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Context
Context
A world class city
At the core of the draft development plan is a strategic vision for Cork City ‘as a world class city, driving local and regional growth, embracing diversity and inclusiveness and growing as a resilient, healthy, age-friendly and sustainable compact city with placemaking, communities and quality of life at its heart’. This vision is affirmed by eight strategic principles, one of which is titled ‘A city of learning and culture’ and has as its goal: ‘To build on Cork’s designation as a UNESCO Learning City and the city’s rich cultural heritage and to foster learning, culture, heritage and the arts throughout the city’.
A growing, changing city
Cork is Ireland’s second city. In 2019 a boundary extension added urban villages and new neighbourhoods - Ballincollig, Ballyvolane, Blarney, Curraheen, Donnybrook, Douglas, Frankfield, Glanmire, Grange, Kerry Pike, Kileens, Rochestown, Togher, Tower and White’s Cross - to the city’s administrative area. Alongside this geographic expansion, over the coming years the city’s population is set to grow by over 120,000 to 335,000 people by 2040 and to continue to diversify: currently, one in eight people in Cork City were born outside of Ireland.
Photo: Clare Keogh
CORK IGNITE, live public artwork by Simon McKeown. Photo: Clare Keogh
A city of arts and culture
For centuries, Cork City has been a home for artists and arts and cultural organisations. The city continues to encourage and embrace artists and local and national cultural organisations of excellence and ambition. Dedicated arts and cultural programmes in MTU and UCC and other formal and informal initiatives and opportunities in the city cultivate new generations of artists and arts professionals. Its established arts and cultural institutions, organisations and festivals sustain a vibrant arts ecology: supporting artists, creating outstanding arts experiences that embrace the city’s diverse public and visitors alike and advancing the city’s national and international reputation. A European City of Culture in 2005, Cork ranked second among 79 cities for cultural participation and attractiveness in the European Commission’s Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2019. As the Draft Cork City Development Plan makes clear arts and culture are wholly, appreciably and vitally part of Cork City now and essential to its future.
A city of ambition and potential
Cork City’s growth potential is recognised and supported in Project Ireland 2040 and the National Planning Framework which sets out ambitious development targets to secure the city’s prosperity and viability as an ‘internationally competitive, sustainable urban environment’. The future development of the city is being progressed guided by the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and discrete local strategies with the ambition for the city as a whole set out in Cork City Council’s pending Development Plan, Our City, Our Future 2022 – 2028 .
Image Credit: Deirdre Breen. Photo Jed Niezgoda
Photo: Clare Keogh
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