dubheasa kelly  

PhD Candidate (October 2010 – Present) MRUP (Hons) University College Dublin (2005-2007) BA (Hons) NUI Galway (2001-2004)
Room:	116, Geography
Email:	d.kelly36nuigalway.ie

Working Title:

Alternative forms of Settlement: Irish Perceptions and Realities

Research Description:

There has been increased interest within the arena of ’alternative’ in recent years with a major focus within this arena on sustainable models of living. Throughout Europe and North America vast growth has been noted in the development of experimental / alternative models of settlement (Maxey and Pickerill, 2006). Much of this focus has been on models of settlement such as ecovillages, co-housing and low impact development (Maxey and Pickerill, 2006, Manzella, 2010). This thesis aims to identify and present viable alternative forms of settlement as future models of development in Ireland.  Ireland is lagging behind significantly with very few examples of alternative forms of settlement.

This thesis investigates alternative forms of settlement in Ireland and their relationship with the Irish planning system. It will investigate if local, regional and national planning policy needs to be modified to take account of alternative forms of sustainable settlement and if so, how. Using a combination of literary and sociological analyses it will locate the position of a diverse range of alternative forms of settlement within current Irish planning policy. More specifically this thesis will trace the development of alternative forms of settlement within the Irish context. It will identify arguments, issues and innovation with regard to planning policy and alternative forms of settlement. In so doing, it aims to identify elements of alternative forms of settlement that are potentially viable mainstream models of future residential development in Ireland. A particular focus will be given to those settlements that are completed and occupied, those that are currently engaging with planning policy and legislation and those that are at embryonic development stages.
 
In addition, the thesis will trace the rise of the concept of sustainability to contextualise the movement from ideological roots during the 1960’s through to mainstream incorporation into legal and political frameworks. Currently Ireland’s planning policy has a key focus on sustainable development that is derived from Agenda 21 (1992) and the Brundtland Report (1987). While not all types of alternative forms of settlement are concerned with issues of sustainability, this thesis will focus exclusively on those that have principles of sustainability at their core.
 
To complement the policy study an investigation into public perceptions and attitudes towards alternative forms of settlement will be conducted, with the goal to strengthening policy review. This research will produce information on attitudes and perceptions of accepted practice and alternatives. It will further provide a fine-grained understanding of the reasoning behind such perceptions and attitudes towards the built environment.  The goal of this part of the thesis is to investigate the barriers and boundaries to alternative forms of settlement and accepted practices within public attitudes.

The thesis pursues the following specific questions:

• To what extent can planning policy and legislation encourage alternative forms of settlement? What are the policies and legislation across Europe and North America that have brought alternative forms of settlement into mainstream thinking?
• What is the relationship between a national legal framework and the public’s perceptions of settlement? How does this impact upon the production of the Irish built environment? How do legal frameworks influence people’s perceptions and perceived rights to the construction of the built environment?
• Analyse and understand how public perceptions contribute to and in turn materialise and reinforce the possibilities of alternative forms of sustainable settlements developing in Ireland.

This thesis engages the following objectives: 

• To unpack diverse conceptions of alternative forms of settlement, building practices and sustainable settlements.
• Identify and create a database of best practice and developing trends / issues within a European and North American context.
• Identify if alternative, sustainable forms of settlement are potentially viable mainstream models of future residential development in Ireland.
• Consider and review the state of current planning legislation and policy in Ireland dealing with alternative, sustainable forms of settlements.
• Produce practical guidelines and make recommendations to inform a review and/or creation of planning legislation, policy and guidance and to consider implications for regulatory controls.

