An immersive and informative show about Ireland's urgent urban crisis. Hosted by Matt Cooper and produced by Dee Reddy of Poddle Audio, the show was created in partnership with the RIAI and Irish Cities Group 2070.
The show mixes in-studio and on-the-ground interviews with archive material to build a rounded picture of Irish cities and the challenges they face. Across the series we learn from a wealth of unique and often personal perspectives from our diverse roster of guests who touch on everything from; activism, architecture, neuroscience, skateboarding, culture, diversity, infrastructure, immigration to urban planning.
The series builds on the argument that Irish cities are in crisis because current planning and development systems are not delivering the well-designed environments needed for the future. It presents a wealth of ideas and achievable solutions and champions collaboration between citizens and city makers — including civil society and local, regional, and state governments — to bring about change.
Cities must be recognised for what they are - the engines of our social, economic and cultural lives. This show aims to treat them with the curiosity, imagination and care that they deserve.
Irish Cities in Crisis was inspired by the book published by the Irish Cities Group 2070 under the same title.
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Over the past weeks and months, the team behind Irish Cities in Crisis spoke to people all over the country about the issues facing our urban centres. A notable theme throughout has been the passion and ambition they all share for the places they live. This came across in each and every episode, despite the scale of the problems being discussed. So it seemed fitting to cap off the series by bringing some of those people together, along with some new voices and perspectives, for an evening of panels where we look to the future.
On Tuesday 2nd December, Poddle Audio hosted a very special event with the kind support of Irish Cities 2070 and the RIAI, where Matt Cooper spoke with 14 different panellists, over the course of one evening. These conversations happened in the Poddle Audio studio while guests and contributors watched a live stream at a small reception next door. These conversations capture the drive and purpose of the many people working to turn this crisis around.
About Irish Cities in Crisis
Sean Mahon (RIAI President)
Jim Coady (Irish Cities 2070 Group)
Building Better Days
Maxime Laroussi (Architect, Urban Designer)
Louise Bruton (Arts Critic, DJ, Disability Activist + Director)
Frank O’Connor (Designer + Activist with Derelict Ireland)
Carole Pollard (Irish Cities Group 2070)
Joining the Dots
David Browne (Irish Cities Group 2070)
Joe Clarke (Producer, Promoter, Regional Instigator)
Maria Donohue (Architect, Independent Councillor)
Planning Ahead
Conor Sreenan (State Architect)
Cllr Cian Farrell (Councillor, Social Democrats)
Tony Reddy (Irish Cities 2070 Group)
What happens next?
Tríona Stack (Architect, Researcher)
David Browne (Irish Cities 2070 Group)
Jude Sherry (Designer + Activist with Derelict Ireland)
Irish Cities in Crisis is proudly supported by the RIAI and the Irish Cities 2070 Group - the podcast was largely inspired by the book they published late last year under the same title.
This series is hosted by Matt Cooper and produced, scripted and edited by Dee Reddy of Poddle Audio. Recording for this episode was by Stephen O'Brien.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
4 Dec 2025
How to build it?
In the late 1950’s Ireland was a young nation facing an almost existential crisis - the impact of which would be felt for generations. It was against this backdrop that T.K. Whitaker, then a departmental secretary, penned a note to the newly appointed Minister for Finance. Simply titled ‘The Irish Economy, 1957’, it was a stark and sobering read but it became the catalyst for major reform.
In many respects, it’s hard for Irish people now to relate to life in that era - socially, demographically and politically we feel like a different country. So why does Whitaker’s warning still resonate?
“It is accepted on all sides that we have come to a critical and decisive point in our economic affairs. It is only too clear that the policies we have hitherto followed have not resulted in a viable economy.”
This is episode 5, how to build it?
Contributors include:
David Browne (Irish Cities 2070 Group)
Alice Charles (ARUP)
Sean Dobbs (Waterford City + County Council
Jane Dillon and Jack Cantillon (Green Room)
Máire Henry (dhb Architects)
Irish Cities in Crisis is proudly supported by the RIAI and the Irish Cities 2070 Group - the podcast was largely inspired by the book they published late last year under the same title. This series is hosted by Matt Cooper and produced by Dee Reddy of Poddle Audio.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
27 Nov 2025
How sustainable is this?
In adapting the work of the Irish Cities 2070 group to podcast form, we’ve tried to take things in a more conversational direction and to talk to people who share that sense of purpose and from a wide range of perspectives. With that in mind, we’ve talked to Irish people about these urban challenges - from housing, to dereliction, population, traffic and business over the past 3 episode.
This week we’re going to hear about how sustainable development, or the lack of it, became a catalyst for the book that inspired this series. And we're asking; how sustainable is the growth we heard about in E03, how do our cities impact the environment, what solutions do compact growth and sustainable development offer and ultimately, what's the future cost?
Jim Coady (ICG 2070)
Alice Charles (ARUP)
Helen Shaw (Athena Media)
Yvonne Farrell + Shelley McNamara (Grafton Architects)
Jack Cantillon + Jane Dillon (Green Room)
David Browne (ICG 2070)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
20 Nov 2025
Who lives here?
Over the last two episodes, Matt has spoken to a wide range of people - both experts and city dwellers - about the very real urban crisis that exists in Ireland today. We’ve also heard about how the challenges and necessities of the past have informed the problems we now face today in cities like Dublin, Galway, Cork, Waterford and Limerick.
In this episode, we take a deep-dive into the populations and people at the centre of it all. We'll hear how cities should be designed for a broad range of needs, how the Irish Cities Group approach demographics and the impact that widespread dereliction is having. Because if we’ve learned anything so far, it’s that an urban crisis is a human crisis.
Contributors to this episode include:
Contributors:
David Browne (ICG 2070)
Maria Drzazga (University of Galway, Polish native)
Alice Charles (ARUP)
Dr Colin Ellard (Neuroscientist, University of Waterloo in Toronto)
Frank O'Connor and Jude Sherry (Derelict Ireland)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
13 Nov 2025
How Did We Get Here?
To understand how we arrived at this crisis, we must take a journey to the past. In this episode Matt learns how urban life in Ireland has changed since 1975, how the rise of the car has changed our cities and why we could all do with a dose of the optimism of the 1990s.
Contributors include:
Carole Pollard
Tony Reddy
Frank McDonald
Máire Henry
Sean Mahon
Irish Cities in Crisis is hosted by Matt Cooper and produced by Dee Reddy (Poddle Audio). The show is proudly supported by the RIAI and the Irish Cities 2070 Group.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
6 Nov 2025
Crisis Mode
In episode 1 of the series, Matt speaks to key contributors from the book that inspired the podcast along with business leaders, community activists and more, to uncover how critical Ireland's urban problems really are. What are the challenges that are unique to Ireland, what is their impact and where are the solutions?
Contributors include:
Sean Mahon, RIAI President
David Browne, Co-editor Irish Cities in Crisis and Irish Cities 2070
Shelley McNamara & Yvonne Farrell, Grafton Architects
Philip Halton, Irish Skate Association
Dr Carole Pollard, Co-editor Irish Cities in Crisis
David McRedmond, Chief Executive An Post
Alice Charles, ARUP
Professor Rob Adams, City of Melbourne
Jude Sherry, Derelict Ireland
Jane Dillon, Dublin Lido Project.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
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