River Liffey, which flows into Dublin Bay

Big urban plans for Dublin

Under the direction of its city planner, Mr. Dick Gleeson, plans are underway to make Dublin (Ireland) one of the best city centres in Europe by 2016.

The vision includes uninterrupted walkways and cycle paths taking advantage of Dublin Bay, and redeveloped areas being linked by a continuous pedestrian route.

Council is undertaking a feasibility study to examine whether traffic could be banned in certain areas of downtown, and transit routes could be expanded. Council is also preparing an overall area plan that will be put on public display for residents to review and comment on.

City Planner Dick Gleeson, driving all of this redevelopment, has said that: “If we are going to significantly address the challenge of the sprawl of Dublin, we are going to have to look at the consolidation of the city in a sustainable and well-designed way.”

Urban form – in particular residential and employment densities – influence local energy consumption. Cities with higher population densities can take advantage of efficient ways to distribute energy and heat, and utilize transportation modes that are more energy-efficient and produce less carbon dioxide emissions. For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/ccp.

Dublin is one of 159 local governments in Europe. that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. To learn more about ICLEI and its activities in Europe, please visit www.iclei.org/europe.

Source: “Redesigning Dublin”, The Sunday Business Post, 7 January 2007.