Dublin's spatial narrative ‐ the transition from essentially monocultural places to polycultural spaces

Darren Kelly
2005 Irish Geography  
Dublin and Chicago were always supportive with their estimable collegiate spirit. The kind assistance and support of the ERHA (HSE), in particular Mr Frank Mills, was of fundamental import to this research and my thanks go to him. The research would have been missing a particularly human / representative component without the support of gatekeepers' such as Niall O'Baoill of Fatima Groups United, Ken Me Cue of the International Working Group of the North West Inner City Network and Alice Binchy
more » ... of Tallaght Intercultural Action. The energy, dedication and integrity with which the aforementioned and others give to community development and integration work is exemplary and influential. My thanks also to the many un-named people from the different communities included in the research who generously spoke to me about their experiences of living in Dublin. Much of the theory and debate inherent in this research is both tested and brought to life by these people and by the county and city itself. Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my friends and family. Abstract Vital data accessed from the ERHA pertaining to asylum seekers living in Dublin in 2002 was analysed and formatted for use with GIS. The result was the production o f a micro-spatial map showing the distribution o f asylum seekers by Electoral Division [ED]. A series o f maps was produced at different scales showing various demographic, ethnic and racial variables. Locating the EDs for use with GIS required the researcher to walk throughout the dataset areas whilst observing, reading and photographing these evolving textual landscapes and also interviewing different individuals and community groups. The theoretical lens for this research examined the cultural geography and sociology o f space in Dublin using an interdisciplinary approach. It considered in-depth the theories regarding the politics o f scale and power associated with space and place. Based on this quantitative analysis and field observation, two central hypotheses were posited and examined: firstly, that ethnic and racial clustering is occurring within clearly identifiable EDs and secondly, that three sub-cultural groups or populations, namely asylum seeking, indigenous and gentrified, whilst inhabiting the same geographical places arguably live in different mental spaces. This social and cultural morphology has resulted in the transition o f what were once essentially mono-cultural places into poly-cultural spaces. Two possible models o f future spatial development in Dublin were examined. The research explored existing models o f community development in Dublin, arguing that the inclusion o f asylum seekers and other immigrant groupings into such potential models could aid social integration and spatial planning.
doi:10.1080/00750770509555859 fatcat:zewgtgkm7fbmnkhuu4r2z4ilbe