ABSTRACT
As noted in the Introduction, this volume has its roots in the 1995 Congress of the International Federation of Housing and Planning. At that time Belfast was enjoying the transformed atmosphere created by the declaration of cease-fires by local paramilitary terrorist groups. Although the IRA terminated their cease-fire later in the same year, it was subsequently reinstalled. Following this, in April 1998, an agreement was signed between the British and the Irish governments and many (though not all) of the Northern Ireland political parties. This (the ‘Belfast’ or ‘Good Friday’ Agreement) put in place a new set of structures that was intended to provide the basis for the ‘accommodation’ of what otherwise seemed to be irreconcilable differences. Of particular significance for our present discussion was the affirmation in the Agreement of ‘the right to freely choose one’s place of residence’ and a declaration that ‘an essential aspect of the reconciliation process is the promotion of a culture of tolerance at every level of society, including initiatives to facilitate and encourage integrated education and mixed housing [my emphasis] (Belfast Agreement, 1998, p.16 and p. 18). All this is to be achieved in an environment where ‘… equal opportunity in all social and economic activity, regardless of class, creed, disability, gender or ethnicity’ is a fundamental human right (Belfast Agreement, 1998, p. 18).
