Housing and transport are intrinsically linked. They influence so many facets of each other that considering one without the other is folly. Everything from where we locate homes and accommodation, the number of parking spaces, the space given over to access roads and driveways, green space in urban areas, bus routes, train capacity and where we build major roads are all determined by an interplay of housing and transport needs. How these two interconnect dictate – to a large extent – our emissions associated with transport, how livable our communities are, isolation, household budgeting and independence of people who, for whatever reason, do not drive.
Two recent news stories highlight this interconnection – the official launch of new homes at Shanganagh Castle Estate in Shankill, Co Dublin and news that universities will be required to phase out the use of car parking for most staff and students in areas where there is a range of public transport options.
Transport led housing
Shanganagh Castle housing estate is an excellent example of transport-led development. A new Dart station is being developed on one side while there are regular buses on the other. It is a short cycle away from Shankill and Bray, and cycling and walking are prioritised in the development. The relatively low number of parking spaces and the high number of bike parking spaces means that the space spared from parking can now be green space, places for kids to play and, without the larger number of parking spaces to be allocated, more housing can fit into available space. This development is by no means typical. Led by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) and the Land Development Agency (LDA), this estate will consist of ‘affordable housing’, cost-rental housing and social homes. While the price tag attached to these houses may warrant discussion around what affordable means – and for whom – it is undeniable that the launch of this estate is good news for those looking for a home in an incredibly expensive area.
Transport-led development is an incredibly sensible policy – it makes sense that you have sustainable ways of getting to the places you want to from your house. Kids can get to school, people can get to work without sitting in traffic, and food can be popped on the back of a bike or carried from the closest shop via public transport. Unfortunately, much of the development in Ireland does not follow this line of thinking. In 2020, it was reported that just 14% of Dublin’s houses were built within walking distance of public transport. This results in higher car ownership and usage, congestion, increase in air pollution and reduced health and safety for adults and children with the increase in car usage. The disjointed thinking behind many of these developments is evident in many locations, including estates along Swords Road and the new estates built in rural areas on the outskirts of Dublin, where public transport is not designed for the volume of new residents. Active transport infrastructure in these areas is also not prioritised, resulting in increased traffic and making what were once quiet roads unsuitable for walking and cycling. By developing housing without considering sustainable transport, reliance on private cars is baked in for the residents who live there. Retrofitting public and active transport solutions into pre-existing developments is difficult and can be a risky strategy.
Housing crisis increases transport emissions
This difficulty of attempting to reduce reliance on private transport is transparent in the discussion around the requirement for universities to reduce parking where public transport options are available. While the aim to reduce transport emissions associated with universities is entirely necessary, failing to consider the housing requirements and the root causes of the high transport emissions is again a failure to join up thinking. In the current housing crisis, the cost of student housing and its availability are forcing more and more students to travel much greater distances to access their education. Aiming to reduce the number of cars accessing the campus while not urgently building low-cost student accommodation is a policy that will fail. While it is undeniable that there are probably many students who drive to college campuses who have absolutely no need, separating them from those who travel hours every day is not an easy task.
Take UCD for example. On campus it would have an approx. 30,000 student population. There are only 4,000 beds available on campus for these students, and 3,600 surface car parking spaces are available for students. While an excellent bus service is available to UCD, it is often over-subscribed during peak hours. On top of that, the active transport infrastructure – particularly between UCD and the town – is subpar and dangerous in certain conditions. Housing more of these students onsite would not only avoid the need for transport but also give students more time for a reasonable study/work /life balance. Avoiding this issue will create circumstances where only those who are lucky enough or wealthy enough will be able to go to college and those from further away who cannot live near college and cannot get parking will not.
The huge disconnect between where people live and the services and employment they need to access is a major factor in Ireland’s GHG emissions profile. It is not just colleges which experience this. The motorways built to ferry people from housing estates built in commuter towns to Dublin are consistently congested during peak hours with the M50 circling the capital resembling a carpark at different times of the day. In other parts of the country congestion is a constant feature of urban living with poor sustainable transport options, including public and active private infrastructure, resulting in people spending hours in traffic across Ireland, including in Galway and Cork.
The chronic shortage and the ever-increasing cost of houses available throughout the country amplify this disconnect. This results in people having little choice in where they live with many choosing to live further away from their desired destination simply because there is nothing available or it is out of their price range. Building is an urgent necessity in our housing crisis, but we cannot ignore the transport planning and transport implications of where we place these homes. Developing high-density housing and retrofitting derelict and vacant homes in cities, towns and villages is not just housing policy but transport policy. Deciding on locations for major public transport routes is not just a matter of transport policy but also influences the best places to build homes, health centres, and schools.
Everything is interconnected
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis states that “it cannot be emphasised enough how everything is interconnected.” (LS138) In every system, all functions interrelate with each other in ways that you may not expect. When planning our urban centres, housing and transport policies, we must always remember this and relegate the siloed thinking that deals with these issues separately to the past where they belong.
