Trans-Atlantic Symposium on State and National Planning

With sponsorship from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Professors Gerrit Knaap of the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education and UCD’s Zorica Nedović-Budić co-organised the symposium which took place in Newman House on St. Stephen’s Green, October 14-16, 2012. The Irish Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan, opened the symposium. The invited presentations and discussions featured comparative views on planning in Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and the UK in Europe and the states of Maryland, Oregon, California, New Jersey and Delaware in the United States. For further information and recordings of the streamed sessions see: http://www.ucd.ie/gpep/events/seminarsworkshopsconferences/natplansymp2012

Inside this issue:

Research, Teaching, Staff and Student News Issue 2, November 2012

A N N U A L N E W S L E T T E R

UCD School of Geography, Planning and

Environmental Policy (GPEP)

GPEP’S INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT

1-2

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

1-4

RESEARCH PROJECTS 5-8

STUDENT AWARDS 9

PUBLICATIONS 10-11

EVENTS 12-13

PROFESSIONAL OUTREACH 14

MORE NEWS 15

NEW ROLES AND FACES 16-17

EXCHANGE STUDENTS 18

EARTH INSTITUTE NEWS 19

8th International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC8) at UCD Every three years the International Association for Urban Climates (IAUC) organises a conference on the climates of cities. At ICUC7 (2009) in Yokohama,

Japan, Dublin won the right to host ICUC8. Dr. Gerald Mills acted as the local organiser and the event was held on August 6-10, 2012. The conference was co-hosted with the urban meteorology section of the American Meteorological Society. Over 450 delegates attended, 95% from outside Ireland; Japan alone had 50 delegates. The growing interest in the field was reflected in the broad range of delegates attending, including:

meteorologists interested in air quality,

climatologists interested in the contribution of cities to global climate change, and

urban planners/designers interested in creating sustainable cities.

The event was used to inaugurate the first Irish urban observation site in DIT Kevin Street. The instruments will record the fluxes of energy and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the city surface. Board members of the IAUC also

took the opportunity to meet while in Dublin. The event’s Irish and international sponsors included Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Meteorological Organization and European Space Agency (who gave support for attendance from less prospe-rous countries).

For further information see:

http://www.icuc8.org and http:/www.urban.climate.org

Ireland’s first urban observation site

IAUC board members

GPEP’s INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT IS INCREASING

School of GPEP Newsletter

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GPEP/UCD hosting the 5th Joint Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), July 15-19, 2013

Resilience has become a new banner for various societal and related planning efforts in cities and regions across the globe. These efforts generally aim to sustain the urban and rural viability and improve the quality of life for their residents amidst the global economic and socio-political crisis and climate change. GPEP/UCD are honoured to be hosting the joint AESOP-ACSP congress in 2013 on the theme of Planning for Resilient Cities and Regions, which is particularly pertinent to Ireland, in the post-Celtic Tiger era. International speakers will deliver papers on 16 themes. For further information see: http://aesop-acspdublin2013.com

Latin America at Crossroads: Between Globalisation and Regionalisation

The First Latin America Conference Ireland (LACI) will take place on 23-24 May 2013 in Dublin-Ireland. It is organized by scholars of University College Dublin, including GPEP’s Dr. Veronica Crossa. For further information see: http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/CALL%20FOR%20SUBMISSIONS-LACI.pdf

Links with American Universities

Over the past year the links for exchange of staff and students have been strengthened with the initiation of MEGAPOLITAN programme with two Canadian Universities - Laval and University of British Columbia. Several exchange visits were paid to Northeast University of Boston, where Dr Brendan Williams holds a visiting professorship, and University of San Diego, where Dr. Peter Clinch, Professor of Public Policy, visited in summer of 2011.

The School continues the student exchange with the master’s planning programme at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Also, the links with several other US Universities (University of Florida and California-Irvine) have opened up through the Network for European and U.S. Regional and Urban Studies (NEURUS), allowing for new and varied international opportunities to our students and staff.

Exploratory visits to other Universities

This year Professor Nedović-Budić explored further connections with colleagues and institutions in Asia. She visited Fujian Normal University in Fouzhou, China, the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Taipei in Taiwan. She has also been asked to visit Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University for Women, in Riyadh, Soudi Arabia, in order to share experiences of our multidisciplinary school.

Handover of AESOP flag to UCD Professor Zorica Nedović-Budić (Ankara, Turkey, July 2012)

Dr Williams (UCD), Mr Cudden (Dublin City Council), Prof. Spiess (Northeastern University, Boston), and Prof. Nedović-Budić (UCD) with Lord Mayor of Dublin Mr Andrew Montague, October 2011

The city of Hong Kong

Prof. Zorica Nedović-Budić, Head of GPEP visiting with Prof. Jinming Sha at the Fujian Normal University, February 2012

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Issue 2, November 2012

3

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

EcoArm2ERA

Geospatial Technology & Ecology - Armenia

Under the EU Research Framework Programme (FP7) GPEP and the UCD Earth Institute are participating in the EcoArm2Era Project funded by the European Research Area (ERA) to support the development of research cooperation between Europe and Armenia. The project brings together the Centre for Ecological-Noosphere Studies (CENS) of National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and integrates the Armenian research capabilities in the field of environment and sustainable development. The main beneficiary of the project — CENS — will be directly linked with its European twinning partners - UCD Earth Institute and the Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva.

GPEP/UCD Team: Prof. Zorica Nedović-Budić (Principal Investigator (PI), Dr Harutyun Shahumyan and Dr Raquel Cabral (UCD Earth Institute).

For further information see: http://www.ecoarm2era.eu

Visitors

As an indicator of the School’s increasing international visibility and calibre, two distinguished international scholars chose the School as their sabbatical home. Associate Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning, Jill Simone Gross of the City University of New York (CUNY), was hosted by GPEP’s Dr Declan Redmond (Spring 2012). Professor Gerrit Knaap, Executive Director of the National Centre for Smart Growth and Education and Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activity at the University of Maryland, was hosted by Professor Nedović-Budić (Autumn 2011).

Smart Growth

During his sabbatical at UCD, Professor Gerrit Knaap was studying both the Irish National Spatial Strategy and European spatial planning. He visited the classes and gave seminars at UCD, Dublin City Council and at several other European universities. Upon his return to the US, Gerrit re-engaged in his work around land-use, chairing the working group which monitors the implementation of PlanMaryland, the state‘s first state development plan; serving on the Zoning Advisory Panel for Montgomery County and

participating in the steering committee for the Baltimore Regional Sustainable Communities Plan which is funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

With support from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Gerrit and his colleagues at UCD will be hosting a conference on planning at the state and nation-state level in Dublin in October 2012. Gerrit remains actively involved in his own research. With two colleagues from Cornell University, he co-edited the Oxford University Press Handbook in Urban Economics and Planning and published five papers in peer-refereed journals, including two in the Journal of the American Planning Association – one that presented the results of a scenario planning exercise for the Washington metropolitan area and one that offered an analysis of Maryland’s Rural Legacy Programme.

