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A Land use Survey of Dublin's inner city was carried out by Dublin Corporation during 1993/1994 that emphasised the three strong functional sectors of the HARP area - retail, market and legal. It also highlighted the weaknesses by recording the location and extent of dereliction and vacant sites.
The retail sector is focused to the east of the HARP area around Henry Street and Mary street whilst west of Capel Street there is a shift of dominant land use towards wholesale in the markets sector. Further west, the legal sector has a very strong presence around the fulcrum of the Four Courts. Moving westwards again, in 1993 at least, one would then encounter the post-industrial vacancy of Smithfield before finally arriving at the area dominated by Collins Barracks.
Analysis of maps from the mid-nineteenth century shows that the area developed a physical form which remains largely intact, albeit in a degraded state. However such analysis fails to take into account the huge decline in socio-economic felt by the people in the area within and between the walls of this built environment.
A survey of the physical environment, referred to as a 'Blackspot Analysis' was carried out in 1996 that found that there was much evidence of dereliction and dilapidation especially to the west around Smithfield and North King Street. It also found that a poor quality standard of the public domain existed in the form of paving, street furniture and lighting. This added to traffic congestion, pollution and residential complexes badly in need of repair meant that it was extremely difficult to attract any investment into the area.
According to the Plan, the urban design approach undertaken for the HARP area 'is based on the belief that the quality of a place does not derive solely from the attributes of the physical environment but also refers to the liveability which results from the interactions between the buildings and the uses and movements supported by these buildings'.
The Plan's approach stressed the importance of:
(a) Context - every effort must be made to respect and conserve the existing urban arrangement
(b) Permeability - places, buildings and their functions must be made more permeable and transparent to pedestrians; streets must be reanimated and humanised.
(c) Coherence / Legibility - space must be provided that is more coherent and legible by infilling gap sites, carefully designing the public domain and respecting the historic pattern of streets.
A survey of the transportation situation in the HARP area highlighted the following problems:
- Severe congestion on the main routes through the area
- Environmental degradation on Capel Street due to traffic
- 'Rat-running' through Smithfield and the Markets
- Conflict between pedestrians and traffic
- Lack of cycle facilities
- Lack of facilities for the disabled
- Disruptive and excessive on-street parking
One of the key aims of the HARP Plan is to regenerate the area in a sustainable manner. In order to do this one must not only physically rejuvenate the area but also stimulate social and economic regeneration. Economically the HARP area west of Capel Street is reliant on fruit and vegetable importing and distribution, constituting 30% of commercial activity whilst retail and merchants comprise 25%. Yet other parts of the area are seriously under-performing as the economic base of small-scale, labour-intensive industry which previously sustained the community has been eroded. This contributed to a 22.7% decline in population in the area in the late 1980s.
The Plan found that despite its proximity to tourist attractions and routes, the HARP area has failed to develop a significant tourism sector. Reasons for this included a lack of integration into mainstream tourist routes, few ancillary facilities such as hotels, a perception that the area was unsafe and poor standards of the public domain in particular and urban design in general.
The HARP area contains a wide range of historical buildings and architectural treasure with huge contrasts in character experienced over short distances, from the insular Collins Barracks through the 'open-minded' space of Smithfield to the Georgian splendour of Henrietta Street. This necessitates a range of conservation approaches to be implemented rather than a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. The Harp Plan set out to create a proper balance between conservation and redevelopment, minimising unnecessary conflict by being clear about the objectives of conservation whilst still allowing for positive tensions to arise between the two, thereby adding to local architectural character.
The Plan found that the HARP area was isolated from both the conventional and avant-garde cultural life of the city with very few art galleries, no state-sponsored art institutions and precious little public sculpture in the area. Potential was recognised in the plans to convert Collins Barracks into the decorative arts division of the National Museum, the amenity value of the Smithfield marketplace and innovative Ormond Multimedia Centre on Ormond Quay. The Plan also recognised the central importance of community-based expression and realised that any future cultural innovation must consider the integration with the local community.
Until the early 1990s, residential development within the HARP area focused entirely on the provision of social housing. The early 1990s saw a flurry of construction activity triggered by tax incentives, mainly confined to the provision of new private apartments, leading to a 47% increase in the population between 1991-1995. This has led to a significant demographic shift as the new residents are highly mobile, single professionals. Their transience, added to the insular nature of the new developments and the lack of diversity in household types ensured that there was little socio-economic impact on the existing, settled community amongst whom long-term umemployment, lack of education and single parenthood are commonplace.
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