Dublin will not become a high-rise city, even though higher building clusters or a limited number of landmark towers at strategic locations have become an accepted part of the planning process, according to the city manager.
Addressing the Society of Chartered Surveyors' annual conference yesterday, John Fitzgerald said attitudes to higher-density residential development had altered dramatically in recent years, and almost 80 per cent of new homes in Dublin now fell into this category.
However, there was still resistance from developers to planning requirements for good design and the provision of family-type apartments with associated facilities, as well as difficulties in getting buy-in from other State agencies to the concept of strategic planning.
Past failures to invest in good public transport had been the single most significant blockage in the development process, although the Government's new Transport 21 strategy would help to fill in some of the pieces of the jigsaw, "and we're going in the right direction," he said.
But the society's president, Derry Scully, said that with the Greater Dublin Area's population forecast to increase by 500,000 over the next 15 years, it could not be allowed to continue to sprawl and colonise adjoining counties with low-density, haphazard development.
He cited a US study showing that building at a density of eight houses per acre would only support a minimal bus service, whereas 20 units per acre would support a rail station, and 30 units per acre would support a highfrequency commuter service, cutting car-dependency.
However, Mr Scully conceded that early high-rise schemes, such as Ballymun, had given this form of development "a bad press". Modern high-rise buildings, on the other hand, were being designed with much more flair and imagination, taking green issues on board.
Dr Brendan Williams, lecturer at the department of planning and environmental economics at UCD, titled his paper High-rise, Low-rise, Observe your Sons in Ulster, a reference to the fact that Dublin's commuter belt now extends for 100km (62 miles) into Cavan and Monaghan.
The national surge in house completion figures has been particularly evident in the outer parts of Leinster and the midlands catering largely for Dublin commuters, he said, adding that this had been preceded by the location of business parks and shopping centres along the M50.
Strong arguments existed that the focus of regeneration efforts should now include suburban renewal, Dr Williams said. However, he conceded that moves in this direction ran into significant public opposition because of the absence of benefits for existing residents.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche said there was a need to consolidate the growth of the Dublin metropolitan area, the city and suburbs, while at the same time concentrating development in the hinterland in "strategically placed, strong and dynamic" urban centres.
He emphasised that Dublin's key role as a driver of national development had been recognised in the Government's National Spatial Strategy and would have to be supported and enhanced.
"If you want a car to run smoothly, you don't kill the engine," he said.
On the issue of tall buildings, the Minister cautioned that they must be designed, constructed and operated safely. The need for prompt evacuation and access for the emergency services had to be factored into the layout of the building and the surrounding site.
In this context, he noted that a code of practice on the design of high-rise buildings in Dublin and elsewhere currently being developed by the Department of the Environment and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland should be available by the end of 2006.