Kick-off meeting at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, (Yerevan, Armenia, February 2012)

Professor Gerrit J. Knaap

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INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Migrant communities in Dublin and London

Professor Jill Simone Gross is based in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College, the City University of New York. She specializes in comparative international urban policy and planning, urban economic development and participatory politics. She is also an elected member of the US Urban Affairs Association and has served on the governing board of the Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Dr. Gross was awarded a Fulbright Schulman Senior European Union (EU) research award in 2011 to examine the implications of EU expansion on migrant inclusion in Dublin and London, and the emergent forms of “urban citizenship” separate and apart from more traditional notions of national citizenship.

Dr. Gross was at the GPEP from January to March 2012, followed by three months in London, with visits to Brussels and Luxembourg. She spent most of her time walking the new immigrant neighbourhoods of Dublin, and trying to get a feel for the lived experiences of Dublin’s new communities.

While there, living in Dublin’s Docklands, north of the River Liffey, she mapped and photographed immigrant communities across the Greater Dublin region and conducted interviews with migrants, NGOs and government officials, and spoke with faculty members across UCD.

Dr. Gross delivered a seminar on Business Improvement Districts in New York to UCD students and the faculty. Professor Gross’ research will be presented at the American Political Science Association conference in New Orleans in September 2012 with the paper titled “Walking Upon Shifting Sands: Migrant Integration in Dublin Ireland.” She is pleased to be returning to UCD in July 2013 to attend the joint AESOP-ACSP Congress.

LUMAN: ERA - New Zealand

The Land Use Modelling and Analysis Network (LUMAN)

aims to co‐ordinate and consolidate the research efforts

of three organisations involved in land‐use modelling

and analysis and to animate the aspirations of the

European Research Area. Two of the organisations are

based in Europe (UCD Urban Institute Ireland and

Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek -

VITO, Belgium) and one is based in New Zealand

(Landcare Research). This 4-year exchange programme

launched in 2010, involves early stage and experienced

researchers. Dr Harutyun Shahumyan from GPEP visited

New Zealand Landcare Research in 2010; Drs Daniel

Rutledge, Alexander Herzig and Fraser Morgan from

New Zealand and Guy Engelen from Belgium visited

UCD in 2011 and 2012.

GPEP Team: Dr Brendan Williams (PI), Dr Harutyun Shahumyan, Ms Sheila Convery

Sponsor: Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme

Jill visiting Dublin landmarks — Temple Bar and Dublin City Council

Prof. Gross, Fullbright Scholar - on her European sabbatical

Issue 2, November 2012

5

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Cities under stress With over half of humans living in urban areas, cities represent the major consumer of global resources. This has severely impacted surrounding landscapes and their communities. Urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of environmental change.

Many city dwellers are concerned about the impacts of rapid or unregulated land-use change, quality of environmental health and human well-being issues. Urban planners, managers and designers face demands from communities to plan for socially inclusive adaptive strategies. TURAS project addresses this key challenge in European cities: to devise holistic transition strategies that are tailored to the needs of all stakeholders; flexible, adaptive and transferrable across different urban regions and scales.

The project started the discussions toward visions and mechanisms for building a transition strategy for Europe’s cities at the first meeting of its 28 partners in November 2011. This complex grouping of academics, municipalities and SMEs is instrumental for the project’s approach and success. While still in the early stage, the project was recognized with a special European Champions of Research Award, which was presented by

the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins in June 2012. The project has a lot to live up to and a long road of interesting research ahead. The initial year involved work on the consortium’s

communication strategy, project operationalisaton and recruitment of PhD and post-doc researchers. Discussions on how to begin to address the notion of transitioning in addition to building our website and visits to the case study cities are all on-going.

GPEP Team: Prof Zorica Nedović-Budić (PI), Dr Marcus Collier, Dr Louise Dunne, Aoife Corcoran

Sponsor: European Commission FP7

For further information see: http://www.turas-cities.eu

SILTFLUX

Monitoring Sediment Fluxes in Irish Rivers is part of EPA funded research aimed at improving knowledge on the state of water resources in Ireland. The focus of the project is measurement of fine (suspended) sediment flux in rivers, with the aim of developing standards for suspended sediments in relation to 'reference' conditions and impacts of land-use, such as pasture and tillage. The project also aims to consider the benefits of enhancement measures and policy implications. The project has two associated PhD students. International collaboration is with Dr Damian Lawler at the UK’s Birmingham University. The project’s principal investigators are from three UCD schools: Professor Michael Bruen, Dr John O'Sullivan (Civil Engineering), Dr Jonathan Turner (GPEP) and Dr Mary Kelly-Quinn (Biological Sciences). GPEP Team: Dr Jonathan Turner (co-PI)

Sponsor: Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

For further information see: http://www.siltflux.com

TURAS Consortium , kick-off meeting, November 2011

Example of urban environmental stress

Dr Collier receives the Award from the Irish President Michael D. Higgins

Integrated autosampler and turbidity sensor instrumentation on the upper River Slaney, Co. Wicklow

School of GPEP Newsletter

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Dublin’s Place in the Irish and Global Economy

The Dublin Regional Authority representing Dublin’s four local authorities have joined with GPEP/UCD to carry out an evidence-based study on the role and position of the Dublin region in the development of Ireland’s economy.

The study examines Dublin’s performance in economic terms, under the current fiscal conditions, and benchmarks its performance at both national and global scales. The aim of the research is to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence to support investment within the functional city region and nationally, so as to maximise national economic output and provide a

pathway for national sustainable development.

The results of the spatial, cluster and opportunity mapping analyses show the statistically proven significance of the main National Spatial Strategy (NSS) Gateways and Hubs, as key centres for the main sectors of business in Ireland; and the Gateway cities offering the greatest opportunity in the country. Dublin stands out as both the global economic focal point for Ireland and the key component of a broader spatial distribution of Gateways and Hubs nationally.

The results can also be viewed in the context of Dublin and other key Gateways having a combined critical mass of business occurrence across key economic sectors which may be attractive to inward investment.

