Dublin: Green Capital of the future?

Wind Turbines in Fr. Collins Park

Father Collins Park is a 52 hectare park that is located in Donaghmede approximately 9 kilometres from Dublin's city centre.The park was developed by Dublin City Council's Parks & Landscape Services Division and its design results from an international competition held in 2003 , which was won by designers from Argentina. The park is named after Father Joseph Collins (1924-1979) who was the first parish priest of the local Holy Trinity Parish. Sustainability is promoted within the park through the use of wind turbines for energy, water recirculation and wetland creation and the provision of a green roof on the football changing rooms. Recreational provision includes football fields, childrens playgrounds, a skateboard park and a perimeter walk/cycle path with fitness stations. Since its opening, in May 2009, the park has proved to be very popular and has set a standard for quality public park design & delivery.

Courtesy of Dublin City Council

Wind Turbines in Fr. Collins Park
Courtesy of Dublin City Council

Wind Turbines in Fr. Collins Park

Father Collins Park is a 52 hectare park that is located in Donaghmede approximately 9 kilometres from Dublin's city centre.The park was developed by Dublin City Council's Parks & Landscape Services Division and its design results from an international competition held in 2003 , which was won by designers from Argentina. The park is named after Father Joseph Collins (1924-1979) who was the first parish priest of the local Holy Trinity Parish. Sustainability is promoted within the park through the use of wind turbines for energy, water recirculation and wetland creation and the provision of a green roof on the football changing rooms. Recreational provision includes football fields, childrens playgrounds, a skateboard park and a perimeter walk/cycle path with fitness stations. Since its opening, in May 2009, the park has proved to be very popular and has set a standard for quality public park design & delivery.

Courtesy of Dublin City Council

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There have been many positive environmental actions taken in Dublin that have set a trend for encouraging a city-wide, eco-friendly community. The introduction of the DublinBikes, a bike share rental scheme, has been phenomenally successful since it was launched in 2009. City parks include community allotments, wildflower meadows, cycle lanes, and even wind turbines in the case of Father Collins Park. There are also a number of eco buildings within the city that display best practice in environmentally sound building. Despite these positive aspects to Dublin, the current trend of energy consumption within the city is unsustainable.

Dublin faces challenges in a number of key areas before it could be recognised as a European Green Capital. High carbon emissions, energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels are among them. To meet these challenges, Dublin’s energy agency Codema began the process of developing the Dublin City Sustainable Energy Action Plan in 2005 on behalf of Dublin City Council. The resulting Action Plan 2010-2020 analyses Dublin’s potential to reverse the trend of rising energy consumption and become a smart-city by 2030.