Dublin ranks as the 23rd wealthiest city in the world, continues to be the fastest growing capital city economy in the EU and was recently ranked the 11th best of 30 European cities in which to do business, Dublin city manager John Tierney told the EPA conference on sustainable development in Dublin yesterday.
Addressing the theme "Towards 2020, the Environment in Ireland's Future" Mr Tierney said Dublin is well-regarded internationally and is rated highly across a number of measures from city growth through to governance. But he said while the city could boast considerable rejuvenation in Temple Bar and the docklands, the additions of trams and the Port Tunnel, it was still "just a work in progress".
Among the challenges facing Dublin according to the city manager were the need to improve energy efficiency, plan for climate change, to improve the design and layout of new buildings in the public realm, and to ensure natural integration of the new, migrant population.
All this must be done, he said, while maintaining the competitive nature of the city, providing housing and implementing infrastructural initiatives such as Transport 21, water services and housing.
Mr Tierney said the city council had a "vision" for Dublin based on it being a creative and sustainable city, with a rich quality of life "and a vibe that is difficult to replicate elsewhere, in other words, being distinctly Dublin". To achieve this, Mr Tierney said it would be necessary to provide opportunities for individuals "to blend into communities".
"We need involvement and active citizenship, which is the real glue that binds society together," he said.
"The challenge for those involved in managing sustainable urban development is to create this framework through successful place making. For us here in Dublin our biggest obstacles probably relate to our fragmented mode of governance and how we engage and communicate with people in this process. We need to be able to create places with people not just for people."
For its part the Environmental Protection Agency said clean air, protected water resources and protected soil and biodiversity are "fundamental rights" of all Irish citizens.
The agency yesterday launched a series of environmental goals as part of its policy for 2020. According to director Dr Mary Kelly the initiative sees the organisation "set out its own long-term vision for Ireland's environment" alongside the actions which will ensure that vision becomes a reality.
"Only by setting meaningful and specific objectives in these key areas can we plan to achieve the environmental protection that is necessary, said Dr Kelly.
The conference, which is being held in the Burlington Hotel, is also addressing how environmental policy north and south of the Border can best be integrated.
The two-day conference continues today when among the items under discussion is the creation of sustainable transport, featuring a workshop on the subject chaired by broadcaster Duncan Stewart and an address by the Minister for Energy and Communications Eamon Ryan.
