At last week's event examining the Future of Cork, hosted by the Irish Examiner, a key priority that emerged for the city over the next decade is more green space. The city planners recommend more green space and fewer cars. Residential green spaces were assessed specifically in one study (the US Nurses’ Health Study) of more than 13,000 middle-aged women with better scores on cognition, psychomotor speed and attention linked to participants with higher levels of green space in their community. Gardener, broadcaster and sustainability advocate, Peter Dowdall is in no doubt about the importance of green space being incorporated into these ambitious plans. “This would include, planted streets and street trees, accessible green space within walking distance of every home, nature-rich school, university and childcare grounds, green walls, and publicly accessible roof gardens where ground-level space is limited.

Source: Irish Examiner March 09, 2026 01:03 UTC