Dublin Docklands HL PDF

**Dublin Docklands** A full understanding of this will help you to answer questions on any of the following: Urban decline/decay Urban renewal Urban regeneration Urban planning Strategy Changing land use 1. [History/Background: -] Up until the 1970's the Dublin Docklands was a busy and popu...

**Dublin Docklands** A full understanding of this will help you to answer questions on any of the following: Urban decline/decay Urban renewal Urban regeneration Urban planning Strategy Changing land use 1. [History/Background: -] Up until the 1970's the Dublin Docklands was a busy and populated part of the city. There were areas of residential housing in the North Wall and East Wall. Neighbours were friends and generations of family's lived in the area. Most employment was in factories like Boland's Mills, warehouses like the Point Depot, brewing in the Guinness Brewery or working on the docks loading and unloading cargo on/off ships. Money earned was spent in local businesses e.g. shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, and pubs. 2. [1970s and 1980's -- Urban decline/decay] There were two significant changes. A. Bigger and more modern ships resulted in the port moving further downstream towards Dublin Bay. These new ships had Lo-Lo and Ro-Ro capacity and the development of large cranes meant that men were no longer required to load and unload the ships. With the movement of the port the Point Depot and Boland's Mills closed resulting in large scale unemployment in the area. With the loss of income local businesses such as shop also closed as people had no money to spend. B. Government Policy 1940's-1990's was to demolish run-down housing in the inner city and re-house people in new suburbs e.g. Crumlin, Ballyfermot and Tallaght. Some of the communities from the North and East Wall areas were moved to the new suburbs. This broke up the close knit community. The Docklands was identified as an area of urban decline/decay in the 1980's. The physical environment had declined with houses boarded up, graffiti, vandalism, closed factories and warehouses. There were significant social problems: - high levels of unemployment, school dropouts, increased crime rates and drug abuse. School and hospital closures, Loreto, North Great Georges St and Jervis St. hospital meant a loss of important services for the area. 3. [Urban Planning Strategy/Urban Regeneration]. Having highlighted the Docklands as a region of urban decline the government identified a planning strategy to regenerate the area. As part of the 1986 Urban Renewal Act the government offered grants and tax incentives to developers and investors to transform this area into a Financial Services Centre. This was the beginning of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) The Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) was established to oversee the development of this area. Bank of Ireland and AIB established offices in Customs House Quay in 1989 and this was followed by the development of apartments at Mayor St and North Wall Quays. Since then, the Dublin Docklands has become the financial and technology services centre for Dublin (and Ireland). Today many banks, legal and accountancy firms are located here. The Central Bank of Ireland moved to a new building on the Quays in 2017 and there are 1700 people working in this building. Google has its HQ at Grand Canal Dock. New apartment developments e.g., Sherif St has attracted a young highly skilled population of high-income earners who spend their money in local shops bars and restaurants. This is now a very vibrant and attractive part of the city with multiple services and recreational facilities e.g., sailing, gyms cycle and walkways. 4. [Urban Redevelopment.] Old parts of the Docklands were demolished to make way for new apartments e.g. Hanover Quay and Boland's Mills has been redeveloped into apartments, shops bars and restaurants. The gas works on South Lotts Road were demolished and converted into offices and apartments. 5. [Urban Renewal] Old buildings like the Point Depot have been retained and converted into a concert venue -- Three Arena. Old warehouses along the quays have been converted into offices e.g. CHQ on North Wall Quay. 6. [Changing Land Use] Old residential areas such as Sherif St have been rezoned to commercial land use with offices and shops. Old industrial areas have been converted to residential areas e.g. Boland's Mills. Other industrial areas e.g. gasworks and the Point Depot have been converted into recreational facilities e.g. Three Arena and the Bord Gas Energy Theatre. Grand Canal Docks is now a centre for sailing and water sports and hotels such as The Marker are built on the site of old warehouses. Old Dockyards e.g. Georges Dock has been converted to apartments, restaurants and bars. 7. [The Docklands now] The Dockland's planning strategy is considered a success. This area has been changed from an area of urban decline/decay to a vibrant and attractive area of the city. The financial services have created thousands of highly skilled jobs with multiple apartment complexes for people to live. Excellent services such as public transport (DART and Luas) new schools, shops, restaurants and recreational facilities have brought this part of the city back to life. However, there is still some work to be done. The original community still lives in the East and North Wall areas. School dropout rates and unemployment remain high. People living in this area still feel disadvantaged and very disconnected from the new developments around them. Government policy so far has failed to fully address these issues.