Introduction to Dublin 2026: The Future Urban Environment

The increasing concerns across Europe for the likely future urban environments of its major city regions are often modelled within a set of planning and sustainable development frameworks (European Commission, 2006). In Ireland, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a lead in considering urban environmental futures through a range of funded research projects. One core project, the Urban Environment Project (UEP) has involved the development of a multi-disciplinary model of the future Dublin city-region based around the spatial modelling tool, “Monitoring Land Use/Cover Dynamics” (MOLAND) (Williams and Convery, 2010). Though the principal objective of the project was to incorporate and embed current indicators into a predictive model of the future urban environmental fingerprint, there was considerable interest in the ways in which existing planning policy also critically informed the likely future shape of the city (Walsh, 2008). As a summary of the work of the UEP project, the team, in conjunction with the Forum for Irish Urban Studies, organised a one-day workshop on Friday, November 13th 2009 in Trinity College Dublin to disseminate its findings and discuss a range of key themes that might shape the urban environment of the Dublin city region in 2026. The outcomes of the presentations and discussions that took place in that workshop form the basis of this special issue. The presenters and invited audience represented a range of academics, planners, community organisations and local authorities, all of who had an interest in the future of the city