Who Owns the City?
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Project Summary
Development of online resource detailing property ownership across Northern Ireland Date September 2015 - February 2016 Location Online Partners Development Trusts Northern Ireland, CultureTech, Building Change Trust |
In 2015, PLACE partnered with Development Trusts NI to avail of CultureTech-led initiative Techies in Residence. Funded by Big Lottery Fund via Building Change Trust, Techies in Residence was a 15-month programme, launching in April 2015, to harness technical expertise from Northern Ireland’s leading technology firms to support new social innovation projects devised by local VCSE sector organisations.
PLACE & DTNI‘s collaboration is one of six projects selected for the initiative, and seeks to document, illustrate, and make public the answer to the question who owns the city?
About the concept
The ownership of city land and buildings has major implications for equity, democratic action, and social justice. Current trends indicate a shrinking of the public estate towards increasingly private ownership, and this shift has serious impacts on how development happens, how housing provision is managed, and how urban space can be used by citizens.
The privatisation of cities also disrupts the fabric of urban space, breaking up existing networks of streets and limiting public access to what was previously public space. The increased commodification of public space makes places more homogenous, more enclosed, and less responsive to the needs of its citizens.
We believe that information is powerful. We want to make information about the ownership of space in Northern Ireland readily, easily, and instantly available to the public. Both our organisations have been working with the third sector for years, responding to a bottom-up demand for better access to spaces, both public and private, for non-commercial use.
We want to create an online resource that will show an accurate representation of ownership, first in Belfast, but eventually across Northern Ireland. We want this resource to create a clear pathway to community ownership, civic action, and informed critique of planning and development processes.
Currently seeking support to continue the development of our digital platform to catalogue buildings both public and private taking account, where information is available, to show what buildings are used for and, if unoccupied, what purposes they might fulfil, economically, socially, culturally.
If you are interested in supporting this project, contact rebekah@placeni.org
PLACE & DTNI‘s collaboration is one of six projects selected for the initiative, and seeks to document, illustrate, and make public the answer to the question who owns the city?
About the concept
The ownership of city land and buildings has major implications for equity, democratic action, and social justice. Current trends indicate a shrinking of the public estate towards increasingly private ownership, and this shift has serious impacts on how development happens, how housing provision is managed, and how urban space can be used by citizens.
The privatisation of cities also disrupts the fabric of urban space, breaking up existing networks of streets and limiting public access to what was previously public space. The increased commodification of public space makes places more homogenous, more enclosed, and less responsive to the needs of its citizens.
We believe that information is powerful. We want to make information about the ownership of space in Northern Ireland readily, easily, and instantly available to the public. Both our organisations have been working with the third sector for years, responding to a bottom-up demand for better access to spaces, both public and private, for non-commercial use.
We want to create an online resource that will show an accurate representation of ownership, first in Belfast, but eventually across Northern Ireland. We want this resource to create a clear pathway to community ownership, civic action, and informed critique of planning and development processes.
Currently seeking support to continue the development of our digital platform to catalogue buildings both public and private taking account, where information is available, to show what buildings are used for and, if unoccupied, what purposes they might fulfil, economically, socially, culturally.
If you are interested in supporting this project, contact rebekah@placeni.org