The reports can be sourced from the Dublin Regional Authority and Dublin City Council.

GPEP Team: Dr Brendan Williams (PI), Dr Harutyun Shahumyan, Dr Walter Foley

Sponsor: Dublin Regional Authority

For further Information see: http://www.dra.ie

SIESTA - Spatial Indicators for Europe 2020 Strategy Territorial Analysis

In the Europe 2020 Strategy, launched by the European Commission on March 3, 2010, three key drivers to exit the current crisis were outlined:

smart growth sustainable growth inclusive growth

The Territorial Agenda of the EU (TA2020) identified the necessity of considering these issues at a regional level to identify challenges and opportunities and link them to broader European cohesion objectives. The aim of this project, which has received €400,000 from ESPON/EDF is to provide evidence on which to base the territorial dimension of the EU2020 Strategy.

The partnership comprises: the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain, lead partner), CNRS (France), the University of Poznan (Poland), the University of Reggio Calabria Mediterranean (Italy), the Open Hellenic University (Greece), the CICADIT-University of Bucharest (Romania), University College Dublin (Ireland) and MCRIT (Spain). The team at UCD has been responsible for analyzing two elements of the Smart Growth pillar – Research & Innovation and Education – across Europe at a NUTS2 regional level.

Twenty maps on these topics have been produced and analyzed to highlight regions of particular strength and weakness in relation to specific indicators, including percentage of GDP investment in R&D, capacity in NBIC technologies, early school leaving and proportions of 25-34 year olds with tertiary education.

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Access to Opportunity in Ireland

Clusters of Accommodation and Food Services

Issue 2, November 2012

7

The output includes two thematic reports detailing patterns but also highlighting policy implications. The Lead Partner will produce the Draft Final Report for the ESPON Coordinating Unit including a detailed Atlas covering all dimensions of the EU2020 Strategy.

GPEP Team: Dr Niamh Moore-Cherry

Sponsor: ESPON, European Development Fund

For further Information see: http://www.siestaproject.eu

GPEP have, for the 2nd time, been awarded funding by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences

(IRCHSS) to undertake the role of national coordination of the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 6 in Ireland. Members of the project team include former UCD based national co-ordinators on previous ESS rounds, including Professor Richard Sinnott, Dr Michael O’Connell and Dr Susana Ferreira.

The ESS is an academically-driven social survey designed to chart the interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. Established in 2001, the survey covers more than thirty nations and employs rigorous methodologies. Participation of Ireland involves the creation of a uniquely valuable and reliable dataset for Irish and international researchers, with rich comparative potential. The project will end with an international conference dedicated to cutting edge research using the ESS.

GPEP Team: Professor Peter Clinch, Dr Finbarr Brereton

Sponsor: EU Framework Programme/ ESF

Further Information see: www.europeansocialsurvey.org

ECORISK - Ecosystem services valuation for environmental risk and damage assessment

ECORISK is the examination and quantifying the potential economic value of ecosystem services within the context of the EU Environmental Liability Directive. It also considers the compensatory remediation issues for damage to surface or ground waters and designated habitats or habitat supporting species protected under the EU Birds Directive. Within this construct the potential role of ‘biodiversity offsets’ and ‘habitat banking’ is also explored. The project will compile the information into a database where policy makers and practitioners can search for data and advice on the methods needed to assess various levels of environmental risk or damage, indicating also the types and sources of data required.

GPEP Team: Dr Craig Bullock (PI) , Dr Eoin O’Neill (PI)

Sponsor: EPA Strive Project 2012-13

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Water Pollution

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NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS

ADAPT - Quantifying the costs and benefits associated with climate change risks and adaptation

ADAPT is assessing the potential for economic analysis to support the choice of options on how to adapt to climate change. This adaptation could take the form of endogenous social adaption or investment in physical infrastructure.

Both approaches have their merits, but a significant restriction on options is presented by the considerable scientific and socio-economic uncertainty that relates to climate change. The project is developing guidelines on the application of cost-benefit analysis to adaptation choices and is designing a decision support tool for policy makers based on an examination of selected case studies. It is expected that the project will provide a framework that will assist decision makers in working with climate change information. Such information will advise them on how to address uncertainty and identify suitable methods for risk assessment. The framework will demonstrate the economic and social benefits and costs of adaptation, the valuation of externalities and assessment of macroeconomic effects.

GPEP Team: Prof Peter Clinch (PI), Dr Craig Bullock Sponsor: EPA Strive Project 2012-13

OPERA - Operational Potential of Ecosystem Research Applications

GPEP is participating in a twelve-partner project led by University of Edinburgh with the aim of advancing the understanding of ecosystem functioning and its relationship with Ecosystem Services (ES) provision and Natural Capital (NC). The project is due to kick-off in 2013.

By testing and further developing methods that assign values to the flow of ES from the stock of NC, and by establishing what constitutes good ES/NC governance and associated ecosystem management, the analysis will lead to the development of new instruments to

operationalise ES/NC concepts. The resulting information will be circulated to policy-makers and stakeholders and tested in exemplar case studies.

The project aims to communicate to ecosystem practitioners through a Resource Hub (RH) and associated Community of Excellence (CoE) ground-breaking science. The project takes a systematic approach to stakeholder and user engagement, as well as the development of new policy-relevant tools and instruments.

GPEP Team: Dr Marcus Collier, Dr Craig Bullock

Sponsor: European Commission, FP7

Planning & Wind Energy

A team of GPEP researchers has been awarded research funding to investigate the role of spatial planning and social barriers to the deployment of on-shore wind energy. The team aim to evaluate the role of the planning system in providing a decision-making framework for wind energy schemes, to quantitatively and qualitatively examine national and local attitudes towards the location of wind farms, and to explore innovative policy tools to address social acceptance issues.

GPEP Team: Drs Mark Scott (PI), E. O’Neill, C. Bullock

Sponsor: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland

Kilkee, Co Clare

Ecosystem services (source: Oregon State University)

Issue 2, November 2012

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Irish Planning Institute - National Planning Awards 2011-2012

The work of the School’s MRUP students was recognised by the Irish Planning Institute’s National Planning Awards at the 2011-2012 ceremony held at the offices of the Department of Environment on 16th February, 2012.

The winner of the Individual Award was Louise Burns, for her research paper titled Rights to Roam, Rights of Way and the Common Good – Public Rights over Private Land in Ireland.

The Balbriggan Development Plan Project undertaken by 32 first year MRUP students in Spring 2010 won the National Group Award which was presented by the Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan.

