Healthy, inclusive and diverse city
Build on Cork City’s status as a WHO designated Healthy City, offering an inclusive and vibrant environment for all whilst promoting healthy living and wellbeing. Healthy, inclusive and diverse city
This Plan recommends the continued exploration of innovative new solutions for air quality and public health, balanced with other actions under the Air Quality Strategy to utilise Green Blue Infrastructure (GBI) and Nature-based Solutions (NBS) for improved local air quality and greater levels of urban greening, including green roofs, green walls, street trees and green open spaces. With ~18% of the city’s population having a disability, it is vital to ensure that the city’s opportunities are open to all residents and visitors. Audits carried out for the City Council and the NTA have identified areas for improvement and these can be undertaken more regularly. Challenges remain in relation to the availability and size of some parking bays, and successes on St Patrick St and Oliver Plunkett St can be mirrored elsewhere. Accessibility at many entertainment venue is good (e.g. Opera House), as is accessibility on public transport. However, at peak times accessibility can be difficult both in terms of spacing on board buses and the availability of appropriate private taxis. Cork is a multicultural city with ~14% of population of migrant origin (2016 Census). The City Council embraces the inclusivity by organising and supporting various festivals and events celebrating migrant culture: for example, the Polish Independence day and Africa Day. Greater visibility of the city’s diversity through public events, especially in parks, would contribute to inclusivity and generate footfall in city centre areas.
Cork’s designation as a WHO Healthy City provides it with a status to embed health, inclusivity, and diversity into its city centre footprint. The city’s health status can be built upon through a greater level of provision of active transport options, small parks and playgrounds, and highlighting the city’s culinary offer. During the pandemic, an observable increase in footfall was observed along the South Channel Walk, taking in a number of parklets and murals, and indicative of unmet demand for greater levels of walking infrastructure. Given relatively low rates of green spaces, roof gardens, wall gardens, and small green spaces would contribute to a healthier environment, improving air quality and serving recreational purposes. Air quality is an essential element of a healthy urban environment. The 2021 Air Quality Strategy published by CCC sets out a range of actions to reduce the concentration of air pollutants, helping to improve the quality and health of the city. Actions include improved air quality monitoring and management and the promotion of low carbon transport options such as walking, cycling and using public transport within the city centre area. The launch of the Air Quality Strategy saw the installation of five ‘CityTrees’ on St. Patrick Street and Grand Parade. These multi-purpose installations help filter harmful pollutants from the air, with sensors and monitors used to collect and display information on local air quality. They can also be used for public seating.
Comparative learnings: Small plazas in Spain (Seville, Malaga, Barcelona), L'Oasis d'Aboukir (Paris), Edinburgh Multicultural Festival Stakeholders: Cork Healthy Cities, Environmental Research Institute, EPA, Friends of the Earth, National Parks and Wildlife Service, SEAI, Office of Public Works
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