Cities divided by ethnic and cultural conflict need to identify, create and maintain some kind of shared identity amongst their inhabitants, if they wish to survive in competition with one another and not be submerged in tensions. Urban planning and city management can take these identities on board constructively and can assist them without allowing the city to deteriorate into a disconnected and hostile conglomeration. Belfast and Berlin are currently in the process of responding to this challenge: What will the implications be for town planners and how do they approach their task?
