Within the National Development Plan 2007?2013, it is recognised that there is a need for additional housing for our growing population. The National Spatial Strategy (NSS) is designed to identify where such new housing might be located, so as to provide for regionally balanced and sustainable development. It was recognised that the effectiveness of the National Spatial Strategy would benefit from additional policy-relevant information on the current sustainability of Irish settlements. Subsequent research calls by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognised the need to bridge this gap in our knowledge. As a result of these calls, the EPA initially funded a pilot study and subsequently a larger scale study. The pilot project report Methodologies for the Estimation of Sustainable Settlement Size (Moles et al., 2002) described a method for assessing the sustainability of settlements. Results suggested that there existed a relationship between settlement size and sustainability, but data gaps and small settlement sample size limited the reliability of the results. The larger project reported here aimed to fill data gaps, further develop and apply quantitative methods to define the relationship between sustainability and settlement attributes such as population size and location, and to include a much larger sample of settlements. The larger project reported here aimed to fill data gaps, further develop and apply quantitative methods to define the relationship between sustainability and settlement attributes such as population size and location, and to include a much larger sample of settlements. Sustainability was defined in terms of environmental, social and economic pillars: a sustainable settlement provided secure employment for its inhabitants, access to a wide range of services, a choice of transport modes and a good quality of life. Seventy-nine settlements were selected for study, in three clusters centred on Limerick, Sligo and Athlone/Mullingar. Settlements varied in size from city (Limerick) to village.

Go back to top of page Top

Go back to top of page Top

Please Read Carefully Before Downloading

It is important for the EPA and the Environmental Research Community to know that the data and information products we distribute are useful to the user community we support. One way of doing this is by tracking the use of data and information in publications. Parts of or all of the datasets, data, or digital information products available here can be freely downloaded for further use in scientific applications under the condition that the source will be properly quoted in published papers, journals, websites, presentations, books, etc. Whenever possible the EPA strongly urge you to cite the use of these data, information, and web resources in the reference section of your publications. For convenience an automatically generated citation is available below which can be used immediately for citation purposes.

EPA SAFER Data Download Disclaimer: Before downloading any of the data or information objects below you are kindly asked to read the data download disclaimer Read Disclaimer (Opens in New Window). Downloading data or information objects from SAFER-Data indicates an acceptance of the data download disclaimer and the conditions outlined within it.

Suggested Citation Information

The information supplied in the table below should be provided with all citations to this electronic resource. You are requested to format each of the fields below as required by the specific bibliographical style you are using.

An example of this citation in proper usage:

Moles, R. O'Regan, B. Morrisey, J.   "Environmental Sustainability and Future Settlement Patterns in Ireland". Associated datasets and digitial information objects connected to this resource are available at: Secure Archive For Environmental Research Data (SAFER) managed by Environmental Protection Agency Ireland https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/resource?id=0778ac39-8376-102b-aa08-55a7497570d3 (Last Accessed: 2024-10-11)

Permalink

Go back to top of page Top

SAFER-Data Display URL	https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=79
Resource Keywords	Settlement, Patterns, National Development, Ecological, Indices, indicators
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code	2001-LU/CD-(2/3)
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme	Socio-Economics
Resource Availability:	Public-Open
Limitations on the use of this Resource	The authors of this report should be cited in any subsequent usage of the report and/or its findings in any type of published materials. The Environmental Protection Agency should also be included in this citation. The automatically generated citation is available below.
Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download):	4
Project Start Date	Tuesday 1st January 2002 (01-01-2002)
Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Tuesday 1st January 2002 (01-01-2002)
Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Saturday 31st May 2008 (31-05-2008)
Published on SAFER	Wednesday 4th June 2008 (04-06-2008)
Date of Last Edit	Friday 6th June 2008 at 13:48:29 (06-06-2008)
Datasets or Files Updated On	Friday 6th June 2008 at 13:48:29 (06-06-2008)

Go back to top of page Top

Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
The study included settlements outside Dublin and the Dublin region, as part of its aim was to point up means of achieving sustainable growth outside the Dublin region as a counterbalance to the very rapid recent growth within it. The 79 settlements selected for study are located in three clusters around Limerick, Sligo and Athlone/Mullingar, settlements identified in the National Spatial Strategy as gateway towns with a prime function in enhancing regional economic and cultural growth. This number of settlements was selected on the basis that it was the greatest number for which data could be collected, given time and resource constraints, and the settlements in the sample were broadly representative of Irish settlements outside the Dublin region.

Go back to top of page Top

In this section some supplementary information about this resource is outlined. Lineage information helps us to understand why this project was carried out, what policy or research requirements did it fulfil, etc. Lineage is important in understanding the rationale behind the carrying out of a project or the collection of a specific dataset etc. Links to web sites, applications, papers, etc are outlined to provide you with additional information or supplementary reading about the project or dataset

Any links supplied by the resource owner are stored such that they will open in a new window. Following such a link may lead to a 3rd party website over which EPA has no control in regards to contents or suitability.

Go back to top of page Top

The following is a list of projects, datasets, and resources on SAFER-Data from which users downloaded attachments from soon after downloading attachments from this resource Environmental Sustainability and Future Settlement Patterns in Ireland. You can view the full description for projects, datasets, and resources by using the links supplied.

• Quality of Life and the Environment in Ireland View Full Metadata Description
• Galway 21: Implementing the principles and practices of sustainable development in Galway City Council View Full Metadata Description
• Ag-Biota: Monitoring, Functional Significance and Management for the Maintenance and Economic Utilisation of Biodiversity in the Intensively Farmed Landscape View Full Metadata Description
• Environmental Attitudes, Values and Behaviour in Ireland View Full Metadata Description
• Economy wide material flow analysis and ecological footprint of Ireland View Full Metadata Description

Go back to top of page Top