Although most Irish people now live in cities and towns, we have remained reluctant urbanites, drawn to the diluted charms of the suburbs. But today suburbia is in deep crisis. The heartland of Irish housing has become increasingly unworkable. It's not only the cost and poor value for money of new housing that worries people, but also the savage impact on the quality of their lives wrought by the ever-lengthening commute to work. Some economists estimate that at its current rate of expansion, Greater Dublin will by 2010 sprawl from Wicklow to Drogheda and from the east coast to Athlone — an area about the size of Los Angeles. Worse still, the projected population of the east coast conurbation will be just short of 2m.
