2.1 The Vision for Dublin

This city development plan arrives at a time of a return to economic and employment growth at national and city level, and in a context of economic uncertainty at a global level. Prior to the recession, fifteen years of economic growth and regeneration transformed the capital city economically, socially and physically. The current return to economic growth is an opportunity to create a vision for the city that will not only facilitate economic growth and enterprise and employment generation, but will seek to ensure that this growth takes place in a coherent, sustainable manner for the benefit of the city, the region and the country.

The city must, collectively through its citizens and civic leaders, develop a shared vision of what sort of city we aspire to, not only for the six-year lifetime of a development plan, but for the next 25 to 30 years. It is only by developing a shared vision for Dublin that we can deliver the core strategies of each successive development plan as crucial stepping stones towards the long-term vision. This development plan is not so much based on short-term forecasts, but on ‘backcasting’ from a 30-year vision. Without a vision which enjoys broad support, short-term, often competing, interests will prevail, ultimately to the detriment of the city.

The vision for the city is that: Within the next 25 to 30 years, Dublin will have an established international reputation as one of Europe’s most sustainable, dynamic and resourceful city regions. Dublin, through the shared vision of its citizens and civic leaders, will be a beautiful, compact city, with a distinct character, a vibrant culture and a diverse, smart, green, innovation-based economy. It will be a socially inclusive city of urban neighbourhoods, all connected by an exemplary public transport, cycling and walking system and interwoven with a quality bio-diverse green space network. In short, the vision is for a capital city where people will seek to live, work, experience, invest and socialise, as a matter of choice.

Our 30 year vision is for a zero carbon city with all energy coming from renewable energy sources. All buildings will have been built or retrofitted to near zero energy building standards, which will provide comfortable, warm, living and working environments. We will halve the use of ‘conventionally-fuelled’ cars in urban transport by 2030 and phase them out by 2050; achieve essential CO2-free city logistics in Dublin by 2030. Within 30 years we will move close to zero fatalities in road transport. In line with this goal, we will aim to halve road casualties by 2022. This council will work with its neighbouring local authorities and the National Transport Authority to achieve a doubling of all active travel and public transport trips and to halve private vehicular trips to Dublin by 2030.