Urban sprawl is a serious problem in Dublin and is of huge threat to the surrounding region, especially the agricultural land. One way in which the government tried to control the urbanisation of Dublin was by the development of new towns. One such town was Adamstown.
New town: Adamstown CASE STUDY
The government decided to build a new town in Adamstown, a site 16 km from Dublin city centre, in 2003. Permission was given to build 10,000 homes for roughly 25,000 people and the facilities and infrastructure necessary for all of the people living in this new town. In fact, 1,400 houses, two primary schools and a secondary school were built.
Unfortunately, the economic recession hit and construction came to a stop in early 2009. This meant that the main centre, with a supermarket, library, cinema, healthcare centre, leisure centre and swimming pool, was not built.
: Figure 12.25 Adamstown train station opened in 2007
Building started again in Adamstown in 2014. The number of planned homes has been reduced from 10,000 to 8,000. It is hoped that building will continue and Adamstown will develop into the town that was originally planned with services and facilities for the community.
: Figure 12.26 Plans for the Adamstown development
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Settlement and Urbanisation: Where we live and why
