After COP21 in Paris, and its adoption of a wide-ranging programme to tackle climate change, we’ll need to improve our game.
Author Archives: Frank McDonald
Frank McDonald is the former environment editor of the Irish Times, and the author of several books, including The Destruction of Dublin (1985), Saving the City (1989), and The Construction of Dublin (2000). He is also co-author of books including Chaos at the Crossroads (2005) and The Builders (2008). He was born in Dublin, graduated from UCD in 1971, joined the Irish Times in 1979 and has been a resident of the Temple Bar area since 1995.
Posted inOpinion
Frank: So Far the Dublin House Initiative Is a Sad Tale
A project to let citizen developers build homes in the inner city sounded like such a good idea when it was first floated in the depths of the recession. Unfortunately, it has fallen at an early hurdle.
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Frank: Some Thoughts on Relocating Dublin’s Statues
When College Green is reordered, where should its statues be moved to? Frank McDonald has some ideas.
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Frank: Modular Homes for Homeless Families Could Be Lovely
If the houses are built to anything like the standards that apply in Austria or Scandinavia, the families who’ll end up living in them won’t want to leave.
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Frank: We Need More Than a Wall in Clontarf
We can’t kick everybody out of Clontarf and Sandymount. So we’d better have a good plan for how to protect them from flooding, which means more than building a view-blocking wall.
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Frank: Green Would Be Biggest Casualty of Metro North Construction
Be prepared for a quarter of St Stephen’s Green to be dug up and turned into a huge hole in the ground.
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Frank: Dept of Transport Flunks It on Buses and Smarter Travel
Even though Ireland has breached EU standards for pollution, when it bought new buses, it bought diesel-powered models, rather than cleaner ones.
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Frank: For Pedestrians’ Sake, Tear Down Those Guardrails
Transfixed like a rabbit in headlamps by the fear of being sued for damages, engineers are still applying old thinking – as exemplified by new guardrails near St Stephen’s Green, writes Frank McDonald.
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Frank: Cars Have Dominated Dublin for Too Long
Most of those opposed to making Dublin’s city centre nicer for pedestrians, cyclists and public-transport users are car-users who live out in the suburbs. Why should the city be designed for them?
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Frank: Here’s Who Wants Smaller Apartments
No major change in public policy happens by accident. So who’s been pushing for smaller apartments? Frank names names.