'Shared space' as symbolic capital: Belfast and the 'right to the city'?

The relationship between people and space is a hugely complex one; the intertwined nature of how people interact with certain spaces and with each other within certain spaces both informs and is informed by the physical environment itself, historic and contemporary spatial practice, and the discourses about these spaces. In many cities, policies are developed and initiatives put in place to govern these complex relationships in a number of ways: access can be restricted to particular places at particular times to ensure safety; places where people gather can be monitored; the built environment can encourage different types of spatial practice and interaction between people. In Northern Ireland, 'shared spaces', or those spaces people from different ethno-national backgrounds can use, are the subject of intense attention from policymakers. This paper explores how policy is governing shared space, with a particular focus on how the term 'shared space' and the connotations of this term are used as a policy concept to legitimise how Belfast city centre is managed as a space.