MAKING URBAN areas more walker-friendly is a simple but effective way of improving the quality of life in Irish towns and cities, a summer school examining the legacy of Celtic Tiger residential developments has heard.
Speaking at the week-long Making the Built Environment Worksummer school in NUI Maynooth, which finishes today, Ciarán Staunton of Fingal County Council said improving the "permeability" of urban neighbourhoods for pedestrians and cyclists could combat antisocial behaviour, reduce soaring levels of obesity, and lessen our impact on the environment.
Research carried out in the greater Blanchardstown area by Fingal County Council found that design dysfunctions in residential, commercial and industrial developments during the boom years reduced the overall “walkability” of the district.
This resulted in many local residents becoming more car-dependent to access nearby shops and services, increased fears over community safety, and led to a loss of civic engagement between community members.
Planning decisions favouring the construction of high railings and walls around estates, the closing up of alleyways between developments, and long walking distances between bus stops all inhibit permeability in Blanchardstown, the research found.
Using the latest technology in mapping, Blanchardstown was shown to have a “permeability” score of 1.9. A permeability score of one measures the shortest distance between two points or a straight line. What this means for Blanchardstown residents is that for every one kilometre separating two locations “as the crow flies”, they must walk almost twice that distance to get there.
The challenge now, Mr Staunton said, was to improve the permeability of the area with building more bridges, footpaths and access routes around recently-built estates, as well as investing in more lighting and CCTV cameras.
In interviews with 583 local households, the study found that while residents wanted greater ease of movement between, for example, their home and their children’s school, most were opposed to measures facilitating improved permeability in their neighbourhood. One example of this was vociferous local resistance to pulling down a stretch of wall separating the Springfield and Summerville estates.
Mr Staunton said he hoped the study could be used to engage the “public imagination” on permeability and its social benefits.