2010s The Next boom: What would you like for Dublin?

It will all depend on strengthening the planning framework.

It is already evident that commuter housing is suffering greater price falls (as would be expected by their significant lower rents) and relative prices and availability of housing and transport will be key determinants.

The policies seem to be there to densify the city but absent are policies to prevent development in inappropriate areas remote from the city and public transport. The amount of existing zoned land in inappropriate locations should mean that current trends will be difficult to reverse if and when an upturn comes after 2015.

Proper public transport.
We destroyed most of our original transport system during previous recessions, and completely and totally ignored the chance to build a modern one during our boom.
It’s time we did it properly, and just built a damn system.It has to be done.
We need to ensure that all the outlying commuter towns and villages have proper connections to each other and the city centre to try and reduce the cars in the city.We also need to make sure they’ve got proper facilities…enough schools, shops, sports facilities etc.If you go to small towns up in the Alps in Europe, they have sports centres that would put us to shame. And they are all public ones…pay a few euro and anyone can use the tennis courts/pools/gym/ice skating rinks etc. I know these towns have strong tourist economies, but we had more money than any of them and we couldn’t manage that in our city, let alone the outlying suburbs.
The problem is that too much depends on who is in power. And those in power are hard to convince.

I would strongly agree with you on Public sports facilites…I would be a lot more intersted in practicing sports in Dublin if it did not involve gym memberships or fees. I am in South America at the moment and there are so many public places where you can do sports! This goes beyond providing a green to kick a ball around on but providing playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, running tracks, exercise bars, soccer grounds (usually cement with goals on each end) I am sure the Irish government can think of something more imaginative, or maybe not. I would love that cycling lanes extended to the outlying countryside or god forbid that proper trails were developed like in the UK. We have such beautiful countryside that is not used enough by the Irish people IMHO.

Is this why we resort to the pub when we cant think of something to do or blame the weather for not venturing outside? Provide the facilites, advertise them and people will use them…i have no doubt

I’ve said it before but I’m convinced that the anti-social problems evident in Irish cities are compounded by the lack of facilities for young people. I would be in favour of tax incentives for youth centres with further tax writeoffs possible on their running costs. There’s too few options for younger people in this country.

@dan_d wrote:

Proper public transport.
We destroyed most of our original transport system during previous recessions, and completely and totally ignored the chance to build a modern one during our boom.
It’s time we did it properly, and just built a damn system.It has to be done.

Here here!

I doubt there will be a next boom, too many people stung by the last one. I can see a mini progression and hopefully this will bring infastructure we really need (transport and usable spaces being one) and not another shopping centre, bar / restaurants plus apartments.