Irish Cities in Crisis Book - News
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Irish Cities in Crisis Book

The most comprehensive book on Irish cities to-date, was launched at the National Gallery of Ireland on October 22, 2024.

Irish Cities in Crisis, edited by David Browne FRIAI, Jim Coady FRIAI and Dr Carole Pollard FRIAI, and published by the RIAI, spans 678 pages of content by 29 contributors and includes case studies and examples of projects on successful European cities.

Irish Cities in Crisis calls for a radical change in how we finance, govern and plan Irish cities. The book argues that cities must be recognised as engines of our social, economic and cultural lives and must be treated with imagination and care. Contributors to the book, including Harry Browne and David Browne of RKD, are leading thinkers in the built environment and have written on various topics impacting our cities. Collectively, they call for a mindset shift in how we plan and develop our cities, arguing that this is essential in ensuring our cities thrive.

The contribution of Irish cities to our way of life is poorly understood across society and all levels of government. Ireland has a very successful economy and an expanding population but is seriously deficient in town-planning and urban design. Unless we implement significant change to how we plan and design cities, Ireland will fall behind in its international standing as a quality place to live, work and invest.

Irish cities are in crisis because current systems of planning and development cannot deliver the well-designed environments needed for the future. Given the projected scale of population growth, entrenched land-hungry methods of urban expansion simply cannot continue.

Irish Cities in Crisis calls out the deficits, but it is also full of appropriate and achievable solutions. It champions collaboration between civil society and local, regional and state governments to bring about change. Change will not be easy, and political courage will be required, but the bottom line is that it is time to prioritise the common good.

The essays in the book argue for a shift in the mindset – radical change is needed in how we finance, govern and plan Irish cities. Cities must be recognised for what they are – the engines of our social, economic and cultural lives – and they must be treated with imagination and care. Great cities and towns are our future.

Change will demand top-down and bottom-up collaboration between all sectors and all communities. It will need considerable investment in planning to deliver beautiful, functional and inspirational cities to accommodate our population now and in the future. There is much to do, and the Irish Cities 2070 Group believes that Irish Cities in Crisis can chart the way.