Sir, – In relation to Owen Keegan's call for turning over green spaces to housing, I have to say that one of Dublin's charms is precisely the green spaces available in the city ("Green spaces should be used to build houses, says city chief", October 21st).
I now live in an overcrowded city, Bogotá, with little green space, and most of that concentrated in the wealthier areas, and the contrast with Dublin when I go back on a visit could not be greater.
Green spaces make the city liveable. There are green spaces in many working-class areas that have few other amenities. – Yours, etc,
GEARÓID Ó LOINGSIGH,
Calle,
Bogotá,
Colombia.
Sir, – Dublin City Council chief executive Owen Keegan refers to the opposition to high-density apartment buildings among existing homeowners as “a lack of inter-generational solidarity”.
However, I don’t believe there is widespread apathy evident among homeowners in relation to the struggles of younger people in terms of securing homes.
On the contrary, it should be borne in mind that many of the established “lucky generation” have members of their own families who are or would be predicted to be accommodation seekers in Dublin.
The chief executive and other officials should take into account a widespread disenchantment with the vision of families being raised in smaller apartments within taller buildings, and instead of being critical of those who hold reservations should consider measures to ameliorate those concerns.
I would be interested in hearing the chief executive’s views on ensuring, for example, architectural congruency in a higher-density context.
High-rise buildings exist in Paris that are renowned for their uniform compatibility with the surrounding fabric of the city.
With the expectation that developers would very independently each produce their own architectural proposals there is a danger that the city could quickly be adversely transformed by too many abruptly built, monolithic Lego-brick jamboree-style designs incompatible aesthetically to each other.
The London housing design guide is one approach that should be considered for transposition to a Dublin context, featuring encouragement of more family-friendly designs, less like double-loaded hotel room corridors on the inside, and more complementary to the existing surroundings on the outside.
If some of those measures are deployed then less wariness from existing residents may be observed. – Yours, etc,
Cllr JOHN KENNEDY,
Dún Laoghaire
Rathdown County Council,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – I disagree with chief executive of Dublin City Council Owen Keegan’s suggestion that any of Dublin’s green spaces and parklands should be considered for the development of housing “in the public interest”.
Yes, Dublin desperately needs additional housing, and so it is time to start constructing far higher buildings rather than touch any of our green areas that are in dire need of investment to enhance their health, social and amenity value for local communities. – Is mise,
JASON POWER,
Dartry,
Dublin 6.