The pedestrianisation of College Green would give Dublin city a world-class public space, a conference on public transport will be told today.
Traffic on Dublin's College Green
The Making Dublin The Capital Of Irelandconference will discuss the relationship between public transport and urban design.
It will be told that car-dependent cities like Dublin exacerbate social inequality.
"If you are poor, you are doubly disadvantaged if you live in a car dependent city," Prof James Wickham of Trinity College Dublin Policy Institute, which is hosting the conference, will say.
"A dramatic improvement in public transport in Dublin would not only contribute to environmental sustainability but would enhance social inclusion and quality of life in the city.
"Public transport enhances the quality of urban life, by enabling the creation of public spaces in which everyone in the city participates. Where the private car is restrained it becomes possible to create public squares, parks, pavements that pedestrians will use," he will say.
Prof Wickham will call for College Green to be closed to traffic to create a major public space at the centre of the city.
"The pedestrianisation of College Green needs to be put back on the agenda. By removing traffic from the area between Trinity College and Bank of Ireland, it could be transformed into one of the great public spaces of Europe, on a par with the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna."
Researchers examining the effects of car-dependent planning in Ireland, will say that pedestrian and transport oriented, mixed-use planning designs are important for health, active citizenship, and community engagement.