ECONOMICS UNIQUENESS

LIVABLE HISTORIC CITY CORES AND ENABLING ENVIRONMENT ■ 9
It became clear in recent decades that for many of the world’s leading companies
that rely on a high creative input, their choice of where to locate was boiling
down to deciding on which city rather than which country. Th erefore, while Ireland’s
Industrial Development Agency continues to promote balanced regional
development in line with the government’s National Spatial Strategy, for many
key projects success would depend on the promotion of Dublin (the only Irish
city classifi ed by the OECD as a metro-region) as an attractive city location compared
to other similar competing European cities.
Over the last 20 years, major conservation projects have been undertaken
in Dublin, by both the state and city authorities, on important public buildings
including the Royal Hospital (1684), Dublin Castle, Collins (Royal) Barracks
(1709), Dr. Steevens’s Hospital (1719), Custom House (1791), Kilmainham Gaol
(1792), and City Hall (Royal Exchange) (1769). A works project has been ongoing
in the Phoenix Park, including the reinstatement of the main entrance gates
and the return of the Phoenix Monument (1747) to its original position on the
main axis of the park. Conservation works have also been completed and new
uses found for the former Bluecoat School (1773) and the churches of St. George
(1802) and St. Catherine (1760).
But in the city as a whole, the track record on the survival and conservation
of the historic urban fabric is more mixed, directly refl ecting the changing social
dynamics of the city, the confl icts of the early 20th century, and modern redevelopment.
Some surviving properties, particularly on the north side of the city,
lost original fabric and details when they were converted to tenement occupation
(although this too is now an important part of their history). Private individuals
and bodies have also done signifi cant conservation work, particularly
in the northern side of the city. One important example is the project on North
Great George’s Street, where conservation and new interventions to replace
missing historical fabric have helped to revitalize and reestablish the integrity of
the street. Dublin City Council has published a conservation plan for Henrietta
Street and recently started a program of urgent conservation works on a number
of properties in the street (UNESCO 2010).
Th e linking of investment promotion to a specifi c urban redevelopment project
in Ireland started with the establishment in 1987 of the Customs House Docks
Development Authority (CHDDA) as a statutory body to promote the redevelopment
of historic but derelict inner-city docks areas of initially 11 hectares. It was
envisaged that the economic basis for the redevelopment would be the establishment
in the area of an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), and
incentives were put in place to both encourage redevelopment and entice international
fi nancial companies to locate in the center. While the CHDDA would be
responsible for the development of the area, the government mandated that IDA
Ireland promote the center to investors. Th e initiative proved to be very successful,