Despite rapid changes in vehicle technology and the expansion of IT-based mobility solutions, travel habits must be changed to address the environmental and health implications of increasing car dependency. A significant amount of research focuses on commuting, which comprises the largest share of annual vehicle miles travelled. However, non-work trips are also significant, especially when considering trip frequency. Using empirical data (N = 1298) from an urban-rural region and bivariate statistical analysis, the relationship between the land use–transport configuration (6 types) and travel behaviour patterns is examined for 14 non-work destinations. The land use characterisation used in this research includes an updated means of representing a land use mix. By defining the typologies of land use and transport for use in the analysis, the findings can be directed towards contrasting area types in the region. A strong statistically significant association between the land use–transport configuration and mode-share for 14 non-work journey purposes is found. Using regression modelling, income and car ownership are identified as key influences on travel behaviour patterns. The results of both analyses show that, for non-work trips, the transport–land use relationship is as important as key socio-demographic indicators. However, the results for reductions in car travel are relatively small for the area typologies outside the inner-city core. This indicates that efforts to provide alternatives to car travel in order to mitigate car dependency should be prioritised in these outer urban areas. Appropriate management of spatial structure for non-work activity types such that active mode use is possible is essential. This will resolve some of the important environmental and health impacts of car dependency.

Sokol M., Van Egeraat C. and Williams B. Revisiting the ‘informational city’: space of flows, polycentricity and the geography of knowledge-intensive business services in the emerging global city-region of Dublin, Regional Studies. The paper engages with the notion that the new spatial logic, underpinned by information and communication technology (ICT) and the ‘space of flows’, manifests itself in the form of ‘informational cities’ described as multinuclear spatial structures or polycentric city-regions in the knowledge-based economy. Focusing on the geography of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), the paper argues that there is little evidence of such polycentric pattern emerging within the Greater Dublin Region, Ireland. The exploration of factors underpinning weak decentralization tendencies of KIBS opens for reconsideration the concept of the ‘informational city’. Sokol M., Van Egeraat C. et Williams B. Revisiter la cité de l'information: espace de flux, polycentricité et géographie des secteurs à haute densité intellectuelle aux entreprises basés sur la connaissance dans la nouvelle ville-région de Dublin, Regional Studies. Cet article s'intéresse au fait que la nouvelle logique spatiale, sous-tendue par les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) et les espaces de flux se manifeste sous la forme de cités de l'information décrites comme des structures spatiales à noyaux multiples ou de villes-régions polycentriques dans l'économie de la connaissance. S'appuyant essentiellement sur la géographie des secteurs à haute densité intellectuelle (KIBS), les auteurs font valoir qu'il y a peu de preuves de l'émergEnce de tels modèles polycentriques au sein du grand Dublin. L'analyse de facteurs confirmant de faibles tendances à la décentralisation des KIBS invite à reconsidérer le concept de cité de l'information. Secteurs à haute densité intellectuelle Polycentricité Ville-région Dublin Sokol M., Van Egeraat C. und Williams B. Neubewertung der ‘Informationsstadt’: Raum der Ströme, Polyzentrizität und die Geografie von wissensintensiven Geschäftsdiensten in der entstehenden globalen Stadtregion von Dublin, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag befassen wir uns mit der Vorstellung, dass sich die neue räumliche Logik dank der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie und des ‘Raums der Ströme’ in Form von ‘Informationsstädten’ manifestiert, die als multinukleare Raumstrukturen oder polyzentrische Stadtregionen in der wissensbasierten Wirtschaft beschrieben werden. Wir konzentrieren uns auf die Geografie von wissensintensiven Geschäftsdiensten und argumentieren, dass innerhalb der Großregion Dublin nur wenige Anzeichen für das Entstehen solcher polyzentrischer Muster vorliegen. Die Untersuchung von Faktoren, die schwachen Dezentralisierungstendenzen von wissensintensiven Geschäftsdiensten zugrundeliegen, führt zu einer Neubewertung des Konzepts der ‘Informationsstadt’. Wissensintensive Geschäftsdienste Polyzentrizität Stadtregion Dublin Sokol M., Van Egeraat C. y Williams B. Revisión de la ‘Ciudad Informativa’: espacio de flujos, policentralidad y la geografía de los servicios comerciales con alto nivel de conocimientos en el área emergente y global de la región metropolitana de Dublín, Regional Studies. Este ensayo trata sobre la noción de que la nueva lógica espacial, respaldada por las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) y el ‘espacio de flujos’, se manifiesta en forma de ‘ciudades informativas’ descritas como estructuras multinucleares espaciales o regiones metropolitanas policéntricas en la economía basada en el conocimiento. Centrándonos en la geografía de servicios comerciales con alto nivel de conocimientos, en este artículo sostenemos que existen pocas evidencias de este modelo policéntrico en la región metropolitana de Dublín. El análisis de los factores detrás de las tendencias débiles de descentralización de los servicios comerciales con alto nivel de conocimientos nos lleva a reconsiderar el concepto de la ‘ciudad informativa’. Servicios comerciales con alto nivel de conocimientos Policentralidad Región metropolitana Dublín

