Ms Giulia Vallone:

I would like to open with a quote from Italian-born architect, Richard Rogers, who sadly passed away recently having contributed enormously to urbanism of cities like London and Paris: "Politics and public space are densely intertwined - both are about our public life, our relationships with our fellow citizens, how we live together." I am grateful to the committee for inviting me here to express my views from 20 years' experience working in Ireland as a civic architect in Dublin City Council and Cork County Council.

Public space design is my expertise but its contribution to how people develop pride of place through an inclusive design process and how such community pride can regenerate a town's economy is the focus of my contribution. The statement is structured across six points and concludes with a case study of the Clonakilty 400 master plan, which is a project completed over a ten-year period and can be seen as a live laboratory in measuring success of public realm and collaboration at urban regeneration at a town-scale level. Clonakilty has been well illustrated in the submission to the committee and detailed information is also available through the various national and European awards the project has won.

The first point is to change the market by changing the ideal. How do we bring people to live in a town centre? Being able to reach services and facilities within 15 minutes' walking, including bumping into a friend, visiting one's granny on the way or sitting out under a tree on a sunny day is the magnet for people inhabiting traditional towns all over Europe. However, the value of this sustainable way of life is not highlighted or made desirable to first-time buyers in the housing market. The solution is that people need people. People are attracted to people-friendly places. The distinctive qualities of a town centre can prevail over the isolation of living in suburban sprawl if the public space they share is of the highest quality. Providing civic living room spaces to all ages and backgrounds for people to meet and to linger longer. A vibrant, functioning town centre for local communities is the most authentic, attractive experience for visitors, therefore, creating a destination that will reinforce the economic layer of tourism. Fáilte Ireland has an excellent design guidelines document on this topic.

The second point is how we make desirable the view of public life over a private garden. With density comes resilience. As in the rest of EU, in my town in Italy, living above the shop, having a high floor-to-ceiling apartment with a window framing the view of a church dome is the most desirable location to live with the highest economic, social and cultural value. My grandfather was an olive oil producer. He used his Vespa every day to commute to his farm and return to his town centre where, on a Sunday, he would dress elegantly and walk in the street to meet his friends. In contrast, the ideal in Ireland of living in the countryside has supported the spread of low density suburban and ribbon development which has many negative effects, including the hollowing out of town centres, a dependency on cars, isolation and mental health issues.

On the car society and urban design, we must change the paradigm. The heritage streets of our towns are slowly being turned from streets into roads through the implementation of road engineering design standards to serve the motorists. Irish towns have been brutalised by car-focused design, with a negative impact on public life and architectural fabric. The legacy of new road infrastructures has also brought the conflicting and anti-urban trends of out-of-town retail and those fuel station plazas that continue to compete against town and village centres. Action needs to be taken to create public lands with pedestrian priority forming safe, inclusive and socio-economically successful streetscapes. Since its publication in 2013, a new design manual for urban roads and streets in the hands of a skilled designer is a game changer for town centres, if implemented successfully by a multidisciplinary team.

On new opportunities through European supports, the new European Bauhaus initiative with the green deal were formed to lead the cultural change in climate change action and helping to develop better functioning cities and towns around Europe. Clonakilty 400 was selected as one of 33 European case studies to illustrate the key recommendations. Worthy of research is the Italian Government's recent granting of incentives for structural and energy upgrading of existing fabric across Italian urban areas, providing up to 110% funding. Since its introduction in 2020, it has been a game changer for the Italian economy while also facilitating the conservation and rehabilitation of urban centres and buildings.

My next point concerns urban design through public engagement. Project Ireland 2040, with the national planning framework plan, has placed a focus on the revitalisation of Irish towns, and the recent Housing for All has heralded the town centre first initiative, which is a very welcome one in the programme for Government. Invited as a panellist to the launch of Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, I recognised investment in rural Ireland as a very significant opportunity for rural towns, villages and communities in Ireland to provide transient and flexible workspaces. However, the implementation of this policy must not be done in isolation without public engagement. Only through meaningful and continuous public engagement can a strong sense of ownership of projects within the community be created that can lead to long-term success and pride of place across generations.

My final point refers to the implementation of ideas and the role of civic architects. Westport 2000 and Clonakilty 400 are well-known successful examples of town regeneration and it is no coincidence these projects shared the same implementation structure of being led by a town architect. Why was this? Architects have a solid track record in interrogating the quality of the building environment and they are therefore well equipped to use their knowledge, experience and capacity to spark discussion about the quality goals of the environment. As architects in councils, we are perfectly placed to co-ordinate the mostly disparate developments such as road, flood relief etc. to aesthetically pleasing outcomes. During the town council era, town architect planning clinics were also provided in all Cork county towns. These were a unique example of public engagement processes where the civil servant architects assisted the private sector design process through informal over-the-counter architectural and planning advice. This co-ordination process between the private and public sectors delivered sustainable outcomes in urban development.

I acted as a town architect for a number of towns in Cork county for ten years prior to the restructuring of the post with the abolition of town councils in 2014. This role was effective and consideration should be given to municipal architects as problem solving, where, working with town planners and local engineers, they are uniquely positioned to engage, harness and promote civic input. Community architects can act as the standard bearer of the town’s built environment in preserving the local architectural character through quality design, public participation and place making, promoting-----