A Spatial Vision for Dublin
Thursday the 11th of June 2009
The City and its Inhabitants
It is a major challenge for Dublin to retain and further intensify the population in the city. A particular challenge is to attract families to live in apartments. New housing typologies need to be provided which are attractive for families to live in the city
centre areas. Based on examples abroad, the Georgian house should form the starting point for developing such a typology.
The City and its Physical Form
A weakness in the debate to date about densification and high buildings has been the suggestion that high rise development will necessarily have to be in or near the city centre area. The vision presented here is to develop strategic locations in the Greater
Dublin Area identified for high density, high rise development. These locations should be based on the criteria of high quality transport access and landmark locations in the city region.
The City and Mobility
Access to an international airport is a critical condition for a successful city and this has been a major weakness in the case of Dublin. Even with the development of the Metro connection to Dublin Airport, the maximum accessibility is not guaranteed.
While Dublin airport is unlikely to seek a position of hub airport, it is of interest to consider the benefits of direct access to the national railway network from the national airport.
In a city region which is likely to continue to be relatively low density and extending over a wide area, it may be difficult and expensive to achieve a metro type system of public transport. Alternative solutions more appropriate may be the idea to concentrate urban development along existing and proposed public transport routes, in particular railway lines and also options of high quality bus transport (so-called bus rapid transit).
The City in its Region
The challenge for Dublin is to reduce the negative impacts of the sprawling nature of the city while achieving critical mass to retain and develop the scope to operate as a global city. A possible answer lies in the policy to retain a relatively compact city but increase significant urban development outside the city that is well connected with the city. Rather than the radial pattern of sprawl that we have seen in the past this should be considered in a linear pattern along the east coast ultimately leading to
a Waterford-Dublin-Belfast corridor. This is known as the network city approach. Such a corridor policy would integrate all settlements, transport routes and in between areas into the policy.
The City and its Economy
While an integrated transport policy must ensure that the dominance of the car in the city centre is removed, congestion is reduced and that public transport alternatives are available, continued accessibility of the city including the city centre to the car borne visitor is important. The city must remain accessible for cars and thereby competitive compared to other cities. There is a difference between 'accessibility' and 'mobility'. By retaining accessibility for those who choose to use the car, the city can provide choice and competitiveness.
The City and its Ecology
Dublin suffers from poor waste infrastructure. The lack of hazardous waste infrastructure and thermal treatment facilities result in higher waste disposal costs than is the case in other cities. Biodiversity and awareness of biodiversity can contribute to the perception of the city. Planning strategies that are exclusively focused on demand factors (e.g. demographics) can lead to failure. A different approach is to focus on the strategic elements of the city region which can lead to specific policies in order to exploit the full potential. This is the 'supply based approach'. For the Dublin region one could imagine policies directly aimed at maximising the development potential of the following strategic spatial characteristics - Dublin Mountains and Dublin Bay.
The City and its Amenities
High quality amenities improve the attractiveness of a city for both business and personal satisfaction. Dublin has the river Liffey, the canals and the docks in the Docklands area. The challenge is often to unlock unrealised resources or to tap into a traditional 'image' of a city in question. Festivals can make a significant contribution to the quality of life in a city. Good urban spaces must be a top priority to facilitate such festivals. Good examples of existing and potential new spaces are a pedestrianised College Green, Parliament Street, 'urban stage' in front of the Custom House, Mountjoy Square.