As part of Science Week on RTÉ, and in collaboration with Taighde Éireann (Research Ireland), we present Futureville Ireland with Carla O'Brien and Dr Lollie (Lorraine) Mancey.
The show looks into the future as we create a new city - Futureville aka Athlone. Watch as the town in the middle of Ireland is re-imagined as a near future metropolis, a capital of the midlands and a new home for 250,000 people in 2050.
The Golden Island area of the town will be transformed into a walkable, sustainable development as Orla Murphy from UCD School of Architecture explains in the video below.
First and foremost, where would all these new residents live and how would they live? Housing is a massive issue right now, so what could change as we plan Futureville?
Orla says: "In some ways, our houses are not going to look terribly different (in the future), I think they are going to feel different. I think they are going to feel healthier, they are going to feel more comfortable, have less plastic based insulation which comes as a by-product of the fossil fuel industry, so much more use of mass timber in place of concrete and steel. So over their lifetime, our houses can become carbon stores, carbon negative so that's really exciting."
"With this comes a massive opportunity which is that we prioritise a different model that is not car led, it's actually people led but to get there, we need to have better public transport, our towns and cities need to be walkable and cyclable. They will be much more healthy, much more enjoyable and beautiful places to live in."
And housing is just the beginning. Throughout the series we continue to ask what other changes would be made to Athlone? What would daily life be like for the residents? And what are the latest innovations from the Irish Research community that will make it possible?
Futureville Ireland is streaming now on RTÉ Player.
Coming up on Futureville Ireland
On the first show, we highlight the newest technologies that will enable our vision for this city of 250,000 people to become a reality. We focus on the housing and sustainable urban design of the future and much more. Stay tuned for the robot dog!
On Wednesday the team look at issues with the new city and the River Shannon. The country's largest river could pose the greatest threat to the future city version of Athlone or it could be its greatest potential asset - we explore both sides of that reality.
In the final episode, and with the Futureville project well underway, on Thursday Futureville explores how we can enhance the quality of daily life in this future city. From transport to education, to where we get our food.
Futureville Ireland is the centre piece of RTÉ and Taighde Éireann's (Research Ireland) broadcast collaboration for National Science week beginning on Sunday, 10th November.
For more on Science Week on RTÉ visit www.rte.ie/scienceweek and go to www.scienceweek.ie for all the events taking place.
