The regeneration of Belfast city centre has been heralded as an example of international success at a European conference on urban affairs.Hosted by the Institute of Urbanism and the City of Venice, the four-day Urban Promo is an annual event designed to promote innovation and boost investment in cities world-wide.

Led by a team from the University of Ulster, including Ciaran Mackel and Alona Martinez-Perez, in partnership with Belfast City Council, the Titanic Quarter, the Department of Social Development and PLACE Architecture and Built Environment Centre, Belfast was chosen as a showcase city for the event.The delegation including lectures from Ulster’s Faculty of Art, Design and the Built Environment, Mike Smith, Chairman of the Titanic Quarter and representatives from Belfast City Council presented Belfast@Venice – an initiative designed to highlight the city’s most relevant urban transformation projects to stakeholders from the public and private sectors across Italy.

Alona Martinez-Perez, a lecturer from the School of the Built Environment, advised planners and politicians from across Europe about the projects undertaken in Belfast in recent years – including Ulster’s contribution to city centre regeneration through its Greater Belfast Development Plan.“Universities are often seen as one of the key drivers of the regeneration of a city – and nowhere is this more evident right now than in Belfast with the development of the University of Ulster’s signature building in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter,” said Mrs Martinez-Perez.

“The fact that Belfast has been invited to take part in this global urban regeneration event is a testament to the transformation that has occurred here in recent years.“The Urban Promo provided an international platform for government, private sector and civil society leaders to learn from the success of the regeneration of Belfast.”

For further information regarding the Urban Promo conference visit: http://www.urbanpromo.it/nuovosito/index.php?page=urbanpromo-2010-EN