Library Link 3 in the James Joyce Library and Online via Zoom
Description
Researchers Rachel McArdle and Dean Phelan from the UCD School of Geography will present on the CONUNDRUM project which looks at co-creation as a tool for improving planning in small and medium Irish towns to achieve pathways towards more just transitions that reduce transport emissions, meet community needs, and allow for place-based and community-led planning. Hear how they worked in collaboration with the residents, business and policymakers in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, to identify the problems facing local people in relation to transportation and mobility.
They will share information about the process they developed for engagement and decision-making which could be used in many similar towns across Ireland. This process resulted in a Community-Led Mobility Strategy for Enniscorthy, created through stakeholder engagement and is a resource and tool for the community and an evidence base that policymakers can use when creating future mobility plans in Enniscorthy, regionally and nationally.
Speaker Biographies
Dr Rachel McArdle is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geography at University College Dublin, currently working on the CONUNDRUM project: Co-creating Sustainable and Shared Community Mobility. CONUNDRUM brings together two of her research foci: working with communities for research and teaching, and sustainable and just ways of achieving climate goals. In the past, Rachel has been a lecturer at the University of Galway and Maynooth University, a post-doctoral Researcher in a collaboration between the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI) and Dublin City Council Culture Company, and a Post-Doctoral researcher working with Threshold. Her research interests include sustainability, communities, climate justice, energy poverty and housing.
Dr Dean Phelan is a feminist political geographer currently working as a research social scientist and lecturer in the School of Geography at University College Dublin where he primarily teaches urban geography courses. At present, Dr Phelan works on the Research Ireland funded project CONUNDRUM, playing a key role in shaping and actioning the project’s co-creative approach with diverse stakeholders. Prior to this, Dr Phelan held roles in Maynooth University, the University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin. Lying at the intersection of political, social and environmental geography, Dr Phelan’s research is primarily concerned with three key areas: the just transitions of urban systems; geographies of food; and geopolitics, nationalism and minoritisation. At the centre of these interests is a commitment to working collaboratively with marginalised groups towards socially and environmentally just futures, including working with ethnic minorities, migrants, young people, and economically disadvantaged communities.