A goal of Dublin's Docklands is that well-funded cultural activity will foster a sense of community. Is this likely to work, asks Brian O'Connell

There's something about walking through Dublin Docklands that lends itself to flashbacks from The Truman Show. Somewhere in the midst of the carefully planned piazzas, express barbers and lunchtime laundry services, it's easy to picture Truman Burbank falling to his knees goading the CCTV gods - "Somebody help me, I'm being spontaneous!" Maybe it's the intricate planning, artistically austere playgrounds, or delicately designed gardens that create an atmosphere of predictability. Yet all that may be about to change.

Just like the waterfronts of Vancouver or Boston, Dublin Docklands is a large-scale development project where culture and urban regeneration have made for uncomfortable, yet necessary, bedfellows. The hope in all of these projects is that well-funded cultural impetus will help foster a sense of community, vital in harbouring long-term sustainability. Culture, and the arts in particular, is now central to urban regeneration programmes across the new Europe. But does it work?

As of yet, definitive analysis of the liaison between commerce and culture has yet to be put forward. One school of thought has it that linking major arts events to urban regeneration may attract prospective tenants to an area, but does little to foster sustainable arts programming. Glaswegians, though, would beg to differ. In 1990 Glasgow used the European Capital of Culture designation to prove that culture could be harnessed as a catalyst for urban regeneration. Glasgow led and others followed, yet suspicions between business planners and arts practitioners prevail.

Dublin architect Simon Walker, for instance, questions the images used in promoting new developments, where necessary public services are in short supply. "In Irish society today, space, or property, to give it its more widely understood term, is the new pornography. There are serious issues about docklands development in Dublin, which are not going to be explained away by images of yachts tacking past skyscrapers of steel and glass and brises-soleil."

One of those responsible for forging the new image of the Docklands communities is Docklands artistic director Mary McCarthy. Hers is a unique role in Irish cultural sectors, as such an integral part of a major urban redevelopment project. "It's the first arts manager appointment within the Dublin Docklands authority, which is fitting given that the project is now mid-way through," says McCarthy - the idea being that as soon as the cranes move out, the carnivals move in.

"A big concern for this and other similar projects is providing quality of life. Once the building is done, the question is, how do you bring people together from very different communities?" says McCarthy. "The Docklands have now decided, and quite rightly, that culture and social community will be a big part of their plans for the next eight years. It's never been done on such a scale in Ireland before."

Aside from co-ordinating long-term projects, such as the relocation of the Abbey Theatre to George's Dock, and planning the new 2,000-seater Daniel Libeskind-designed Grand Canal Theatre in the Docklands, McCarthy has also been busy weaving the Docklands into the artistic landscape of Dublin.

So, in the coming weeks, the Dublin Fringe Festival's Spiegeltent will be pitched at George's Dock, while art exhibitions, public works and lunchtime concerts sponsored by the Docklands will take shape. The plan over the coming years is to continue to engage directly with the residents of the area, responding to their cultural needs. As well as that, McCarthy and her team are actively trying to source buildings within the Docklands that can be used as long-term space for artists to work.

"There's no point in us re-inventing the wheel: there are some great festivals out there and a lot of good companies around us who we intend to work with," says McCarthy. "We are also identifying locations where the Docklands will be able to have cultural infrastructure. We are committed to facilitating artists living and working in this area."

As far back as the early 1990s, units in the Docklands were earmarked for cultural activity. One of the early buildings in the development, known as Stack A, was at one stage seen as potential additional exhibition space for Imma. It was eventually deemed unsuitable because of the level of renovation needed to be done. Recently, the space, now known as CHQ, has housed exhibitions and theatre performances from time to time, yet Meadows and Byrne are expected to take over the lease of the building in the near future.

Criticisms remain that the Docklands is not doing enough to secure non-commercial arts space in the area, and one of McCarthy's main challenges will be to strike a balance between commercial and non-profit arts ventures.

"At present we have many one-off arts projects in our plan," says McCarthy. "We have also given a commercial space to the Cill Rialaig centre in Kerry who will open a new gallery called Arts Retreat in the coming months. Although it will be a commercial gallery, showing young Irish and international work, Dublin Docklands is subsidising the rent, as we know commercial rents down here are hard to meet for non-profit galleries.

"My hope would be that artists and art become part of the offering of the Docklands and that both activity and artists would be integrated. So we would like to see artists, from musicians to actors, living and working in the area, and having the opportunity to make work and respond to the immediate environment."

