Beyond bricks: buildings and questions of environmental justice in Ireland

Critical Ecologies

This podcast examines the intersections between issues of the built environment, sustainability and environmental justice in Ireland. Discussion around the environmental impact of buildings has become more prevalent in both policy and public discourse as we look towards zero-carbon futures, with Ireland taking on board the policies of the European Green Deal. In the public eye much of this topic has focused on retrofitting and issues of fuel poverty. Through these there are large questions as to how equitable and inclusive a roll out of retrofitting measures will be, especially following the Government’s recent moves to ban turf cutting. However, beyond this there is a need to bring together issues around the built environment (such as lack of housing & public space and high vacancy rates) with our current ecological and climate crises. While this has already started to some degree (e.g. Anois Agency in Cork) furthering these links could usher in a new mode of environmental politics and activism which links both the rural and the urban.