Intercensal population change in the Belfast urban area 1971-91: the correlates of population increase and decrease...

"This paper analyses population change in the Belfast Urban Area (BUA) [of Northern Ireland] between 1971 and 1991 in its socio-economic context to understand the nature of urban social change. Although considering religious factors as a cause of population change, the research compares the BUA with other urban areas and relates developments in Belfast to some literature on sociospatial polarisation and the ¿underclass'.... The results suggest that population change is not driven by explicitly religious factors, the relationship between religion and socio-economic well-being has changed, and that changes in religious mixing and segregation occur in many contexts. The BUA is like other urban areas, albeit with unique features arising from the influence of religion."