RIAI welcomes ‘Capital City’ report and its proposed moves to revitalise the city

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has welcomed the Dublin City Taskforce report Capital City as an important multi-disciplinary approach towards creating a more sustainable, inclusive, and quality-focused Capital City.

View The Report of Dublin City Taskforce

The RIAI is pleased to see a strong focus in the report on the revitalisation of O’Connell Street and its environs, the prioritisation of the total regeneration of social housing complexes in the city centre, and the conversion of derelict sites into high-density residential units with provision for essential workers.

The RIAI is also calling for a radical shift of mindset in how we plan and deliver our cities because our current systems of planning and development cannot deliver the well-designed environments needed for the future. Given the projected scale of population growth, we are facing a serious challenge in our cities, and we need to act now. 

To help drive this change, the RIAI has also published Irish Cities in Crisis - the most comprehensive book on Irish cities to-date. The book was launched at the National Gallery of Ireland on the 22nd of October 2024 and spans 678 pages of content by 29 contributors. It includes case studies and examples of projects on successful European cities. 

The Dublin City Taskforce was established by the Government in May 2024 to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin City Centre, north and south. RIAI Vice President Máire Henry was appointed to the taskforce as a representative for architecture and urbanism. The taskforce was chaired by David McRedmond, CEO of An Post. Other taskforce members represented key agencies working in the city centre in public service, community health, business groups, trade unions, arts, culture, and tourism.