Walled City Neighbourhood
YES! Publications along with our partners in Holywell Trust and The Junction have established a consortium for the development of the Walled City Neighbourhood. The consortium is currently hosting a series of Citizens Forums inviting people from different walks of life to have their say on the future of our city centre.
What is the Walled City Neighbourhood?
Derry/Londonderry has become an increasingly divided city. The west bank of the River Foyle is now almost totally made up of people from Nationalist / Republican / Catholic community, with only the Fountain representing the Unionist / Loyalist / Protestant tradition.
Symbolically the city is of great significance for people from all sides of the cultural / political dispute.
A City to be successful in the 21st Century has to be a place of cultural diversity and enrichment. Our city is changing very quickly with many new cultures coming here to live and work - we must prepare ourselves for this new era of change in a way that respects and nurtures difference and diversity.
Proposal
We propose to develop the city-centre within the walls as a new neighbourhood in which people from many backgrounds choose to live together.
To create a Walled City Neighbourhood we need to have:
- 1. Consultation with and consensus of the people of the city. Ask what people think. Get their agreement.
- 2. Co-operation and collaboration between politicians, statutory and voluntary organisations. Get politicians and decision makers to agree on the idea and to agree to work together on it. Lobbying for support.
- 3. Central government support and funding. Get the money and resources together.
- 4. Commitment to the idea and a championing of the cause by a well-resourced team. A team of people to take the idea on and make it happen!
The Walled City Neighbourhood will be designed throughout and managed in such a way that it's replication throughout the rest of the city and beyond will be seen to be a natural organic outcome.
The ancient walled city as a place of diversity and learning provides an opportunity for the development of a 21st Century Charter incorporating the painful learning of the last half century and preparing the way for a city of the future which visitors and citizens alike will be proud to invest in and belong to.
The Walled City Neighbourhood will be a dynamic creation of the people of this area and will be an obvious demonstration of the citizen’s commitment to a bright future for this city.
To find out about the next Forum event near you and to hear more about our project contact us on the details below.
