A chara, – Having grown up in Cape Town, South Africa, and moved to Dublin at the turn of this century, I was interested in the article by David McWilliams (“A new waterfront mini-city ... imagine Dublin embracing the sea”, Weekend, October 21st).
Cape Town redeveloped much of its port into a world-class waterfront district with amenities and views that would be the envy of any city in the world.
A number of caveats arise from any plans to do the same in Dublin. The housing crisis in Cape Town dwarfs that of Ireland by multiples, with hundreds of thousands living in shanties, and the development of amenities such as the V&A waterfront has not done much to solve this issue, since the area is now the playground of well-heeled tourists.
Another issue is climate change’s long-term consequences, including rising sea levels. While I believe that McWilliams makes excellent points and a redevelopment plan for the Dublin docklands would be welcome, we should also take into account these other factors. Yours, etc,
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PATRICK ROGERS,
Finglas,
Dublin 11.
