The Connswater Community Greenway: 15 Years of Research, Partnership and Impact

The Connswater Community Greenway (CCG) is a 9 km linear park in East Belfast connecting communities, parks, rivers, and people. Originally conceived as part of a flood alleviation scheme, the Greenway has evolved into a major example of how urban regeneration can improve health, wellbeing, and equality. Developed through partnership between EastSide Partnership, Belfast City Council, the Department for Infrastructure and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Greenway was designed with local residents to ensure that social, environmental, and health benefits were embedded from the outset. Led by Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration with local partners, the Connswater Community Greenway has become an internationally recognised 'living laboratory' for understanding how urban regeneration influences physical activity, wellbeing and inequalities - a real-world setting where researchers and communities work together to appreciate how changes to the urban environment can transform daily life.