TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

This landmark demographic transition enabled Sligo City to become fully sustained by a thriving
rural hinterland, servicing its leisure, food and energy needs, while the reduced population in
the urban core eliminated the urban underclass that had begun to emerge.
In line with rural development initiatives, Sligo’s new ‘urban core’ was created between 2010
and 2013. A pedestrianised civic square emerged with new residential, retail and recreational
opportunities to attract investors to the region. The problem that now faced Sligo was the
sheer lack of streets to accommodate such a dramatic diversion in traffic. Without additional
infrastructure, pedestrianisation was bound to amplify traffic congestion in Sligo’s narrow
clogged streets, rather than alleviating it. The subsequent widening of Hughes Bridge
accommodated the increased traffic on the Inner Relief Road, temporarily easing the gridlock in
the city. Nevertheless such quick fix solutions would not solve Sligo’s transport problems in the
long-term.
Following the upgrading of Sligo IT to University status in 2014, several high density mixed use
developments were erected to cater for the growing Irish and foreign student population. The
high proportion of elderly living in the urban core was not seen as a problem, owing to improved
health and quality of life as well as the higher proportion of students during the academic year.
People in general are more active. Ageism has been eradicated as the younger population begin
to acknowledge that the older population are a necessary link between the past and future.
As Sligo’s long-term manufacturing industries pack up and move to low cost countries, Sligo’s
focus turns towards the tourist and the service industries. With the designation of Sligo as
heritage town of Ireland in 2015, the region witnessed a revival of tourism, beating Waterford
and Limerick to the post. Boasting over 5000 years old archaeological sites, making it one of the
richest concentrations of prehistoric monuments in Western Europe, Sligo had at last begun to
capitalise on its emotive status as ‘garden of Ireland’. In this same year, the Yeats Society Sligo
in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature hosted the
50 th international summer school, drawing thousands of over-seas students to honour Yeats in
the town in which he grew up. The success of the event in terms of increased revenue sparked a
spate of regeneration in the region to cater for the renewed interest. Over the next 10 years no
matter where you turned towering cranes punctured the skyline. Expansion to Sligo Airport went
ahead, despite mass protest. Transport infrastructure is greatly improved offering faster travel
times to the rest of Ireland and mainland Europe. The completion of the outer orbital route in
2020 - enclosing services for public transport, park and ride, and local logistical needs and
enhancing ICT networks – has created more flexible options for remote work. This has radically
changed the pattern of daily life, increasing time spent with family and significantly reducing
traffic congestion.
The region by 2025 is made up of strong interconnected community networks clustered in and
around Sligo. A new hub of technological growth emerges, facilitated by an excellent ICT
infrastructure. During this period the agri-food industry thrived following vast improvements in
business, technological and innovative capacities and the development of rural agricultural
clusters. Over the next few years a host of organic farms mushroomed within and around the
211