As part of their work and overall assessment MRUP students must devise ‘Issues Research Reports’ and ‘Strategy Reports’ for County Development Plans. Each report is prepared to a professional standard.

In Spring 2011 the project consisted of a study of the town of Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. After the conclusion of the academic year, the Town Council were presented with hard copies of the nine different Issues Papers and the three alternative Strategies for the development of the town.

Royal Town Planning Institute - Student of the Year

The Master in Regional and Urban Planning (MRUP) degree has been accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute since the late 1970s and RTPI Ireland supports student achievement by awarding a prize each year to the person who receives the highest aggregate marks in the first year MRUP examination. The RTPI President Richard Summers visited UCD on 14 October, 2011. The distinction of Best Planning Student of the Year 2011 University College Dublin was awarded to Emma Flanagan, who attended the award dinner together with a number of other members of the final year class. The ceremony was also attended by Prof. Zorica Nedović-Budić, Head of School, the Director of the MRUP Degree Programme Dr Paula Russell, GPEP’s Derry O’Connell and Dr Berna Grist and Studio Director, Michael Wall.

Niall Mooney, Brendan Allen IPI President (2011-2012) and Johanna Varghese who accepted the Group Award on behalf of

the 32 MRUP students in the class

Brendan Allen, President of the Irish Planning Institute, presents Louise Burns with her Award for Best Individual Student

STUDENT AWARDS

Balbriggan and environs

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During 2011 and 2012, GPEP staff published over 50 peer reviewed journal articles, 12 book chapters and 6 books. Papers have been published or accepted in a wide variety of national and international journals including: Third World Quarterly, Critical Asian Studies, ACME, Irish Geography, Antipode, Alteridades (Mexican journal of urban anthropology), Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Geopolitics, Journal of Common Market Studies, Political Geography, Higher Education, European Urban and Regional Studies, Ecological Economics, Environmental Planning and Management, Irish and Scottish Studies, Environmental Management, Planning Theory and Practice, Transportation Research, Applied Acoustics, European Planning Studies and Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

Here is an overview of the recently published books. For more information see: http://www.ucd.ie/gpep/research/publications

Martian Geomorphology Edited by M R Balme, S Gupta, C Gallagher and A Bargery

Publisher: GSL Special Publications, 2011

The latest Mars missions are returning data of unprecedented fidelity in their representation of the martian surface. New data include images with spatial resolution better than 30 cm per pixel, stereo imaging-derived terrain models with one meter postings, high-resolution imaging spectroscopy, and RADAR data that reveal subsurface structure. This book reveals how this information is being used to understand the evolution of martian landscapes, and includes topics such as fluvial flooding, permafrost and periglacial landforms, debris flows, deposition and erosion of sedimentary material, and the origin of lineaments on Phobos, the larger martian moon. Contemporary remote sensing data of Mars, on a par with those of Earth, reveal landscapes strikingly similar to regions of our own planet, so this book is of interest to Earth scientists and planetary scientists alike.

Mapping Sligo in the Early 19th Century with an atlas of William Larkin’s map of County Sligo, 1819 Arnold Horner

Publisher: Wordwell, 2011

This large map of Sligo was compiled by the prolific surveyor and roads engineer William Larkin. Produced for the county grand jury, it was started sometime in the early 1800s and finally published in 1819. Pasted together, its six engraved sheets comprise an image measuring 1795mm by 1690mm, just under six feet wide by a little over five and a half feet high. Larkin thereby displayed the county in unprecedented detail. Published nearly two decades before the Ordnance Survey six-inches-to-one-mile maps, and appearing a generation before the great famine of the 1840s, Larkin’s map has a particular value and interest for local studies.

PUBLICATIONS

New Trends in the Renewal of the City Edited by M J P Mantinan and N Moore

Publisher: University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), 2011

This book focuses on how cities project themselves in an increasingly competitive global environment. Broadly the chapters examine the urban image being developed and presented by cities, particularly to external stakeholders such as investors, tourists and the business sector. What is most interesting is that although a range of international case studies are examined from Poland, Cuba, France, Ireland and Italy, similar issues confront all of them. In each chapter, the city is conceptualized as a lived space rather than simply a technical system. A number of the contributions question for whom cities are being developed or redeveloped. The sustainability of the strategies being adopted in both historic cities and in more contemporary developments is a key theme and one that should be of central concern for all of those interested in urban studies.

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Pricing Carbon The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Denny Ellerman, Frank Convery and Christian de Perthuis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010

With the global debate now firmly focused on the creation of further carbon markets and the need for international linking, we must never underestimate the influence of the EU's pioneering Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). This created the world's largest carbon market and is the most significant public policy initiative ever to use the market place to protect the environment. Pricing Carbon is a fascinating, detailed but reader-friendly description of the EU ETS by an international team of experts. It provides an invaluable evidence-based review of the first phase (2005–2007) - 'warts and all'.

Even the impressive bibliography itself was worth publishing!' Avril Doyle, former MEP and Rapporteur of the 2008 ETS Directive. 'With its empirical focus, this myth-busting book demonstrates the scheme's achievements and flags its on-going challenges… For those who want to learn the real lessons of the EU ETS experience, there is no better source than Pricing Carbon.' (Nature)

Beyond Territory: Dynamic Geographies of Knowledge Creation, Diffusion and Innovation Edited by Harald Bathelt, Maryann Feldman and Dieter Kogler

Publisher: Routledge, 2011

The book presents new empirical and conceptual work by an interdisciplinary group of leading scholars from areas such as economic geography, innovation studies, and political science. The main purpose of the book is to discuss new patterns in the dynamic geography of innovation and argue that in an era of increasing globalization, two trends seem quite dominant: rigid territorial models of innovation, and localized configurations of innovative activities. Rather than relying on established concepts and theories, the book aims to question narrow explanations, rigid territorializations, and simplistic policy frameworks; it provides evidence that innovation, while not exclusively dependent on regional contexts, can be influenced by place-specific attributes.

The various chapters identify and discuss some of the key debates, new streams of inquiry and progress in research related to the transfers, circulation and generation of knowledge in a spatial perspective. The editors’ intention was to include different, sometimes opposing, views and positions, and to let the diverse group of researchers speak about what they think is required to continue to progress this research frontier further.

Cruel Harvest: US Intervention in the Afghan Drug Trade Julien Mercille

Publisher: Ploto Press, 2012

The book looks at the drug trade in Afghanistan. In particular, it examines the role of the United States and Europe in supporting drug trafficking, an angle which goes against the conventional view blaming the Taliban for the expansion of the narcotics industry. The book covers the period from the 1970s to the present, focusing on the years since 9-11 and the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by Western powers.

