TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

IH: You mentioned urban sprawl, what do you believe were the drivers behind this?
SA: Following the Celtic Tiger period, a growing population and high levels of immigration were
experienced. Galway was seen as an attractive place to live. Environmental and cultural
awareness was high on the agenda. By 2012, it won the prestigious title of Culture Capital of
Europe and was given the opportunity to showcase its cultural life and cultural development at
an international level. People from all parts of the world flocked to the city who welcomed
everyone. Demonstrated in 2027, when a radical move was made to facilitate the most popular
religion in Galway at the time, Islam. The Roman Catholic cathedral, located in the centre of
the city, was transformed into a mosque and became known as the ‘Green Dome’.
IH: Did these drivers encourage social problems to appear in the seams of our society?
SA: Yes, despite these cultural attributes, an undercurrent of social segregation was exposed as
the region’s biggest threat. In 2019, following the bribery scandal of a number of high-profile
members of the county council and the mismanagement of the cultural centre, the city began to
struggle. It seemed that the authenticity of the cultural quarter had long gone, as the overdirected
barrio tried to cope with accommodating increasing numbers of different ethnic groups
without proper planning. Ghettoisation became a common occurrence. Chinatown, the Polish
quarter and the Spanish Free Zone ghettos were established, leading to pockets of poverty and
an upturn in racial tension and street violence as these groups continued to feel isolated and
threatened. One positive outcome from all this, was the establishment of non-denominational
schools across the city in an attempt to curb ethnic segregation at an early age. Furthermore,
youth community groups were established throughout the 2020s, to encourage harmony and
healthy rivalry amongst groups through sports and art. Knowledge is the key to success in life
across all sectors of society.
IH: That is quite a negative picture you are painting Simon, surely there are some positive
aspects to this gateway. What about Galway’s environmental agenda, has that remained intact?
SA: Yes it has. The environmental agenda is the key to the survival of the city’s economic
development. What I mean by this is that Galway has strong marine, tourism and energy
industries and the focus must remain on the environmental agenda in order for these industries
to progress and compete in a highly globalised, competitive world. In 2007, still in its infancy, it
was realised, at last, that the West of Ireland was well positioned to play a significant role in
the development of the wind and wave industries. The Galway region took full advantage of
their position and by 2015 there were 12 wind farms producing energy for Ireland and another
five at the planning and construction stage. In economic terms, the various energy projects
brought back life to villages and towns long drained of people and jobs. Consequently, by the
time peak oil had reached tipping point in 2016, the region had gone from producing one per
cent of Ireland’s electricity to eight per cent of Ireland’s electricity. As a result of this, the
security of supply and peak oil issues had minimum impact on the Galway region.
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