Many developers are realising that incorporating a strong and vibrant artistic strand into their building projects makes for more attractive living spaces. Over-reliance on office space and business conferencing hotels can very quickly turn residential developments into ghost towns after 5pm and at weekends. For Diego Fasciati, international arts development officer with the Arts Council, the problems facing the Docklands are similar to those witnessed on a national and international level.

"The challenge, I think, is to find a balance between commercial and non-profit arts ventures, and to ensure that any programme instigated can survive in the long term. For instance, if temporary studio space is allocated, then the property will rise in value in a few years' time and it may be tempting to sell it on, so that artists would be left with nothing. Whatever space is appointed for arts, it needs to be secured long-term."

Docklands does have the advantage of learning from Dublin's other cultural quarter - Temple Bar. As Fasciati explains, Temple Bar may have fulfilled its cultural remit, yet there are lessons to be learned.

"Temple Bar is still developing as a cultural quarter and it will remain an important part of the cultural life of the city. But you do need to find the right mix; you can't just open 20 super-pubs. You have to create a welcoming atmosphere for everyone."

Docklands resident Conor Browne has been living in the area for six years, first as a tenant and more recently as an apartment owner. He is part of the estimated 3,000 new owner residents in the area since 2002, bringing the total population in the Docklands to just over 22,000. Many are young professionals with time on their hands and open to engaging with cultural activity.

Browne lives over the Laguna Bar in the Custom House Square complex. When we meet, it's 5.30pm on a Tuesday evening and, aside from two businessmen poring over contracts, the bar is quiet. Two weeks previously, a Luke Kelly tribute night (Kelly grew up nearby) saw the place packed to the rafters. The challenge, as Browne sees it, for the cultural programmers in the Docklands is to programme events that cater for both communities in the area: those who have moved in recently and those more established communities such as the Pearse Street and East Wall residents.

"There is a growing sense of community here, which is still evolving and very different to what would have been here previously," says Browne. "There are a lot more events and activities being organised in the past few years to keep people in the area. There is some very good work being done to create a landscape that has a balance between commercial development infrastructure and space for cultural events. The square out front here is one of the best in the city, and we have had various markets and community events as well as public art features in the area. The challenge is to cater to the evolving new identity in the area while at the same time holding onto the old identity."

For Pauline Bradshaw, life has come full circle. Both she and her husband grew up in the Docklands area, but left to raise a family in the 1980s. They have now returned with their three children and bought an apartment in the Galley Quay development. The kids are revelling in the activities available to them in the area, although Pauline feels that perhaps new residents could be better informed of cultural events.

"We were a bit worried about the children in the beginning," she says, "but there was no need because I don't see them! Activities go on during the day - there's lots on for kids in the area. We're very happy with what they're putting in here now, we couldn't really ask for any more. My husband and myself are looking forward to being able to go and walk five minutes down the road to see a play or a film. It will make a hell of a difference.

"I know there have been festivals and events put on in the area, although we're not here long enough to have attended. We don't hear about these things directly - we haven't had any leaflets or fliers about the Fringe festival, for instance. The only reason we know about it is through the kids. Stuff could maybe be advertised a bit better. All in all, though, we're delighted with the move."

One member of the arts community who has also benefited from moving to the area is Lea Flanagan, owner of the Lemon Street Gallery, formerly located on Grafton Street. When rental prices in Grafton Street became untenable, Flanagan chanced upon a Docklands site overlooking the river, and thus far the close proximity of a well-heeled business community to her gallery has proved fruitful.

This month, the gallery hosts an exhibition by Bea McMahon that engages directly with structures in the Docklands. Flanagan, though, feels the area still has some way to go before a vibrant community spirit is created.

"This is a business district first and foremost," she says, "Saturdays are still very quiet down here. For instance, we open 8am-5pm, Monday to Friday, and just 11am-4pm on a Saturday. It has picked up a little on weekends - a few people who have bought apartments have come in. But mostly it's the business community. We're committed to the area, though, and looking to develop an art-trail for instance. There are a few galleries down here now, so we will be able to work together in collaboration with the Docklands Authority."

Flanagan's gallery is evidence that arts initiatives have a long-term future in the Docklands as long as they grow and evolve with the changing demographic.

One of the big challenges for the cultural programmers at the Docklands, and indeed Ireland as a whole, is to engage populations who may not normally go to art events. "No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive," wrote Ghandi. It remains to be seen whether the programmers at Dublin Docklands can sidestep exclusivity, encourage spontaneity, and fully engage with the evolving population on Dublin's waterfront.

• For more information on Docklands events, see www.dublindocklands.ie