The Dublin region is facing a period of intense development in the next decade. Even before the recent announcements on the Metro and Eastern Bypass, major infrastructural and capital projects were under way.
The ongoing water and drainage projects are vital in order to accommodate the housing planned for Dublin. The Luas and the Port Tunnel projects, though overdue, are scheduled to commence shortly.
There is already unprecedented pressure to deliver the ambitious National Development Plan objectives. Dublin is playing catch-up with other major cities without the luxury of developing the necessary infrastructure over a long timespan.
The two key issues facing the Dublin region are land use and transport. The way we deal with these issues now will dictate the way the region will develop over this century, as well as how and where people will live and work and the quality of life they will enjoy. The strategies on land use and transportation are connected and interdependent. Residents of sprawling, low-density housing inevitably become car dependent. Reliable public transport encourages and facilitates efficient land use. I would like to outline the implications of the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the region and to respond to some points raised by commentators, particularly on the issue of development centres and public transport.
Responsibility for the Strategic Planning Guidelines and the Dublin Transportation Initiative are shared among a number of bodies and agencies. This may not be the most effective way. Now is the time to look at the best mechanism of ensuring the objectives of both strategies are delivered.
Current indications are that Dublin's buoyant economy will continue in the immediate future. The economic strength of Dublin has extended beyond the city area and placed increasing pressure on infrastructure. The local authorities recognised the need for a strong coherent and co-ordinated planning strategy for the Greater Dublin Area, which includes counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. Along with the Department of the Environment and Local Government, they commissioned the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), which were published in March 1999.
The strategy divides the area into the metropolitan and the hinterland areas. The thrust of the strategy is to consolidate growth inside the metropolitan area, thus combating the undesirable effects of urban sprawl, while encouraging the growth of selected areas in the hinterland. This will assist the development of a modern, efficient and attractive public transport system. The strategy has received widespread support as the best way forward for the Greater Dublin Area, balancing the need to arrest the pattern of sprawl with the ongoing development of the hinterland area.
It was selected from a range of models and options as the most balanced, appropriate and acceptable approach for the sustainable development of the Dublin and mid-east regions. The guidelines recognise that growth, in employment as well as population, is taking place outside the metropolitan area. They recommend that future development be concentrated in the nine development centres on strategic transportation routes. These towns will be separated from each other and from the metropolitan area by strategic green belts, within which development will be limited to local need.
The centres were selected because of their potential to grow into self-sustaining communities. Employment and residential functions would be balanced over a period of time to develop significant levels of economic activity and employment. It is worth noting that Naas, in particular, has already developed a significant employment base. These centres will of course continue to generate commuting to Dublin and the strategy is to divert as much of this commuting as possible to public transport.
Naturally, the guidelines have attracted comment and some criticism. They recommend that over 70 per cent of the additional households should be concentrated in the metropolitan area. Some commentators have suggested that the guidelines should have placed an even greater proportion of future growth into the immediate Dublin city area. Heavily concentrated development undoubtedly benefits public transport. However, a higher concentration is not sustainable as it would not meet the needs of the mid-east region, one of the most economically dynamic parts of the country, nor accommodate the levels of growth being generated within that region. In essence it would continue to compound the dominance of Dublin in relation to other towns in the region. Reducing choice in the housing market and geographically limiting future development could create even greater pressure on land prices. Overdeveloping the metropolitan area could have a detrimental effect on those living there by reducing the amount of open space.
Twenty-five years ago Dublin city had a larger population than today. However, it is the number of future households, rather than the number of people, that is the real challenge. Households today are much smaller than households in the past, and the number of households in Dublin city has risen steadily over the years. In 1971 there were just over 140,000 households but by 1996 this had risen to over 173,000, and current indications are that by 2011 there will be 211,000 households.
The guidelines have been criticised for not seeking to redirect some of the growth of the Greater Dublin Area to other parts of the country. The wider issue of balanced regional development is currently being considered as part of the National Spatial Strategy commissioned by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.
Doubts have been expressed about the capacity and suitability of existing institutional arrangements to implement the strategy. At present, land use planning, traffic management and provision of road space are within the remit of local government. Public transportation is within the remit of the Department of Public Enterprise and the CIE group. The Government has decided to reorganise institutional arrangements for public transport (including limited bus deregulation). There are currently two separate co-ordinating bodies for transport and land use. The DTO co-ordinates the activities of all agencies involved in the 10-year-old Dublin Transportation Initiative; there is a separate steering group to monitor implementation of the Strategic Planning Guidelines.
In the long term, it would make sense for the Dublin Transportation Initiative and the Strategic Planning Guidelines to be the responsibility of one agency. This new body should carry sufficient clout to ensure both strategies are implemented in full and in time. We have the strategies and the financial resources now. Given the right institutional framework, we can deliver. We will not be forgiven for failure.
John Fitzgerald is Dublin City Manager and Chairman of the Strategic Planning Guidelines Steering Committee.