PUBLICATIONS

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Flooding in Ireland: Perceptions, Preparedness and Policy

On the 16th March 2012 the School hosted this one-day seminar organised by Drs Eoin O’Neill and Finbarr Brereton, with administrative support from recent Master’s in Regional and Urban Planning (MRUP) graduate Colum Coffey. This seminar focused on the ‘social impacts’ - or non-financial impacts that flooding has on individuals.

The impact of flooding on an individual’s well-being, preparedness, and the appropriate policy response, has had limited analysis both internationally and here in Ireland. The seminar was held to address this lack of knowledge and to focus on the negative social effects of flooding. It facilitated a constructive dialogue on these issues between various stakeholders. The significance of the recent public policy shift in Ireland away from flood defense and toward flood risk management, has raised the issue of personal responsibility. Some key questions were considered at the seminar including willingness to pay for flood defenses or undertaking household measures to secure flood insurance.

The seminar was opened by Minister of State, Mr Brian Hayes, with responsibility for Public Service Reform and the Office of Public Works. The event drew attendees from the emergency services’ providers, engineers and spatial planners from local authorities, the Office of Public Works (the Irish flood authority), insurance companies, as well as academics from natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences. The keynote addresses were given by Dr Iain White of the School of Environment and Development from the University of Manchester and Dr Christian Kuhlicke of the Helmholtz Institute in Leipzig, Germany. Dr Conor Murphy (NUI, Maynooth) closed the seminar and identified a number of common and emerging threads from the papers presented, including: The importance of integrating knowledge from

across the disciplines including psychology, engineering, climatology, spatial planning and

economics. The concept of resilience was identified as having

become one of the dominant objectives of flood research and policy. However, one of the questions that arises is how do we define and quantify this, and what are the appropriate scales? Increasingly the issue of urban flooding is likely to be

the major challenge with a greater focus required on urban form and function in the future. One of the difficulties identified in terms of creating a

more flood resilient (and safer) environment is whether equity must be considered and resources prioritized to the most vulnerable communities. Whist climate change is undoubtedly increasing the

frequency of flooding, the uncertainty associated with forecasting must also be considered, and safety margins should be identified accordingly. This requires expert knowledge and input. The perception of risk by people was identified as

effecting their preparedness, therefore the importance of engaging with the public and local communities was identified as being of paramount importance. Greater consideration of the psychological effects of

flooding need to be taken into account. For more information see: http://www.ucd.ie/gpep/events/seminarsworkshopsconferences

EVENTS

Minister for Public Works Brian Hayes opens the seminar

Floodplain in Bray, Co. Wicklow Residents’ perception of the floodplain [yellow/orange: perceived]

Floodplain: Bray, Co. Wicklow [blue/red: actual]

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IRCHSS Boom to Bust Seminar Series

Policy Dissemination Road Show

For the past year GPEP has been managing an external seminar series with support from the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) to disseminate the output of various school projects to decision makers and the wider public around the country. Summaries of these seminars and projects, together with recommendations on policy, will be brought together in a final project publication.

GPEP’s research academics delivered presentations on the following topics:

A Living Landscape (housing and landscape) - Dr Karen Foley (Chair Dr Eoin O'Neill), Killarney

The Bus is Back (public transport) - Dr Simon McDonnell (Chair Prof Frank Convery), Wood Quay, Dublin

Happiness and Our Environment - Dr Mirko Moro (Chair Dr Eoin O'Neill), Bray, Co. Wicklow

Rural Housing Failures - Dr Menelaos Gzartkios (Chair Dr Ruth Casey, Carlow IT), Naas, Co. Kildare

Climate Change and EU Policy - Dr Luke Redmond, (Chair Dr. Sinead Kelly, DKIT ), Co. Louth

Transport and Land Use Planning (Smart Cities) - Dr Fearghal King (Chair Dr Ruth Casey, Carlow IT), Carlow

Rural Quality of Life - Dr Craig Bullock and Dr Finbarr Brereton, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim

Boglands: The Future in Our Hands - Dr Marcus Collier (Chair Dr Craig Bullock), Athlone, Co. Westmeath

Innovation and Diversification in the Farm Household - Dr Terence McFadden (Chair Mary Cawley, NUIG), Co. Mayo.

Planning and Flood Risk - Dr Eoin O'Neill (Chair Des Cox, RTPI), Dublin. For more information see: http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/IRCHSS_boom_to_bust_schedule.pdf

School Seminar Series

As part of our School Seminar programme, organised by Dr Eoin O’Neill and Dr Dieter Kogler, the following international speakers addressed us during this academic year:

Prof Ann Varley (UCL) - Postcolonialising Informality? Recent approaches to urban informality in Latin America

Prof J.W.R. Whitehand (Birmingham University) - Researching and Managing Urban Landscapes

Dr Jill Simone Gross (Hunter College, City University of New York) - Business Improvement Districts and Economic Development: The New York Case

Prof Thomas Cooke (University of Connecticut) - Declining Migration and the Rise of Secular Rootedness in the United States

Prof Gerrit J. Knaap (University of Maryland) - Moving from Smart Growth to Sustainability in the U.S. – Substance, Institution and Planning Technology

Dr Sara Reisman (Director, New York City’s Percent for Art Program) - Public Art in the Contemporary City: Purpose and Potential

Prof David L. Rigby (UCLA) - Globalization and the Impacts of Trade on US Wage Inequality

A“Ghost Estate”

EVENTS

Flooding in Bandon, Co. Cork

School of GPEP Newsletter

14

Professional Practice & Policy INTERFACE 2012

The purpose of this seminar series is to disseminate research in the areas of spatial planning and environmental policy to the professional planning community and to facilitate the translation the School’s research into policy formation and planning practice. The series is run in conjunction with the RTPI and IPI Both the IPI President, Joanna Kelly and Marian Chalmers, Deputy Branch Chair RTPI Ireland, were present at the one day seminar which focused on the following topics of interest:

Integrating Biodiversity Impact Assessment into planning practice by streamlining Appropriate Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment. The presentation was based on the work of a collaborative UCD/TCD/Scott-Cawley Ltd. project (Dr Ainhoa Gonzales and Dr Berna Grist) with funding from EPA/STRIDE.

Use of Evidence-based Urban Modelling as a spatial analytical tool in regional planning drawing from work carried out at the UCD’s Urban Institute (Dr Brendan Williams).

Demographic Trends in Dublin — an overview of results of a project commissioned by Dublin City Council (Dr Declan Redmond).

