The Greater Dublin Area continues to expand in a fragmented manner. People are moving to Cities for Jobs and Services and, the population can reasonably be expected to grow to 5,000,000 by 2,100. This is a mere 80 years away in our children's, grandchildren's, or great-grandchildren's lifetime! Most new developments are unthinkingly scattered on greenbelt lands in outer commuter areas . This results in frustratingly slow, carbon-polluting car journey times for many unfortunate victims of bad infrastructural planning!

 

World population has quadrupled in my lifetime! 500 million EU citizens are now at liberty to move to Dublin. So it is illusory to think that population growth of a vibrant international capital city can be stopped, (excepting by force). 

This website contains proposals for alternative Developments at Athlone, Cork, Limerick, Galway etc. but serious investment in well-planned infrastructure and services is required to attract people to these regional locations.

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Most would agree that the Dublin City Central Area, desperately needs more housing for its workers. But few would think of Dublin Bay as an ideal Site. Even though it is ideally located within walking and cycling distance of the City Centre. The reason, is of course, that the Bay is Tidal and seen as an unbuildable amenity. But global greenhouse gas emissions have already reached 400 ppm. It means a discourse of environmental contradictions is fast becoming irrelevant. 

 

There are of course, strong arguments for retaining Sandymount Strand and other such shrinking sites against the present flood-tide of ecological destruction. A nationwide policy of rehabilitation of habitats and species, with a rural grants system that supports rehabilitation rather than intensive greenhouse gas production and waterways eutrophication, is the environmentally sustainable alternative.

In my youth, seas and rivers were full of migratory fish and fields were full of nesting curlews, lapwings and skylarks. Would it be so again!

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Dublin City is under critical threat from rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns. A "Thames Barrier" type protective barrier at the mouth of the River Liffey is one option. A superior option, is to construct Sea Locks at the mouth of the Liffey by Poolbeg Lighthouse. Similar Sea Locks at IJmuiden already protect Amsterdam from flooding.

 

By constructing Sea Locks a new horizon of possibilities is opened up. The River Liffey is no longer tidal. So passenger ferries can ply between Clontarf, The Docklands, O'Connell Bridge and as far upstream as Memorial Park Weir without hindrance. By constructing a new 4.5km long Sea Wall, linking the Bull Wall with Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the entire sea frontage between Dun Laoghaire and Clontarf can be protected against flooding. More importantly, 16 square kilometres of land can be recovered from the sea. Enough land to house 160,000 people at the same density as Dublin City.

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The graphics below illustrate the Concept.