of a public house (The Kitchen Bar) and medieval
achieve greater sensitivity and sustainability in the introduction street entry (Telfair Street). Despite their prominent roles in the
of new constructions, additions and infill within historic towns, history of Victoria Square, these two built heritage features were
and thereby minimise negative impacts on the perceptions of not listed by the Environment and Heritage Service of Northern
those people who use the space. Ireland. The Kitchen Bar dates back to before 1880 and for much
of its history it was linked to the adjacent Empire Music Hall,
9. Case study—Victoria Square Belfast which closed in 1961. Performers such as Laurel and Hardy,
Charlie Chaplin, Lily Langtry, George Formby were patrons
The area around Victoria Square, a former civic market space, (Johnstone, 1951; Boyd and Heatley, 1998). Until recently, the
is now the focus of one of the largest city centre regeneration bar hosted events devoted to the telling of stories by colourful
schemes being undertaken in Europe—an ambitious £300 mil- local characters (Law, 2002). The Kitchen Bar and Telfair Street,
lion commercial project. The story of this new development therefore, are paramount examples of heritage by appropriation
provides an insight into the political and planning processes that fail to meet the requirements of heritage by designation.
68 C. Tweed, M. Sutherland / Landscape and Urban Planning 83 (2007) 62–69
The planning and legal processes started in the late 1990s demolished square, can such development be considered sus-
when Belfast City Council organised a formal competition to tainable?
decide between several competing retail development schemes Victoria Square is not an isolated example of the difficul-
for Belfast city centre. Four schemes were assessed using criteria ties surrounding large-scale urban development. Cremasco et
described in the Urban White Paper “Towards an Urban Renais- al. (2004) describe a different but equally compelling example,
sance” (The Urban Task Force, 1999). In 2000, the City Council the development of a new TGV station in Liège. The similarity
supported the Victoria Square scheme as the preferred option. with Victoria Square is that it has led to substantial demolition
Unlike in other UK cities, Belfast City Council is not the local in front of the existing Guillemins station,an area which was not
planning authority and as such is not responsible for the granting considered to be worthy of listing and yet formed part of the
of planning permission (this is a responsibility of the North- essential character of that part of the city.
ern Ireland Planning Service—a central government agency). It seems that listing is not always a good indication of the
However, following the City Council’s recommendations, the value of an historical area in a city. Ensembles are sometimes as
Department for Social Development (DSD) subsequently sup- important as individual buildings or monuments. Without proper
ported the Victoria Square proposals. consideration important contributions to urban character fall
A Public Inquiry was held in 2002 which, following Northern between the categories of listed building and conservation area,
Ireland planning law, considered objections only. This meant that qualifying as neither. As suggested above, the built environment
public involvement was difficult and limited to representative exerts a major influence on citizens’ everyday experiences, but
agencies. In the end, this Public Inquiry served as the only full interactions between people and the built environment are com-
legal inquiry into the scheme and as a result, the emphasis of plex and operate at different levels. The lack of understanding
the debate centred on the economic impacts and regeneration about these interactions is reflected in the absence of legislation
benefits of the proposal for the city. to address this heritage by appropriation. Including built cultural
The potential loss of heritage was raised by the Ulster heritage within the assessment procedures for sustainable devel-
Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS). The Society made its opment would mark progress towards a more integrated view of
concerns known about the scheme at the earliest opportunity the environmental and social dimensions.
and was involved in several discussions and negotiations with The survey method described above could form the basis of
the developer. UAHS made representations to the DSD suggest- a more detailed instrument for assessing the value of heritage
ing that the scheme should make more specific reference to the to different groups within a city and together with appropriate
built heritage and in particular that the Kitchen Bar and Telfair visualisation tools for new development (Tweed and Sutherland,
Street should be retained. The case was presented at the inquiry 2004) should facilitate greater public participation, which is
in 2002 and repeated in representations to the Planning Service essential in any discussion of urban sustainable development.
in respect of the planning application. It is clear from this research that to get beyond the black and
Despite the Inquiry Report of May 2002, recommending white arguments of old versus new we need to understand the
rejection of the scheme, the Minister for Social Development relations between people and the meanings enshrined in built
intervened in the process, voicing his concern about the loss of heritage. With a better understanding we are better placed to
the potential regeneration benefits not only to Victoria Square arrive at imaginative solutions that combine the benefits of built
but to the whole of Belfast City centre. As a result of this political heritage with those of new development, assuming the planning
intervention, the development scheme was approved, meaning processes can take these on board.
that the Planning Service decided not to hold a Public Inquiry
into the planning application (preventing any full public debate), Acknowledgments
and it was approved in April 2003.
The authors are indebted to their colleagues on the SUIT and
11. Concluding remarks: heritage and regeneration PICTURE projects and to colleagues in Belfast City Council
and the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society who have assisted
The Victoria Square scheme will undoubtedly make a positive in the collection of information about the Victoria Square case
contribution to Belfast city centre. The city will benefit econom- study. We are grateful for the financial support from the Euro-
ically and socially from this expansion of the existing retailing pean Commission for both projects. The research presented here
core, providing employment, commercial development, resi- could not have been undertaken without this funding.
dential units and leisure opportunities whilst regenerating a
neglected and derelict part of the city. The earlier incremental References
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