Existing buildings should be repurposed and redeveloped as much as possible, rather than demolishing and developing new structures. The embodied carbon footprint of existing buildings must be...
14 - Urban Design, Placemaking & Regeneration
Closed14 Mar, 2022, 09:00 - 24 May, 2022, 16:00
Chapter 14 - Urban Design, Placemaking & Regeneration
Kildare is becoming an increasingly urbanised county, a trend that is anticipated to continue over the coming decades and one which the plan must address in order to focus on the needs of current and future residents of the county. As such, its network of settlements, its towns and villages, are the focus of ongoing growth and expansion.
It is recognised that settlements need to successfully accommodate and integrate new development whilst also maintaining and enhancing the character and viability of their historic centres. This is considered to be a critical element central to the retention of their overall identity, and key to providing both new and existing communities with ‘a sense of place’ and belonging.
Urban design is the art of creating and shaping built environments. It involves the arrangement and design of buildings, public spaces, transport systems, and social infrastructure. It is both a process and an outcome of creating communities in which people live, connect with each other, and engage with the physical place around them.
Placemaking is a particular aspect of urban design which focuses on how public spaces can best be designed and managed in order to enhance the connections between people and these places. The concept of placemaking is very much people-centred and looks to the needs, aspirations and desires of the community.
‘Healthy placemaking’, which is cited by the RSES as a ‘growth enabler’ for the region, seeks to improve the design and functionality of settlements so that healthy activities and experiences are integral to people’s everyday lives. In practical terms, this means promoting and implementing active travel and neighbourhood design policies that encourage physical activity, increase opportunities for social interaction and strengthen mental health, thereby enhancing overall quality of life and wellbeing
Town centres are considered to have a critical role in the realisation of compact growth and low carbon development in the county, where historic cores have the capacity to accommodate substantial quantities of new homes either by the utilisation of living opportunities within existing vacant buildings or through brownfield/backland development. The Programme for Government (2020) recognised the need for and committed to, the development of a strategic approach to town centre regeneration that would maximise the impact of the Government’s considerable investment in urban regeneration. On foot of this, ‘Town Centre First – A Policy Approach for Irish Towns’ was published in February 2022, which seeks to take an overarching and coordinated approach to town centre regeneration.
See Chapter 14
Contents
Materials
Observations
Observations
Since the Public Health Alcohol act have come into effect, and extradionary amout of branded alcohol advertisements and branded items such as seating, pop up tents, digital signage promoting branded...
Adequate Social Servicing of Towns and Villages
With the need for additional housing throughout the Country and particularly in Kildare, it is vital that suffiecient land is zoned for housing. It is also vital that critical services are available...
Placemaking as people centred
If placemaking is meant to be people centred, how is it that the views of the residents of Naas are being disregarded in this decision about the inner relief road. The Naas Inner Relief Road was...