pilly wrote: » On the other hand I've been in capital cities where you rarely see a child because people don't want to live in a high rise environment with kids and so move outside the city and commute in by train to work. It kind of sucks a bit of life out a city I think to not see kids around the place.
CaptainR wrote: » My dad was out visiting his brother in Ongar who lives in a relatively new estate, they went to the local for a pint. One thing dad noticed was that the pub didn't seem real. He reckoned it was like a film set because it was so new. It had no character and just seemed so bland. It actually put him off enjoying the evening. Someone else mentioned trees being planted to liven up an area, I've other family who live in older areas with big mature trees and they actually hate them. They shed leaves into there gardens and all over the footpath. They also destroy footpaths with the roots and can actually disturb the front garden walls by going under them.
C. Montgomery Gurns wrote: » In all my years I don't think I have ever met an Irish person who lives in places like the IFSC, Grand Canal Dock or the redeveloped parts of Smithfield.
Matt_Trakker wrote: » Isn't the reason Dublin doesn't have many high buildings because the bedrock is weak? I could swear I read that somewhere. Basically the rock under Dublin isn't strong enough to allow the building of really tall buildings on top of it. Which is a good thing in my opinion, means Dublin doen'st look the same as anywhere else. All the central European cities look the same, city square, old inner city, nice buildings and obligatory former-Jewish quarter and then nasty legoland blocks as far as the eye can see
newacc2015 wrote: Call me selfish. But if I had a choice between a large city centre apartment, where I could walk to work within 10 mins and be surrounded by cafes, shops, bars etc or have a house with a garden that is 60-90 min commute each way to work. I would choose the apartment any day.
C. Montgomery Gurns wrote: » newacc2015 wrote: » Call me selfish. But if I had a choice between a large city centre apartment, where I could walk to work within 10 mins and be surrounded by cafes, shops, bars etc or have a house with a garden that is 60-90 min commute each way to work. I would choose the apartment any day. . To be fair Irish people a- don't like apartment living
newacc2015 wrote: » Call me selfish. But if I had a choice between a large city centre apartment, where I could walk to work within 10 mins and be surrounded by cafes, shops, bars etc or have a house with a garden that is 60-90 min commute each way to work. I would choose the apartment any day. .
Earthhorse wrote: » I hope we don't go down the high rise route because I do think it would ruin the character of the city. I don't like the imposing feel of block after block of apartments, even ones built to a high standard.
newacc2015 wrote: » What character of the city is that? One where the streets are empty at 12pm in the middle of the city as no one lives in it? The one where we live in isolated generic 3 bed semi-ds with no public transport? There is nothing imposing about high rise if you get used to it. Would you really notice the difference between a 30 storey apartment block over an 8 storey apartment block in somewhere like Dublin 8 by Heuston? More than likely not
newacc2015 wrote: » What character of the city is that? One where the streets are empty at 12pm in the middle of the city as no one lives in it?
tomwaterford wrote: » Maybe people like having gardens if they've got children for them to run about in???
Harry Palmr wrote: » A garden is a great resource if you're willing to use it as such.
Hans Bricks wrote: » Could you really imagine asking most people my age and under 30 if they would rather a high rise apartment as their home for life after growing up with a front and back garden in suburban Dublin ? Im speaking personally but I'd be surprised if most of the people I grew up with didn't share the same desire for a suburban life in he future.
KingBrian2 wrote: » Trees in a city are wonderful. This land was covered in nature long before we came and living close to nature studies have found is beneficial to our health and makes the city a lovely place. New York City is all the more better with Madison Square Garden.
Johnboner wrote: » 10 storeys? Won't help much. There should be no limit, there should be 100 storey buildings if required the reason for not allowing to build tall buildings is absolutely ridiculous.
CelticRambler wrote: » Is it because there simply isn't room for people to personalise their space, compared to estates built in the 60s. I grew up in a D14 suburban estate (still the family home) and it was relatively boring at the time. Now, though, it has a degree of character, as little by little my parent's peers added extensions, porches, a garage (or converted the one that was there), a wider drive, or a second house in the corner garden. That was possible because they had a decent separation between their house and the one next-door. My two sisters have middle of the road semi-d's and barely enough room to squeeze the wheelie bin down the side of the house, so any modifications they've done are limited to internal changes or sacrificing half the back garden for an extra bit of kitchen, none of which can be seen from out the front.
Chuchote wrote: » It's true - there's something nice about being able to potter around in your own garden, have your little pond with frogs and fish and your flowers and the odd vegetable and a place for the kids and the dog to romp.
Chuchote wrote: » If we wanted, say, to make Dublin have the best of Paris and Berlin, we'd need to knock down great swathes of the city centre to build broader streets lined with five-storey solid redbrick apartment blocks, with apartments with the square footage of 3-bed semis, and with large garden parks. Trying to build high in narrow Dublin streets would just result in dark, miserable canyons. And if we want a city centre that's vibrant and alive we'd need to make the city cyclable rather than concentrating on cars. Where people cycle, and where there are safe parking facilities for bicycles, you get local shops and cafes and a local community where people talk to their neighbours and meet them in those shops and cafes and cinemas and libraries and parks. Where cars are used, we'd need multi-storey car parks integrated into the areas, so parked cars wouldn't take up a third of the roads the way they do now. And we'd need a mix of social classes - with good social housing like the HLMs in the central arrondissements of Paris, which are indistinguishable from private housing and which are inhabited by a mix of well-off and struggling people. None of the ghettoisation that now happens in Dublin, where in some cases good tenants who would lift a whole flatblock are driving out by effective one-extended-family control of the block.
jobbridge4life wrote: » Obsession with owning a house and also owning a car is part of the problem IMHO. A large swathe of Irish people just will not consider apartments as being equal to a house, you could show them a well built, well proportioned apartment with great access to local amenities and they'd still consider it inferior to a cardboard house in some cul-de-sac 50km from Dublin. Of course this issue is exacerbated by the dearth of truly livable apartments in the city.
wakka12 wrote: » Dark narrow streets with tall buildings on each side don't have to be depressing. Ever visited the barcelona gothic quarter? Its probably the most beautiful place Ive ever visited and sunlight doesn't reach street level through the tall surrounding apartment blocks even when the sun is at its highest point even in summer
Widdershins wrote: » I'd imagne that would be cold and dreary because of the sun being obscured.
