Hidden Voices, Healing Spaces: Centring Women in Healing, Peace, and Policy Reform in Belfast’s Interface Communities

Abstract

This research investigates how planning and the built environment can contribute to social healing and peacebuilding in contested cities through a gendered analysis of women’s roles in post-conflict urban communities. Using Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a case study, the research explores how peace manifests spatially and assesses the extent to which reparative planning can support healing processes in communities divided by interface barriers. The study employs a qualitative methodology including focus groups with women’s organisations, semi-structured interviews with policymakers, civil servants, community workers, and political representatives, as well as policy analysis. The research examines the lived experiences of women in contested communities, evaluates local and national peacebuilding policies, and investigates the relationship between the built environment and peacebuilding. Findings indicate that women play a significant role in sustaining grassroots peacebuilding activities and creating healing spaces, despite their contributions often being overlooked in dominant narratives. The study argues that healing spaces offer an important framework for understanding post-conflict urban transformation and demonstrates the value of participatory and reflexive research methods when engaging with communities affected by conflict. It further highlights the role of planners and policymakers in facilitating reparative planning and promoting inclusive, shared environments in divided cities.