New report: Taking stock of Dublin’s vacant sites and properties: A review of existing policies and measures

Our first output from the Rethinking Urban Vacancy project is now available here.

In this report, we are concerned with the current and recent context of vacancy in Dublin. Vacancy has been a persistent long-term feature of Dublin’s urban landscape throughout periods of growth and recession, to this day. By examining the current political context surrounding urban vacancy and associated measures, this report endeavours to offer a deeper understanding of how vacancy is politically understood and responded to in Dublin, and Ireland more generally.

In considering the policy context for vacancy, four distinct yet overlapping framings are outlined: decline and dereliction, post-crash vacancy, vacancy amidst a housing crisis, and vacancy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following this review, the report introduces and analyses the current approaches to identifying and measuring vacancy in Dublin by distinguishing between national efforts, local government approaches, crowdsourcing and public mapping, and adjacent/secondary datasets.

The report concludes with five preliminary recommendations for improving current political definitions, measures, and responses in Ireland, along with a provisional typology for urban vacancy in Dublin. Overall, its findings seek to contribute towards the development of clearer, and more nuanced understandings of vacancy in Dublin, with a view to supporting more targeted and effective political responses.

Analysis is based on a review of academic literature, legislation and policies, government documents, market reports, vacancy measures and datasets, as well as maps. Interviews, site visits, and media analysis have also taken place in tandem with this report. While not the primary focus of this report, they have been considered in preparing the analysis and recommendations. This report is the first output of the Irish Research Council-funded Rethinking Urban Vacancy research project led by Dr Cian O’Callaghan. Subsequent findings will be disseminated in the coming months through a second policy report, public event, and academic journal articles.