Spatial planning systems and institutions have a significant role in managing non-agricultural land growth in Europe and the assessment of how their implementation impacts on agricultural land consumption is of great significance for policy and institutional improvement. Reducing the area of agricultural land taken for urban development, or eliminating such conversion, is an international policy priority aiming to maintain the amount and quality of land resources currently available for food production and sustainable development. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of land use planning systems and institutional settings on urban conversion of agricultural land in the 265 NUTS2 level EU27 and UK regions. Taking these regions as the unit of our analysis, the research developed and used global and local econometrics models to estimate the effect based on socio-economic, institutional and land use data for the 2000–2018 period. There is limited research focusing on the impacts of institutional settings and planning types of the European countries on the conversion of agricultural land. Furthermore, existing research has not considered the spatial relationships with the determinants of agricultural land conversion and the response variable, therefore, our research aimed to contribute to the literature on the subject. The results showed that the types of spatial planning systems and institution variables significantly impact the conversion of agricultural land to urban uses. Socio-economic indicators and areas of agricultural and urban land have significant impact on agricultural land conversion for any type of spatial planning system. A further result was that decentralization and political fragmentation were positively associated with agricultural land conversion while quality of regional government and governance was negatively associated. A local regression model was assessed to explore the different spatial patterns of the relationships driving agricultural land conversion. The main empirical finding from this model was that there was spatial variation of driving factors of agricultural land conversion in Europe.

Major policy or paradigm shifts to more sustainable development paths present political, economic and social challenges. In Ireland, the experiences of other European states have been used to shift what was a localised development-led planning system towards the incorporation of national and strategic approaches. The transition is from a land-use planning approach with a market-led emphasis based on a local plan making function with regulatory controls. This paper explores the process, factors and inherent difficulties involved in moving from a localized to more integrated and strategic approaches and examines experiences to date.

The impact of surges and corrections in residential property prices has been a feature of many international economies in the past two decades and was pronounced as the global financial crisis evolved from 2007 to 2015. Many European states such as Spain and Ireland were severely affected by market corrections, having experienced major property-development surges in the decade to 2007. Factors associated with such surges include a rapid growth in housing demand both for occupation and for investment purposes, often supported by relaxed credit and monetary policy stances. Many jurisdictions, including Ireland, also experienced supportive fiscal regimes, which artificially boosted investment in property acquisition and development, and ineffective planning and zoning regulatory systems for major growth centres leading to sprawl-type patterns of development. Irish residential property prices were at the top range of such international price increases and corrections, with major consequences for the general economy and the property market. This article explores the policy context which shaped the boom and bust and the policy response in place for market recovery.

In the context of sustainable urban development, the application of selected indicators integrated with scenario simulation and analysis can contribute to evidence-based decision making. This paper discusses the application of land use modelling and opportunity mapping approaches to evaluate regional development scenarios for the Greater Dublin Region in the period to 2026 evolving from research initially developed with the Dublin Regional Authority. This involved the simulation of four different future regional development scenarios using an adapted version of the MOLAND model with opportunity maps based on combined spatial indicators corresponding to these scenarios. The results produce valuable information for policy makers and planners assisting the evaluation of the consequences of their decisions in both a spatial and temporal context. This paper aims to show how current and future planning and economic policy can make targeted and evidence-based policy interventions and achieve resource efficiencies through the use of scenario analysis.