Building initiative offers a critique of development strategies in Belfast since the peace process, demonstrates alternative models from elsewhere and aims to open up paths of initiative for civil enterprise to resume its formative role in the built environment in Northern Ireland. By ‘civil enterprise’ we mean economic, social, and political development that creates diverse, accessible, integrated places. We propose that this requires a manifold approach:

1. The refinement of institutions and instruments of governance (i.e. top-down)
2. The development of inclusionary practices of citizenship to challenge ‘cultural clientelism’ (i.e. bottom-up);
3. Capacity-building for creative solutions in the construction industry (i.e. sideways).

Before discussing these proposals in more detail, let us first look at contemporary Belfast, at the spaces and buildings that have accompanied its recent resurgence. The perception of Belfast is in transition from that of a 'troubled' city to a 'lived' city. To what extent is this transformation real; is it simply superimposed on intractable conditions; is it only imagined?

Building Initiative is a project by Antje Buchholz, Miriam de Burca, Gregor Harbusch, Orla McKeever, Deirdre McMenamin, Conor Moloney, Jürgen Patzak-Poor and Dougal Sheridan. It is supported by the University of Ulster and the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Special Initiative for Architecture and the Built Environment.