UL and Limerick City and County Council examine future of the city with public events

THE University of Limerick and Limerick City and County Council are collaborating on a new project that aims to examine the future of the city.

Staff and students from UL are giving the people of Limerick a chance to have their say on the future of their city as part of a new project based at the UL City Centre Campus.

The UL School of Architecture and Product Design summer Intelligence Unit, ‘One City Revisited’, is taking place this summer in CityLab, Sarsfield Street, Limerick, where it will host a series of public-facing events this month.

A team of UL researchers are working with Limerick Council to examine the future of Limerick city, in the context of several objectives in the Limerick Development Plan, the Limerick Climate Action Plan and the More for Limerick Mayoral Programme.

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As part of the Intelligence Unit, the researchers are developing and expanding a physical 1:500 Limerick City Model, which is housed in the Citylab in the City Campus.

This development will help to facilitate understanding of the physical manifestation of the new city being developed and imagined now and into the future.

UL’s Professor Merritt Bucholz, Professor, School of Architecture and Product Design explained: “The project is being done as part of UL and Limerick City and County Council's membership of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) and is a continuation of our partnership with LCCC and our joint presentation September last at the Science Summit at the United Nations in New York."

“The transformation of the city needs real-life testing and experimentation by citizens, which the model aims to bridge the gap in understanding between present and future Limerick, and bring citizens more directly into dialogue with the future of the city,” added Professor Bucholz.

The Intelligence Unit will stage several public events this summer to generate discussion and increase awareness and engagement with citizens’ stake in the future of Limerick city.

The public events, titled ‘City Model – Future Limerick’, will take place in August, in the CityLab on Sarsfield Street. The first event will take place during National Heritage Week on Thursday, August 21, from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm, and a Twilight Thursday event on August 28, from 5pm to 9pm.

The City Model will form a key interactive element to the public-facing activities, with replaceable components, scenario testing, and quickly printable parts that will help broaden the access people have to the future of their city.

Some of the key questions being considered by the researchers revolve around how Limerick could create a multifunctional public realm, designed and adapted for universal use, and how the city should use the Local Authority Climate Action Plan to decarbonise the city centre.

Mayor of Limerick, John Moran, said: “As Limerick’s first directly elected mayor, I know the conversation about the future of Limerick must evolve all of the time and not just finish at each election. It is why I was delighted to support and fund One City Revisited."

“This is the perfect way for the people of Limerick to imagine, shape and take ownership of the future direction of travel of our city. The physical model will help us visualise what change looks like but we really want above all to create a space for dialogue, creativity and ambition. Limerick’s future can be great, should be great and indeed will be great if we open our minds to what is now possible and take this chance to allow all our voices to be heard,” Mayor Moran added.

UL’s Associate Professor Peter Carroll, School of Architecture and Product Design, explained: “Throughout this project, we are looking to develop new visions of the streets of Limerick.

“The study of key streets such as William Street, Parnell Street, and Hyde Road can change how we view living in Limerick’s city centre. We need to see better living options for apartment living and compact growth in Limerick."

“We are also looking at the prioritisation of amenities and outdoor spaces for people without private gardens,” he added.

Another key aspect of the Innovation Unit’s research is to examine multiple housing projects in development by Limerick Council and Limerick Development Authority, as well as de-carbonisation and adaptation, and restoration of existing buildings.

Associate Professor Carroll explained: “We will examine the city as if the projects in the development plans for Limerick are completed. We will consider the potential as an urban design ecosystem to assist with prioritisation and scenario testing. We are looking at what the new parts of the city will be, the potential new life of the city, and we’re anticipating the challenges of the future Limerick as it is being imagined and planned today.”