Likening proposals for moving Dublin Port out of the capital to changes at other European ports is “misleading” and “not an apples-to-apples comparison”, argues Trinity urbanism professor Philip Lawton.
Writing in the Business Post, Prof Lawton notes how the “pet notion” of relocating the city’s port function, whether north via plans for Bremore Port or south to Arklow, to free up prime land for redevelopment ignores vital differences between Dublin and other European cities like Copenhagen and Oslo.
“Rarely has a port become fully detached from its original location, which is what’s being suggested for Dublin,” he says, detailing that when it has happened, it’s involved the expansion of existing port infrastructure — a vital aspect missing in Dublin’s case.
Ports, he adds, “do not exist in isolation. They are not vacant lots awaiting redevelopment, but part of a wider urban system. We may not feel it on a daily basis, but they are a fully integrated part of the city.”
The Business Post has more of Prof Lawton’s analysis HERE.
