Search

There are ambitious plans to construct an extensive network of off-road walking and cycling routes, known as greenways, across Ireland. However, land acquisition has proven challenging in some rura...

Government- and community-initiated energy retrofits of existing residential buildings abound across Europe. This paper argues that retrofitting initiatives need to extend their current emphasis on technical-material changes to include an equally strong focus on researching and potentially changing the energy-related expectations, aspirations and actual activities of those who inhabit and use these buildings. The concept of energy cultures serves as a useful heuristic to structure the analysis of household energy demand and internal environment. Covering three key elements of energy culture â 1) material conditions that relate directly to domestic energy use, 2) householdersâ attitudes, perceptions and norms concerning the use of energy and 3) observable everyday practices that use energy â , and their interactions, we examine data from 20 households in a social housing estate in Ireland collected before and after retrofitting. Overall, the results highlight the urgent need for an integrated approach to energy retrofitting that combines technology-aided changes in material conditions with a parallel re-shaping of householdersâ views and practices to achieve real and lasting reductions in energy use. The latter seems particularly pressing given both the persistence of many energy-intensive domestic activities and the possible emergence of rebound effects that have the potential to cancel out at least some of the savings made through retrofitting. The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from Science Foundation Ireland (Grant No. 13/CDA/2200), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 727642) and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for this research. The authors would also like to thank Co-operative Housing Ireland for facilitating access to homes for this study. peer-reviewed

The concept of mobility biographies has recently gained considerable currency in social-scientific transport research, reflecting increasing awareness of the long-term development of mobility practices. To complement existing work on the effects of major life events on mobility practices, we introduce the novel concept of ‘mobility milestones’, that is, mobility-related events across the life course that show a very high dependence on (infra)structural factors. Overall, the paper explicitly recognises the centrality of interactions between structural factors and human agency, thereby moving beyond a sole focus on individual travel behaviour. Initially, this paper reviews social and interdisciplinary research on mobility biographies, especially studies that use retrospective survey methodologies. Building on this review, we present an innovative online survey tool that has been deployed on the island of Ireland (n = 324) to record changes in individuals' mobility biographies and their connections with both life events and mobility milestones. This is followed by a discussion of key findings regarding the impact of starting college, residential relocation and changing employment, as well as buying a car or bicycle or getting a driving licence on individuals' modal choice.

Clientelism, pork-barrel politics and ‘pulling a stroke’ are important topics in Irish political science, and growing evidence demonstrates that Irish government ministers deliver disproportionate capital investments for their constituencies in grant allocations. Smarter Travel, a new policy area in the sustainability agenda, began providing capital funding for cycling projects in 2012 and offers a study of clientelism in a new field. This article shows that in 2012 and 2014, the Minister with responsibility for commuter and public transport overruled civil servant recommendations to fund four cycling-based projects in his own constituency and in another constituency immediately prior to a Dail by-election. The allocation of €27 million in National Cycle Network and Active Travel Towns funding is examined using Freedom of Information requests and the role of the Minister is highlighted. This study of pork in a new field reveals some of the dynamics between the civil service and a government minist...

Achieving standards-based Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in existing buildings is growing steadily due to the strong demand for deep retrofits in Europe. Existing non-domestic buildings pose challenges mainly due to occupancy patterns, lack of personal control over comfort and outdated building structures. Renovations of many post-war non-domestic buildings (>35 years old) have faced technical and financial challenges. Consequently, these buildings are often only partially retrofitted, which are often ad-hoc in nature. This paper describes the evaluation process of indoor environmental conditions in a partially-retrofitted university building in Galway (Ireland) originally built during the 1970s and partially retrofit in 2005. The research assesses criteria outlined in EN 15251 and draws on methods from ASHRAE 55 and CBE IEQ survey. Occupant surveys complemented by physical measurements were used to assess the compliance of IEQ parameters for thermal, visual and acoustic comfort and indoor air quality. The relationship between the performance of the building envelope and occupant comfort is described across retrofitted and non-retrofitted zones of the building. The results suggest that ad-hoc retrofitting of the façade did not make any significant difference to IEQ and occupants continued to adapt personally to the existing conditions. Their preferred satisfaction levels in the survey were lower than the measured thermal sensation. It is recommended that future retrofits are adequately planned and optimised to improve both IEQ and energy performance. A whole building retrofit approach must balance and include factors such as human health, building fabric and energy savings to avoid the pitfalls of current practice. The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from Science Foundation Ireland (Grant No. 13/CDA/2200). The authors would also like to thank all the participants of survey from the field study building and the Buildings & Estates Office at NUI Galway for facilitating this study. peer-reviewed 2020-05-07

