Area-based planning - Essential for sustainable development

Temple Bar is a 28 acre site in the heart of Dublin City. It has been the subject of intensive regeneration over the past seven years and the very idea of Temple Bar has caught the public imagination in a truly visceral way. It is one of the most historically, architecturally and archaeologically rich areas of Dublin city - its medieval street patterns still exist today. The building stock varies from the very ordinary warehouse to the intricately ornate eighteenth century townhouse. During the 1970's and 80's the building stock fell into decline and the area became very run down and derelict Temple Bar's renewal came about as a result of a co-ordinated strategic area-based redevelopment programme. This programme is spearheaded by the public sector but actively includes the private sector. The rejuvenation of the Temple Bar area is billed under the term Temple Bar - Dublin's Cultural Quarter, and while cultural activities are at the core of the public sector interventions there are also many commercial schemes concerning the construction and rehabilitation of apartments, shops, bars and hotels. It is the balance between new and old mixed uses in Temple Bar that ensures its sustainability for the future. In seven years the area has been comprehensively improved without losing the original character that made it interesting in the first place.