How Useful is it to Understand Belfast as a Global City

Abstract

The globalisation paradigm has emerged within contemporary social thought as the preferred framework of many urban theorists. This essay discusses the relative usefulness of understanding Belfast as a ‘global’ city and argues that the dominance of ‘Troubles talk’ and discourses of ‘neutral’ space and post-Good Friday Agreement stability have often been explored at the expense of such an understanding. Focusing on a few select examples, most notably the ambitious ‘Titanic Quarter’ development in the city’s docklands, the essay attempts to reposition Belfast within a wider global context by examining how a globalised economy, culture and polity are manifest in the city. In doing so however, it is acknowledged that a wholly global theory cannot hope to fully consider the complex nature of urban life. By drawing attention to those investigating the local and every-day, the essay concludes that a single theoretical lens can offer only a partial understanding. Future research regarding Belfast, it is suggested, should also remain mindful of the seemingly mundane ‘practices’ of the city and the subjective experience of individuals, in order to offer the most comprehensive and nuanced understanding possible.