Purpose There is profound demand for higher skills and expertise in retrofitting the existing building stock of Europe. The delivery of low- or nearly zero-energy retrofits is highly dependent on technical expertise, adoption of new materials, methods of construction and innovative technologies. Future Irish national building regulations will adopt the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive vision of retrofitting existing buildings to higher energy efficiency standards. Construction industry stakeholders are key for the achievement of energy performance targets. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to assess the attitudes, approaches and experiences of Irish construction professionals regarding energy efficient buildings, particularly nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a series of quantitative and qualitative methods, including a survey, a workshop and detailed interviews with professionals in the retrofit industry. The structure of this approach was informed by preliminary data and information available on the Irish construction sector. Findings There is a substantial amount of ambiguity and reluctance among the professionals in reaching the Irish nZEB targets. The growing retrofit industry demonstrates low-quality auditing and pre/post-retrofit analysis. Basic services and depth of retrofits are compromised by project budgets and marginal profits. Unaligned value supply chain, poor interaction among nZEB professionals and fragmented services are deterrents to industry standardisation. Practical implications This study will enable construction industry stakeholders to make provisions for overcoming the barriers, gaps and challenges identified in the practices of the retrofit projects. It will also inform the formulation of policies that drive retrofit uptake. Social implications This study has implications for understanding the social barriers existing in retrofit projects. Support from clients/owners has a diverse impact on energy performance and retrofit decisions. Community-based initiatives are key to unlock the promotion of nZEBs. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of current activities of retrofit professionals and analyses the barriers, gaps and challenges in the industry.

Ireland's reliance on the private car for transport is having a negative impact on the environment and public health; a modal shift from driving to cycling has the potential to reduce Ireland's carbon dioxide emissions and improve public health. Irish government policy commits to an increase in the modal share of cycling from 2% to 10% and the establishment of a National Cycle Network. In this network, the length of greenways (off-road cycle trails) will be maximised, however, no guidance exists for the design, maintenance or route selection of greenways in Ireland. Furthermore, internationally, while there is diverse literature with guidelines on cycle-route design, to date this has not been collated and reviewed. This paper reviews literature on the route selection, geometric design, pavement structure and maintenance of greenways from Ireland, UK, France, Denmark, USA and Australia. The review is of interest to designers, planners and other stakeholders, and can inform the development of guidelines for the design and maintenance of new greenways such as those proposed as part of the Nation Cycle Network in Ireland.

Cycling is the most energy-efficient mode of transport and can bring extensive environmental, social and economic benefits. Research has highlighted negative perceptions of safety as a major barrier to the growth of cycling. Understanding these perceptions through the application of novel place-sensitive methodological tools such as mental mapping could inform measures to increase cyclist numbers and consequently improve cyclist safety. Key steps to achieving this include: (a) the design of infrastructure to reduce actual risks and (b) targeted work on improving safety perceptions among current and future cyclists.This study combines mental mapping, a stated-preference survey and a transport infrastructure inventory to unpack perceptions of cycling risk and to reveal both overlaps and discrepancies between perceived and actual characteristics of the physical environment. Participants translate mentally mapped cycle routes onto hard-copy base-maps, colour-coding road sections according to risk, while a transport infrastructure inventory captures the objective cycling environment. These qualitative and quantitative data are matched using Geographic Information Systems and exported to statistical analysis software to model the individual and (infra)structural determinants of perceived cycling risk.This method was applied to cycling conditions in Galway City (Ireland). Participants' (n = 104) mental maps delivered data-rich perceived safety observations (n = 484) and initial comparison with locations of cycling collisions suggests some alignment between perception and reality, particularly relating to danger at roundabouts. Attributing individual and (infra)structural characteristics to each observation, a Generalised Linear Mixed Model statistical analysis identified segregated infrastructure, road width, the number of vehicles as well as gender and cycling experience as significant, and interactions were found between individual and infrastructural variables. The paper concludes that mental mapping is a highly useful tool for assessing perceptions of cycling risk with a strong visual aspect and significant potential for public participation. This distinguishes it from more traditional cycling safety assessment tools that focus solely on the technical assessment of cycling infrastructure. Further development of online mapping tools is recommended as part of bicycle suitability measures to engage cyclists and the general public and to inform 'soft' and 'hard' cycling policy responses. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This research was funded by NUI Galway through the College of Engineering & Informatics Postgraduate Fellowship Scheme and by NUI Galway Students’ Union through the Explore Innovation Initiative. peer-reviewed