‘Is-Suq tal-Belt’ : urban regeneration or the creation of a new ‘market’?

Abstract

By looking at the revitalization project undertaken in the Valletta Covered Market, known as Is-Suq tal-Belt, from a sociological point of view, this dissertation will delve deeper into the causes and effects of regeneration projects on historically-significant spaces. This will be done by attaining the perceptions of past users of is-Suq tal-Belt who have directly experienced the changes it has undergone and are still making use of it today. From the narratives provided, a comparison can be made between how the marketplace has shifted in its composition throughout the years and how its current operation has been received by those who either live in the vicinity, used to shop there or owned stalls in the Suq in its past days. This dissertation will be focusing on how gentrifying and regenerating processes come into play when a neglected site become functional again, and how these in turn affect the sense of place its users develop as they experience the location and the functions and practices associated with the site. The element of nostalgia is also included as part of the discussion in its role of recollections of a place which has been present in Valletta, and consequently Malta’s, quotidian history for many years.