Career Guidance Events

In conjunction with the Irish Planning Institute, an Employment Skills & Career Guidance Seminar was held in Richview (Planning) in November 2011, at which presentations were given on job applications, interview skills, alternative career paths for planning graduates and opportunities abroad. The seminar was organised by the IPI Young Planner’s Network.

The School also hosted the Geographical Society of Ireland’s (GSI) Careers and Postgraduate Opportunities event in February 2012. It included a series of career talks by geographers working in a variety of settings, details on relevant postgraduate courses, and a review of marketable skills held by geography graduates. The event drew students from a number of colleges throughout the country.

Practitioner Involvement in Teaching at GPEP

The Planning programmes continue to be supported by the professional practice community. In the Spring Semester of 2012, practicing planners Diarmuid O’Grada and Tom Phillips delivered seminars on the Development and Project Management module. The perspective of the Planning Consultant, the Local Authority Planner and the Appeals Inspector were

provided by guest lecturers Colin McGill, Jason Freehill and Jane Dennehy. Architect and planner Michael Wall acted as the director of the Development Plan Studio, playing the role of lead partner of the consultancy, with Berna Grist as the second partner. External professional tutors Pat McDonald, John Bird and Sinead O’Malley were joined by PhD student Linda Fox– Rogers.

Meath County Council Planning Office facilitated this year’s Development Plan Project, which examined the Dunboyne/Clonee/Pace Corridor area. Planning Officer Pat Gallagher and Senior Executive Planner Wendy Bagnall (both of whom are graduates of the UCD Planning School), together with Conservation Officer Jill Chadwick and Heritage Officer Loreto Guinan, delivered guest lectures on aspects of the background context and preparatory issues. Thomas Freeman of Menolly Homes provided the perspective of a major local developer. The Director of Services, Brendan McGrath, attended the presentation of the Project Report on 3 April 2012.

PROFESSIONAL OUTREACH

Issue 2, November 2012

15

Completed Degrees During the 2011-12 academic year four of our students

completed and successfully defended their theses.

These were:

Terence McFadden (PhD) – “Innovation, Diversification and Sustainability”

Eda Ustaoglu (PhD) – “Urban Growth and its Impact on Peri-Urban Areas”

Geraldine O’Donnell (MLitt) – “Urban Land Use Dynamics: A Case Study of Dublin 1993-2008”

Paul Alexander (MSc) – “Emissions of CO2 from Dublin”

Congratulations to all our successful graduate research

students and their supervisors!

New MSc Environmental Policy Programme

Earlier this year the university approved a new MSc programmes in the School — MSc in Environmental Policy. This one year Master’s programmes is in important academic field where there is growing interest from both the research and policy perspective. The course is accredited by RTPI.

The MSc in Environmental Policy is designed to equip students with essential knowledge of environmental processes and policy and governance frameworks for environmental action. The three areas of specialisation within the programme relate to Climate Change, the Urban Environment and Natural Resource Management. The degree had a successful debut with 19 students enrolling as the first cohort.

National Internship Scheme Positions

In May/June 2012, GPEP welcomed five Interns to the School – Ciara Fleming and David Colgan to work on ITRAX scanner; Anna Woods and Zuzana Jamrichova - to work in the “Barbara Miller” Map Room and Deirdre Joyce to support research conducted by the planning and environmental policy staff.

Alumni at Large - Dr Simon McDonnell

Dr Simon McDonnell is a graduate of UCD and GPEP (BA in Economics, MSc in Environmental Economics and Policy, and PhD in Planning and Environmental Policy). He has recently been appointed Senior Policy Analyst for the Office of Policy Research at the City University of New York (CUNY). Always welcome back in Ireland,

in May 2012 he presented at the policy road show ’From Boom to Bust’ looking at transport policy in the Dublin region.

Dr. McDonnell’s work at CUNY focuses on the educational choices and outcomes of CUNY students living in public housing. Previously, Simon held the position of Research Fellow at the Furman Centre for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University, where his research focus was on land-use, environmental and transportation policy.

Simon also spent a year as visiting professor with the Urban Planning Program and the Institute of Environmental Science and Policy (IESP) in the University of Illinois at Chicago. His recent works include: ‘Minimum parking requirements and housing affordability in New York City’ (with J. Madar and V. Been, Housing Policy Debate, 21, 1, 2011); ‘Exploring the effectiveness of bus rapid transit a prototype agent-based model of commuting behaviour’ (with M. Zellner, Transport Policy, 18, 6, 2011); ‘Do Overarching Mitigation Objectives Dominate Transport-Specific Targets in the EU?’ (with F. Ghersi and O. Sassi, Energy Policy, forthcoming); ‘Residents’ willingness-to-pay for parking permits in New York City’ (With Z. Gou, Transportation, under review).

MORE NEWS

Dr Jonathan Turner instructing Ciara Fleming and David Colgan on the use of ITRAX core scanner

Anna Woods and Zuzana Jamrichova in Geography’s “Barbara Miller” Map Room

School of GPEP Newsletter

16

This has been a an exciting and challenging year for the School. In 2011, three of our academic staff, Dr Joe Brady, Prof Peter Clinch and Prof Alun Jones were seconded to leadership roles within the University. Joe has moved to a full-time position as Dean of Arts, a role that he has held concurrently with teaching commitments for the last few years. Alun has moved half-time to a post as Vice-Principal for Research within the College of Human Sciences. Peter moved to a post of Vice President for Innovation at UCD. We wish them all well!

Our colleagues have also been busy nationally and internationally as active members of various associations and committees. Prof. Alun Jones was elected to both the RIA and Academia Europaea; Dr Gerald Mills is President of the International Association of Urban Climate (IAUC); and Dr Niamh Moore is Chair of the Young Scholars Committee (IGU Urban Commission) and Honorary Treasurer of the Geographical Society of Ireland. Dr Moore has been also recently nominated by UCD for the NAIRTL National Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr Paula Russell serves on the board of the European Urban Studies Association (EURA). Derry O’Connell is a member of the Council of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. Dr Anne Buttimer, received the Honorary Doctorate Award Toga, from the Joseph Fourier University of Grenoble. Prof. Buttimer is the first woman, and the first human scientist, to receive this award. Later this year, Anne was elected Vice-President of Academia Europea.

In November 2011 one of our most long standing staff, Dr Arnold Horner, retired. In many senses, his retirement marked the end of an era of traditional cartography within Geography at UCD. Arnold held an extraordinary enthusiasm, in his teaching, research and engagement with colleagues and students. He will be missed. This loss has been compounded by the retirement of Stephen Hannon – cartographer – and the

departure of Stephanie Halpin on a leave of absence to North America.

