We may not want to live in the 1950s again but we would do well to re-adopt an aspect of life in Ireland from that era: quality food production at a local level and an efficient system to distribute it.
Fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, milk, eggs and produce for urban areas were supplied by the surrounding hinterland. From the creamery network of rural Ireland to the small-scale bakeries across the country, most food processing and milk distribution was local, with the use of horse-drawn transport prevailing even into the 1960s. Household ownership of a car and fridge was exceptional, and most household shopping was done within walkable distance, complemented by home deliveries, usually made by noiseless and efficient electric vans.
These days, both nationally and globally, the food production and distribution system is being increasingly stretched. Dependency on high-level nitrate fertilizers has accelerated, energy consumption and emissions from transport has risen, food production and refrigeration demands too much energy and urban-fringe retailing is leading to unsustainable levels of urban sprawl.
Car-based sprawl was first identified as a problem in the US in the 1950s. Development in Ireland in the 1960s adopted the car-based, urban-fringe model so that by the 1980s urban centres, including Dublin’s, were suffering decline, while there was free surface car parking on the fringes, unused for most of the time. The supposed benefits of free parking are substantially outweighed by the destruction of the public realm, social cohesion and sustainable communities, and increased pollution and emissions.
In the late 1980s, the introduction of urban-renewal tax reliefs helped increase the ratio of retail activity in urban centres. However, this was based on a fatal development model of replicating the out-of-town shopping centre in urban areas. The model was a combination of a major supermarket, a large department store, a mixture of chain stores and substantial multi-storey car parking.
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While the government introduced retail planning guidelines, and revised them in 1999, these failed to prevent urban-sprawl retail. The centres of Limerick and Waterford in particular are now suffering serious functional decline, while the legacy of the Irish boom has made it an international worst-case exhibitor of car-dependent urban sprawl.
Both Clare and Limerick county councils have, in the pursuit of rates revenue, accommodated car-based urban-fringe development which has accelerated Limerick’s urban decline. Kilkenny and Waterford county councils have similarly undermined Waterford city. This trend has been fuelled by the development of about 15,000 one-off houses per annum over the past decade, and the placing of commuter development in villages around significant urban areas.
While there is a growing local-food market in Ireland, it remains only a small fraction of food supply and retail spend. The Department of Transport’s Smarter Travel policy document, published in February 2009, recognises this and sets out clear provision for bringing about an end to out-of-town retail development. This has been consistently argued by An Taisce in appeals to An Bord Pleanala, resulting in significant overturns of local authority decisions, particularly in Annacotty, outside Limerick, in 2009.
Smarter Travel sets out an important principle, which needs urgent national adoption: the imposition of a levy on all parking spaces. At present, urban centres suffer serious disadvantage over fringe areas with free parking. The revenue from a parking charge could be invested in public transport and cycling, with the real objective being to reduce the level of car parking spaces.
Ireland, with its strong village network and rural hinterlands, is in a unique position to become a world leader in restoring local food production and re-establishing the symbiotic relationship between an urban area and its surrounding countryside. Historic marketplaces, the legacy of this relationship in towns such as Thurles or Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, could once again become thriving centres for the community rather than surface car parks.
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The production and distribution of local food should again be a daily staple, and not just a niche activity.
Ian Lumley is heritage officer with An Taisce, Ireland’s National Trust. As a charity it relies on membership and donations to fund its education and advocacy activities. To join go to antaisce.org