Posted: 11 June 2007
Irish planning and the role of UCD
A new book chronicling the growth and evolution of the modern mandatory planning system in Ireland and the role played by UCD planning graduates in securing planning as a key instrument of public policy at local and national level has been published by UCD Planning.
As Ireland continues to plan and professionally manage the future development of the island, readers of Planning Modern Ireland by Michael J Bannon and Bernadette Bradley will be able to review past successes and failures of Irish planning - from the euphoria of the Lemass era, to two difficult decades with lack of resources and political indifference, to the successful enactment of the Planning and Development Act in 2000 and the formulation of the National Spatial Strategy 2002-2020.
"One of the great strengths of this extensively-researched book is the skilful way in which it blends on the one hand personal accounts of the staff and students who shaped both UCD Planning and Irish planning over 40 years, and on the other hand how planning education and research developed against the backdrop of dramatic changes in Irish society and the economy since the 1960s," says John Martin, Principal Planning Advisor, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Through reflections and achievements from some of UCDs 800 planning graduates, Planning Modern Ireland offers a unique insight into the Irish planning system and the changing nature of planning education, with its growing emphasis on research as the basis for evidence-based policy.
"The academic year 2006/07 represents a proud milestone for UCD, as it celebrates forty years as the premier Irish centre of excellence in teaching and research of regional and urban planning," says Professor Peter Clinch, Professor Of Regional & Urban Planning, UCD School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Policy. "As Ireland experiences a period of unprecedented change, this book will help us to learn from past successes and failures as we continue to plan modern Ireland."