However the school is fortunate that a number of new colleagues have joined in a variety of capacities. We welcome them to our School.

Dr Finbarr Brereton has moved to a new research fellow position. His research interests are broad in scope but centre on the areas’ of environmental economics; economics of welfare, including the socio economic analysis of flooding; environment and happiness; environmental valuation; survey design and implementation; and GIS.

Dr Brereton is currently collaborating with colleagues on the development of a cluster of expertise on such topics as vulnerability, resilience and adaptation to flooding; quality of life; spatial analysis, GIS and environmental valuation. He has secured significant research funding to date in excess of €1m from national and international funding agencies. He was the Irish Principal Investigator on the European Science Foundation funded project HAPPINESS (HAPpiness, Political Institutions, Natural Environment and Space) and was acting Project Leader for the 2008/09 academic year. With Prof. Peter Clinch, he is currently the National Coordinator of the European Social Survey .

NEW ROLES & FACES

Map of Dublin (pre–digital age)

Prof. Buttimer receives the honorary doctorate award

Issue 2, November 2012

17

Dr Harutyun Shahumyan is a new Senior Technical Officer. He has over 12 years of experience as a GIS Analyst with expertise in spatial analysis, modelling, statistics and data management. He did his first post-doctoral research at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia just after getting his PhD in Engineering

in 2001. Meanwhile, Dr Shahumyan expanded his career as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge. Then, aiming to get more practical experience in policy analysis Dr Shahumyan worked in leading international organizations, including USAID, Emerging Markets Group, PA Consulting and DAI. Dr Shahumyan has been in UCD since 2008 as a Post-Doctoral Researcher working on the EPA funded Urban Environment project. His current research is focused on land use and urban modelling, geo-spatial analysis, and spatial decision supporting systems.

Dr Anna Jones has joined the School as a Marie Curie Research Fellow to work with Dr Jonathan Turner, on the project Innovations in Fluvial Environmental Research (INFER), which is focused on applying the Itrax XRF core scanner to the analysis of floodplain sediment sequences for the purposes of flood reconstruction and contami-

nant monitoring. Dr Jones previously completed a PhD on reconstructing historical and Holocene flooding in Welsh river catchments at Aberystwyth University in Wales. She subsequently undertook postdoctoral research in the field of river systems and environmental change in the University’s Centre for Catchment and Coastal Research.

Dr Michael Brennan is a graduate of both Trinity College Dublin and UCD with a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, a Master’s in Environmental Science and a PhD in Urban Biodiversity. His work to date has focused around three core themes: (1) urban biodiversity; (2) green

infrastructure; and (3) the use of GIS to identify trends in environmental data and developing tools and

scenarios to forecast change into the future. Dr Brennan has worked on projects that incorporate his research interests such as the Urban Environment Project, which simulated the evolution of Dublin city into the future and quantified the environmental impacts of this development, and the DOLMANT project, which developed management tools to aid lake catchment management.

Robert O’Shea joined GPEP in September 2012 to work with Prof. Peter Clinch, Dr Craig Bullock and Dr Eoin O'Neill on the

EPA Strive project on the application of economics to Climate Change Adaptation (ADAPT) and to ecosystem service valuation in the context of the Environmental Liability Directive (ECORISK). Robert has a Master’s in Economics from the National University of Ireland, Galway. For the past seven years he has been working as Policy Economist in the Environmental Policy Executive of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC).

Dr. Walter Foley is carrying out postdoctoral research in the area of socio-economics and planning. This project is titled Dublin’s Role in the National and Global Economy. Prior to this project Dr. Foley worked in both Dublin City Council and the Dublin Regional Authority. Dr. Foley completed his PhD on the Appraisal of the Sustainability of Irish Settlements Using Metabolism Modelling in 2006. He has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. Both these degrees are from the University of Limerick.

Occasional Lecturers and Adjunct Professors

Other colleagues are also contributing to our programmes in various capacities. Occasional Lecturer, Dr Delphine Ancien is working on her Post-Doc research on the SIESTA project with Dr. Niamh Moore. Dr Arlene Crampsie and Mr Will Mcgarry teach our third year BA programme students. The School is currently in the process of appointing a new lecturer in Human Geography to join in January 2013. Dr Mary Bourke and Dr Cathal O’Donoghue join us as Adjunct Professors in the areas of physical geography and environmental policy, respectively. Dr Bourke has recently returned to Ireland from Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, where she was a senior research scientists, to take an academic post at Trinity College Dublin; Dr O’Donoghue is the Head of Rural Economy and Development Programme in Teagasc. We are fortunate to have both of them become the School’s associates.

NEW ROLES & FACES

School of GPEP Newsletter

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EXCHANGE STUDENTS

Owen Douglas - from Dublin to Quebec

During the second year of my PhD, I was given the opportunity to take part in the MEGAPOLITAN Project, spending an academic semester at ÉSAD, the graduate school of planning and regional development at Université Laval, Quebec City. In 2011 the topic under evaluation was “governance, the economy, and the megaregion.” The UCD contribution was entitled “Dublin: A Virtual Mega-Region Transcending Traditional Physical Boundaries.”

Prior to the symposium and in advance of the academic semester, I undertook an intensive French Immersion Programme for five weeks at Université Laval, facilitated by the MEGAPOLITAN programme. This was challenging but highly rewarding and it prepared me well for the academic semester ahead.

As a PhD student, the support of the School, my supervisors and the MEGAPOLITAN co-ordination team, as well as the accommodating structure of the GREP in Sustainable Development, were fundamental to the success of the exchange. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who made this great experience possible.

Patrick Callahan — from Chicago to Dublin

I had no idea what to expect as I stepped off the plane to arrive at Dublin Airport. Based on the fact that I had decided to participate in the UCD exchange programme only one month before I left, and most of my time on the plane was spent analysing the storyline of the in-flight movie, “Friends with Benefits”, I didn’t have time to generate expectations! I admit I was nervous, but also excited. Who will I meet? What will I do? Where is Copper’s?

The people I met at UCD were nothing short of friendly, accommodating, and interesting. My best memories of the exchange come from the times spent with them. The classes were intriguing, challenging, and rewarding. I am eager to share my academic experiences with fellow classmates and professors this coming semester at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Lastly, my internship at Urban Institute Ireland provided a unique international perspective on

geospatial analysis and data gathering as related to economic analysis. "Thank you" to everyone I met!

