Posted 04 June 2009
Older suburbs, younger inner city, and fewer cyclists – the transformation of Dublin’s population since the 1980s
Over the past twenty years, young, single, professional people have flocked to the inner city as dilapidated housing was cleared and replaced by new apartment complexes, according to a new atlas of Dublin produced by a team of graduate students from the UCD School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy.
Using data from the 1986, 1996 and 2006 census, the mapping project shows that the population of Dublin inner city (the area between the Royal Canal in the north of the city, and the Grand Canal in the south) has increased by more than 40% since 1986, when its population was just under 100,000.
The North Docklands (inner city) has experienced a 22% increase in population since 1986 with a substantial proportion of today’s population aged between 25 and 39, who are also more educated and likely to work in the professions rather than in manufacturing.
North Docklands (Inner City) population age profile - 1986
North Docklands (Inner City) population age profile - 2006
The new atlas also shows that despite the various incentives to encourage people in Dublin to travel to work by bicycle including special cycle lanes and tax initiatives, the actual number of people in Dublin who cycle to work has fallen dramatically from approximately 28,000 in 1986 to under 20,000 today.
“The past 20 years has seen a relatively stable overall population in Dublin – approximately 500,000 - but a serious reversal of age and occupational profile from the suburbs to the city centre is clearly visible,” says Colin Healy one of the University College Dublin geography postgraduate students who prepared the new population atlas.
“During the 1980s, Dublin’s inner city experienced considerable depopulation and decline, as much of the dilapidated housing in the inner city was cleared and the population relocated to peripheral suburban developments. But since then a considerable capital investment in the inner city has resulted in the emergence of a thriving and regenerated urban centre.”
Although this transformation may have been at the cost of the suburban city areas which have experienced a serious ageing of population as the ‘empty nest’ syndrome has hit thousands of residential homes. Baldoyle has experienced a population decrease of 24% since 1986, with the proportion of its population aged between 55 and 64 having tripled over the past 20 years.
Baldoyle (The Suburbs) population age profile - 1986
Baldoyle (The Suburbs) population age profile - 2006
In 1986 the bulk of the Dublin city population lived in suburban areas and was very young, whereas today the situation is completely reversed,” explains Healy. “The once hollowed out urban core has been regenerated over the past 20 years. Immigrants, a population group which were not included in the 1986 census, now represent a significant proportion of inner city dwellers.”
Boomtown: Dublin 1986 – 2006, A Census Atlas was officially launched by Fianna Fáil Councillor Eibhlin Byrne the Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Eibhlin Byrne the Lord Mayor of Dublin with graduate students from the UCD School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy
The census information mapped for the project was acquired from the Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS) of the census following the selection of key themes for the study. The area mapped is the city of Dublin – the most central of the four Dublin County administrative boroughs, and incorporates areas from the inner city to Crumlin in the south, Ballyfermot in the west and Artane in the north. It is administered by Dublin City Council and is divided into 162 Electoral Districts.
The Boomtown Dublin Atlas is available for viewing at: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/boomtown-dublin-1986-2006/7228755