Recently, a 125 acre plot of land in in Baldoyle, county Dublin has been given permission to plan for construction of at least 1,000 new residential units in the near future.
The land itself will be broken into two different sites; one will be used for a more expensive, modern type residence with a town center and grand landscaping. The other part will be used for a more residential area, with zoning estimations of up to 759 units on the land.
With an apparent lack in the amount of appropriate proportion of home buyers and sellers in Dublin, a shortage of housing has become one of the cities main focuses. This newly zoned area will continue adding to the already large capital city of Ireland.
Although there are many opportunities for growth within this huge chunk of land, I am personally quite skeptical of the livability of these areas. New developments are always shiny and clean looking on the outside, but can have a lot of inherent problems in actual habitation of these units.
If the highest amount of units were to be build, each tenant or owner would have roughly 0.078125 acres of land surrounding their home. This number does not account for the extraction of some of this land to make roadways, parking areas, or sidewalks.
Single family homes would especially have issues fitting into this type of place, while semi-detached or apartments may be able to make the best use of the space. All of this is up to the developer and his plans, along with figuring out cost of production and the price people are willing to pay for these type of accommodations.
This area is seemingly going to be a great place to move your family into, but at the same time there are many aspects of living that you will likely give up when moving into a close unit space. For example, privacy is nonexistent as you move closer and closer to your neighbor.
Even with the highest quality doors and windows, it is in no way impossible to not pick up on your neighbors habits. Additionally, if you are inclined to be outside just jogging or watching your children play, this type of area may not be for you. Large amounts of people in one area lead to large amounts of traffic, which can prove to be unsafe for more active lifestyles if you are not paying attention.
Overall, this new development most definitely offers incredible promise at expanding Dublin and quelling the housing crisis for a small bit, if at all.