With the ever growing global issues of peak oil, global warming and economic chaos society is faced with the challenge of deconstructing accepted practices. Ireland over the past decade has endured an astonishing explosive time in which growth and development were the focus. Ireland’s built environment has been subjected to unchecked growth for the past decade. This reckless growth was not only fuelled by financial institutions but was also permitted and sustained in the short term by Irish planning policy and practice (Kitchin, 2010). The result of this has been an over-supply of housing resulting in what is termed “Ghost-Estates” (Kitchin et al., 2010).  This is where housing estates are left unfinished due to a lack of finance on the developer’s part, which has resulted in the Irish landscape being pockmarked with half finished estates (Ibid, 2010). Public perceptions of alternative forms of settlement within this context, of accepted practice producing negative results will be essential in identifying attitudes and subsequently, mechanisms for improved policy making.

“Ghost Estates” (2010) are a direct result of the commodification of houses, where the word home is no longer synonymous, within Irish discourse, with the word house. Sparks & Duke (2010) state that during the Celtic Tiger period people pursued happiness through the total commodification of the homestead. During the Celtic Tiger period houses were built for their market value and not for their “humanising value” (Sparks and Duke, 2010). Developers were claiming to be social entrepreneurs building new communities, which in reality was not the case. Trainer (2002) states that “A new way of dwelling needs to be explored” to continue a tolerable existence, which is what this thesis aims to do - to explore the diverse range of alternative, sustainable forms of settlement. Trainer (2002) further states that this emergence and growth of very different dwelling practices within rich and poor countries alike are doing so as a response to the failures of accepted practices of development theory. This research is aimed at critically evaluating alternative forms of settlement just as suggested by Trainer (2002) within an Irish context.

References:

KITCHIN, R. 2010. Planning Must Be Built On Sustainable Foundations The Irish Times, 10/12/2010.
KITCHIN, R., GLEESON, J., KEAVENEY, K. and O’CALLAGHAN, C., 2010. A Haunted Landscape: Housing and Ghost Estates in Post-Celtic  Ireland Tiger Ireland’. National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA) (No. 59 – July 2010). National University of Ireland, Maynooth, www.nuim.ie/nirsa.
MANZELLA, J. C. 2010. Common purse, uncommon future: the long, strange trip of communes and other intentional communities, Santa Barbara, Praeger.
MAXEY, L. & PICKERILL, J. 2006. New Planning Opportunities For Low Impact Settlements'. Permaculture Magazine, 50. 
SPARKS, C. & DUKE, K. 2010. 'All the Is Solid Melts into Air': Empty Hopes and Empty Houses in Leitrim In: SHARE, P. & CORCORAN, M. P. (eds.) Ireland of the Illusions: A Sociological Chronicle 2007-2008. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
TRAINER, T. 2002. Development, Charity and poverty: the appropriate development perspective. International Journal of Social Economics, 29, 54-72.

Supervisor:

Prof. Ulf Strohmayer

Research Cluster:

Research Interests:

• Planning Policy, Legislation & Practice
• Built Environment
• Alternative forms of Settlement
• Planning Theory
• Sustainable Planning and Development.
• Sustainable Building and Design
• Community Development

Teaching Involvement:

Tutor/teaching assistant for:

• TI307 - Statistics in Geography - Tutor
• TI223 - Introduction to Geography Information Systems - Tutor
• TI152 - Geography in Practice - Tutor

Presentations:

• 2011: “ Alternative forms of Settlement: Irish Perceptions and Realities” presented at the Irish Postgraduate Training Consortium (IPTC), in Wicklow, Ireland, March 12th 2011.  
  
• 2011: “Alternative forms of Settlement: Irish Perceptions and Realities” presented at Seminar Series Department of Geography, NUI Galway, April.

Societies

Member of the Geographical Society of Ireland
Member of NUI Galway’s Geography Society
 

Academic Awards and Distinctions

2011: National University of Ireland, Galway Arts Faculty Fieldwork and Travel Bursary.

2011: Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS), supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP) and the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA)   Student Bursary to attend Summer School titled “Making the Built Environment Work: Towards Theory, Methods and Practice Interfaces” at NUI Maynooth.

2011: CEDS Internship NUIG-RSF Strategic Initiative Scheme.