The subdivisions of Belfast are a series of divisions of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

that are used for a variety of cultural, electoral, planning and residential purposes. The city is traditionally divided into four main areas based on the

cardinal points The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The four ...

of a compass, each of which form the basis of constituencies for general elections: North Belfast, East Belfast, South Belfast, and West Belfast. These four areas meet at Belfast City Centre. The second traditional divide is that formed by the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...

, with the northern bank of the River being part of

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, while the southern bank is part of

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. The city's subdivisions reflect the divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole, with areas tending to be highly segregated, especially in working-class neighbourhoods. Walls known as

peace lines The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican or nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British loyalist or unionist Protestant neigh ...

, originally erected by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

after August 1969, divide fourteen inner city neighbourhoods.

Townlands

The townlands of Belfast are the oldest surviving land divisions in the city. The city's

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

s are split between the two traditional

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

by the

, with those townlands north of the river generally in

, while those on the southern bank are generally part of

. Most of these townlands are older than the city itself, and most of their names are derived from the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

. As the city grew, these once-rural townlands were built upon and their boundaries became obscured. However, many of the city's streets, roads and housing estates have been named after them.

Electoral wards

The electoral wards of Belfast are subdivisions of the city, used primarily for statistics and elections.

has had 51 wards since May 1973, which were revised in May 1985 and again in May 1993. Wards are the smallest administrative unit in

and are set by the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner and reviewed every 8–10 years. The wards were redrawn for the 2014 elections. In elections to

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

, the 51 wards are split into nine District Electoral Areas (DEAs), each of which contains between five and seven wards, with the number of councillors it elects equal to the number of wards it contains. The current DEAs are: * Balmoral (6 wards) *

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

(6 wards) *

Court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

(5 wards) * Laganbank (5 wards) * Lower Falls (5 wards) * Oldpark (6 wards) * Pottinger (6 wards) * Upper Falls (5 wards) *

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

(formerly Victoria) (7 wards)

Constituencies

Belfast's electoral wards are used to create constituencies for elections to the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

and the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

. These constituencies are coterminous and are created by amalgamating wards into larger areas, with the city's 51 wards split between the four 'Belfast' constituencies, each of which contains between 11 and 14 wards, although these also contain wards from bordering local authorities. These constituencies follow the tradition of referring to parts of Belfast by the four

cardinal direction The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The ...

s: ; Belfast East * Belfast East (Assembly) * Belfast East (parliamentary) ; Belfast North * Belfast North (Assembly) * Belfast North (parliamentary) ; Belfast South * Belfast South (Assembly) * Belfast South and Mid Down (parliamentary) ; Belfast West * Belfast West (Assembly) * Belfast West (parliamentary)

Cultural quarters

The Belfast Quarters refer to a number of distinctive cultural zones within the city of Belfast, whose identities have been developed as a spur to tourism and urban regeneration. These "quarters" differ from the districts into which Belfast is divided. The term "quarter" does not refer to one fourth (or one quarter) of the city, nor is every area in the centre of Belfast part of one of the quarters. Instead, each "quarter" reflects something about a neighbourhood's history and locale, with the "Quarter" label being something that has come into general use in recent years. The quarters are as follows: * Cathedral Quarter * Gaeltacht Quarter * Linen Quarter * Market Quarter * Queen's Quarter * Smithfield and Union Quarter * Titanic Quarter * Library Quarter * Station Quarter (Planned)

Postcodes of Belfast

Belfast city centre is divided into two postcode districts, ''BT1'' for the area lying north of the City Hall, and ''BT2'' for the area to its south. The industrial estate and docklands ''BT3''. The rest of the Belfast

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

is divided in a broadly

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

system. Although ''BT'' derives from ''Belfast'', the

BT postcode area The BT postcode area, also known as the Belfast postcode area,Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) covers all of Northern Ireland and was the last part of the United Kingdom to be coded, between 1970 and 1974. This area is a group of ...

extends across the whole of Northern Ireland. ; Belfast City Centre : BT1 ''North of Belfast City Hall'' : BT2 ''South of Belfast City Hall'' : BT3 ''Industrial district'' ; East and South East of Belfast City Hall : BT4 ''East Belfast'' : BT5 ''East Belfast / Castlereagh'' : BT6 ''East Belfast / Castlereagh'' ; South and South West of Belfast City Hall : BT7 ''South Belfast'' : BT8 ''Outer South Belfast'' : BT9 ''South Belfast'' ; West South West and West of Belfast City Hall : BT10 ''South Belfast'' : BT11 ''West Belfast'' : BT12 ''West Belfast'' : BT17 ''Outer South West Belfast / Dunmurry'' ; West North West and North of Belfast City Hall : BT13 ''West Belfast'' : BT14 ''Outer North West Belfast'' : BT15 ''North Belfast''

Other areas of Belfast

General

* Belfast Metropolitan Area * Belfast City Centre * The Golden Mile * The Holyland

Housing estates

* Ballybeen * Braniel * Clarawood * Taughmonagh

Streets and roads

Antrim Road The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road (Northern Ireland), A6 road, a traffic rou ...

* Belmont Road * Castlereagh Road * Cluan Place * Crumlin Road * Cregagh Road * Donegall Road * Falls Road * Holywood Road *

Lisburn Road Lisburn Road is a main arterial route linking Belfast and Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn Road is now an extension of the "Golden Mile (Belfast), Golden Mile" with many shops, boutiques, wine bars, restaurants and coffee houses. The road ...

* Malone Road * Newtownards Road * Ormeau Road * Ravenhill Road * Sandy Row *

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast ...

Shaw's Road Shaw's Road is a road in west Belfast, Northern Ireland, connecting the Andersonstown Road with the Glen Road. Shaw's Road Gaeltacht Located on the road, is a small Gaeltacht ( Irish-speaking area) known colloquially as "The Irish Houses", and ...

* Shore Road * Short Strand * Springfield Road * Stranmillis Road * Westlink * Woodstock Road *

Whitewell Road The Whitewell Road is an interface area in north Belfast and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, and historically the site of occasional clashes between nationalists and loyalists. The Whitewell Road and the surrounding area is a residential co ...

References

{{Reflist rmy:Baro Belfast