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Review
of Doubling Dublin Conference
Thursday,
8th November 2001, City West Conference Centre
Globalisation
*City Economies *Future Employment
*Integrated Development *Decentralisation
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Dr
Jonathan Potter, OECD, Dr Wendelin Wanka, Chief Executive
Office of Vienna City, Professor Remy Prud'homme, University
of Paris and Gina Quinn, Chief Executive of Dublin Chamber
of Commerce.
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"Deregulation,
information technology and the growth in power of transnational
corporations have created a global economy with a new organisational
structure". This was the view expressed by Professor
Saskia Sassen, international expert on the global economy,
in her presentation to the Doubling Dublin Conference in Citywest
Hotel on Thursday, 8 Nov. 2001.
"The city is more important than the state as the spatial
unit in creating jobs and wealth", said Ms. Sassen,
"The employment and wealth of cities is determined by their
effectiveness in integrating into this global network of cities
and not by their functioning within the state in which they
are located. Cities which are integrated into this network
will prosper, those which do not will decline."
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Other
international speakers included Professor Remy Prud'homme
of the University of Paris who identified three
key elements in the efficiency of cities:
"The size of the city, the speed at which people and goods
are moved in the city and the sprawl or relative location
of jobs and homes in the city". Achieving efficiency in
these three categories determines the efficiency of the
city's productivity and competitiveness. "In all three categories,"
he said, "Dublin displays dangerous signs of critical inefficiency...
If not rectified, the city faces the danger of economic
strangulation."
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Jonathan
Potter
of the OECD emphasised that devolution within cities
was "a prerequisite for the health and effectiveness of cities",
with all the relevant players in the public, private and non-profit
sectors playing a role in effective social inclusion and local
development in cities.
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Dr.
Wendelin Wanka,
Chief Executive Office of the City of Vienna, used
the example of the strategy developed in Vienna as a model
of integrated city development, focusing on effective sustainable
development, competitiveness, culture and knowledge, social
equality, ecology and transport systems.
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The
afternoon session dealt with the implications of globalisation
for Dublin:
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Dr.
Brendan Williams
of the School of the Built Environment in Dublin Institute
of Technology spoke of Dublin as a "city economy" and
the need for a quality urban management process to facilitate
and achieve sustainable economic development in the city.
He stressed that any expansion of Dublin should include a
return to mixed use development in a more compact city, integrating
transport, land use and economic objectives to achieve sustainable
development aims.
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Gina
Quinn,
Chief Executive of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce,
said that Dublin is now a global competitor and development
strategies must take this into account. Dublin is one of the
top five software centres globally and, for a city of its
size, is ahead in financial services and other areas. Its
critical mass and the clustering effect means it is poised
to take off globally. But for this to happen, its problems
have to be solved, particularly "transport and affordable
housing". If the Greater Dublin approach is not vigorously
pursued and the Greater Dublin Authority established as quickly
as possible, Dublin will lose out internationally.
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Dublin
City Manager, Mr John Fitzgerald struck
a chord with many in the audience when he spoke about Ireland's
less than super efficient approach to planning. He called
for the need to accelerate the National Development Plan and
the continued growth of Dublin despite the economic slowdown.
"With continued progress in our present capacity, Dublin has
the potential to become one of the finest cities in Europe",
he told the Conference.
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Speaking
on Dublin as an 'inclusive city', David Connolly of
the Dublin Inner City Partnership called for the transfer
of power and budgetary control to Dublin. In order to meet
the challenges of globalisation, Dublin needs to change from
an excessively centralised city to a decentralised city in
control of its own planning and resources. The city will also
benefit from welcoming and integrating immigrants into a vibrant
multi-cultural environment.
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The
Conference was chaired by Mr. Philip O'Connor, Director
DEP, and Mr. Eamonn O'Hare, Chairman DEP.
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For further information,
please contact:
Philip
O'Connor, Director, Dublin Employment Pact
Tel:
087-2768718 Fax: +353-1-8788711
Email:
poconnor@dublinpact.ie
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