Siobhan McPhee - from Dublin to Vancouver MEGAPOLITAN exchange took me to the School of

Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at the

University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Before

heading to Vancouver the entire group met in Quebec

City at Laval University and presented our specific

papers focusing on our home region. I arrived in

Vancouver at the end of August to wonderful weather in

what has many times been classed the best city to live

in. UBC is situated overlooking the sea on the top of a

mountain. In fact most of the city is on mountains, so

cycling was certainly a different experience to Dublin!

The students and staff at SCARP were immediately

helpful and welcoming. Every two weeks we had a PhD

colloquium with Professor John Friedman - truly an

honour. Although SCARP and the School of Geography

are not merged, they work closely together through

research collaborations, seminars and classes. I was able

to take classes at SCARP with Dr. Tom Hutton on Urban

Planning, and took an Economic Geography class with

Prof. Trevor Barnes, Prof. Jim Glassman and Prof. Jamie

Peck. As well as the specific academic experience I had

in SCARP and Geography my time at UBC also gave me

the opportunity to work on my own PhD research in a

different context. Overall, I had a wonderful four

months and I would recommend the Megapolitan

experience or any other opportunity to study at another

institution for a semester.

Patrick answering questions after MRUP Student Project group presentation at GPEP

Owen in Quebec City

Vancouver sea view

Issue 2, November 2012

19

Seeded by the Urban Institute of Ireland, the Earth Institute (EI) is funded through the Programme of Research for Third Level Institutions (PRTLI 5). The research institute for environment and earth resources provides research of a scale capable of leading Ireland’s response to climate change and the global energy resources crisis. The Earth Institute focuses its research under three themes: Earth resource characterisation; climate change and smart cities & infrastructure.

Over the past year the Institute has built up its profile through a number of events and presentations. It was a key sponsor of Environ 2012, the Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland’s annual conference, and the chair of the Institute Oversight Board, Prof Frank Convery, chaired the keynote session.

The Institute was also a co-sponsor and organiser of a critical workshop on Climate Change and Carbon Trading, convened by the National Social and Economic Council (NESC) with a view to informing future government policy in this area. The event was opened by Environment Minister Phil Hogan on May 16, 2012 and had about 150 attendees.

EI investigators were very busy throughout the Euro-Science Open Forum (ESOF 2012) event hosted by Dublin and the associated Dublin City of Science outreach activities. The inaugural event took place on April 22nd to mark Earth Day, with a special outdoor screening of French Film, Océans, in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar. Earth Institute Director Prof Chris Bean and PI Frederic Dias were involved in a panel discussion before the screening which was chaired by Dr Leo Enright. During ESOF and Dublin Science week, the Institute’s PIs took part in panel discussions, organised exhibitions and presented their research to audiences of children.

The Institute was also extremely well represented in the final of the UCD Imagine Science Film Festival which took place on July 14th. Five short films were produced on foot of collaboration between UCD PIs and film-making students from the Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT), with the purpose of making scientific research accessible to new audiences. Of the five finalist projects, three had input from EI researchers, and the winning film ‘Invisible’ was the result of a collaboration between Dr Emmanuel Reynaud of the School of Biology and Environmental Science and Evin O’Neill of IADT.

The Earth and Natural Sciences PhD programme is now coming to the end of its first year. It has fully recruited its PRTLI 5 funded cohort of students and they are registered across a number of UCD Schools and four other partner institutions. There is already significant interest from students for future intakes, and we expect a new cohort of students to begin in September 2012.

The Earth Institute’s strength in urban planning and studies, through the Urban Institute of Ireland (UII), was recognised by the interest of the Russian State University of Land Use and Planning in partnering with UCD to organise staff and student exchanges over the coming years. After a visit to UII in November 2011, both institutions signed an MOU as a signal of their commitment to working together in relevant research areas, and discussions are underway as to how this can be practically realised over the course of 2012/13.

Finally, preparations for a significant showcase event in the Institute’s calendar on November 6th 2012 are well under way. This Industry Open Day will be the first major opportunity for the Earth Institute to present itself within UCD and to external industry and enterprise contacts. The idea is to highlight the many and varied opportunities for collaboration and partnership between academia and industry across the Institute’s core areas. All are welcome to the event.

For more information see: http://www.ucd.ie/earth

EARTH INSTITUTE NEWS

Océans screening in Temple Bar Meeting House Square

Environment Minister Phil Hogan's visit to the Programme for Experimental Atmospheres and Climate (PEAC) facility

Parting words from the Head of School — Internationalising GPEP’s Programmes, Students and Staff

I hope you have enjoyed this review of GPEP’s activities and achievements over the past year. It has been a busy but exciting time with GPEP internationalising on all fronts. Our Master’s programmes have diversified into new topical are‐as — Geopolitics & Global Economy, Urban Studies and Environmental Policy, and collaborative research and edu‐cational projects have flourished with new initiatives. Par‐ticipation of international students in the master’s courses

is on the rise. Along with our already multi-cultural staff, PhD and exchange students, including members from Ireland, Canada, US, Mexico, Brazil, China, Vietnam, Iran, Armenia, Austria, Italy, UK and Serbia (to name a few), the educational experience in and outside classroom has been enriched with a true international spirit and learning.

Our academics have a well-established network across Europe and beyond, through their various research projects, personal contacts, professional and academic societies and associations. GPEP’s footprint includes organisation and hosting of major interna‐tional conferences. Next July it is the Joint AESOP-ACSP Congress (www.aesop-acspdublin2013.com). You will be warmly welcomed!

UCD School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy

A N N U A L N E W S L E T T E R , I S S U E 2 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 2

CONTACT US

We would like to keep in touch with both our alumni and colleagues, so if you would like to

receive future copies of the School newsletter directly, or be notified of upcoming school events,

please email your contact details to Dominic Shellard, our Graduate Administrator:

dominic.shellard@ucd.ie

For other queries please contact: Ms Clare Ní Cholmáin UCD, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 Ph.: +353 1 716 8179 Email: gpep.admin@ucd.ie Web: http://www.ucd.ie/gpep/

Editorial Team: Prof Zorica Nedović-Budić, Dr Harutyun Shahumyan, Dr Louise Dunne and Deirdre Joyce, with input from Dr Berna Grist, Dr Marcus Collier, Dr Paula Russell, Dr Niamh Moore, Dr Craig Bullock, Dr Veronica Crossa, Prof Frank Convery, Dr Jonathan Turner, Dr Finbarr Breton, Dr Eoin O Neill, Ms Clare Ni Cholmáin and Dr Aideen Hartney.