Imagining 2050 Athlone
Brief of community-led visions for low carbon and climate-resilient futures
Brief of community-led visions for low carbon and climate-resilient futures
Preferences and beliefs regarding future life in Athlone in the face of climate change focused largely on wellbeing.
With few futuristic or technology centered visions of Athlone, the focus was on getting the basics right in terms of housing and health.
The uncertainty and unpredictability associated with climate change stressed the need to maintain and invest on social infrastructure and enhance community bonds.
A key theme framing local understanding of climate change is a shared sense of uncertainity around social and environmental factors. This uncertainty also makes it difficult to plan for the future.
Associations between climate change and flooding are dominant . These include concerns over recurring extreme flood events, the need to adapt the urban environment to the growing risk of floods and a problematic legacy derived from building on flood plains.
Visions of change for Athlone focus on actions to 'fix communities' rather than 'fixing the climate'. Sustainability/unsustainability was seen to be deeply connected to community empowerment and wellbeing, housing and mobility options. Engaging communities in climate action is essential but should be promoted through regular meetings, that are inclusive and diverse. Social clubs, the local PPN and other existing local groups are seen to have potential to faciliate greater engagement with local climate action issues.
Transport is highlighted a key area to promote sustainability in Athlone. Actions include the roll out of transport programmes such as supporting the provision of a rural bus scheme to ensure access to health services, shops, etc. Adequate service levels is key to improving trust in public service transport. Alternative mobility options include expanding cycling infrastructure and making it 'family friendly', building more walkways and cycle lanes in the town and expanding the greenway.
Air quality in Athlone is highlighted as an issue and seen to be aggravated by high volumes of traffic and congestion. To counter this a Park & Ride system in both ends of the town is required, as is the need to tackle commuter patterns associated with lack of housing.
Siting of new developments is seen as critical issue. A problematic legacy of flooding related to building on flood plains is an ongoing concern. While housing is a key issue for people, there is little support for the development of high rise buildings.
Long term solutions with a view to 2050 include:
Some of the distinguishing challenges for the older citizen in the future include poor health, isolation and diminished financial capacity. These issues were all seen to be exarcebated by the impacts of climate change and were identified as concerns in terms of access to healthy food, warm and energy efficient housing, mantaining connections in the community and mobility.
The “Farmer Citizen’ was portrayed as struggling to cope with harsher weather conditions, unfavourable supply chain dynamics and stricter environmental regulations. Growing isolation and lack of mobility choices was a key issue for the future farmer, reflecting a growing divide in rural areas around mobility and transport services and family income.
The young citizen was portrayed as being more motivated and active in mobilizing for climate change strategies. Interactions include strikes and social unrest. Uncertainty and undefined life paths due to climate disruption are perceived as a main challenge and ongoing issues with housing are expected to impact young people, more than other cohorts into the future. Mental health is identified as a concern for this age group.
For further information please visit our website
https://www.ucc.ie / en/imagining2050/