Inside Dublin's push to revitalise city from living above shops to pop-up hubs

The civil unrest seen by the Dublin riots highlighted a city that had strayed from it's community focused past - and kick-started a plan to reactive the city centre

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 12:17, 25 Sep 2026 Updated 12:19, 25 Sep 2026 View Image Aerial view of O'Connell street in Dublin, Ireland - stock photo

Residents living above shop fronts once again is just one of many initiatives aimed at revitalising Dublin city centre.

Life in Dublin used to look a lot different as the city was once just as much a residential hub as it was a bustling urban centre. Things started to change in the mid 20th century, as car ownership boomed in the 1960s and suburban areas expanded.

This massively impacted how Dubliners interacted with the city, and today, the absence of a truly lived-in atmosphere is sorely felt. O’Connell Street now has just one resident left, but Dublin City Council is investigating ways to tap into Dublin’s past and turn vacant buildings not just into homes, but also cultural spaces to serve a growing community.

This is a vision outlined by Karl Mitchell from the City Co-ordination Office who spoke to councillors about how the effects of the pandemic led to a rethinking of how to utilise and reignite city spaces. He recalls in the midst of lockdown when the "purveyors of doom” predicted that nobody would ever go to a gig, ride a bus or fly in an aeroplane ever again.

“Thankfully that never happened and we did come out of Covid . But, the city centre particularly came out a little different than it went in,” he said.

A key moment in this change was “the dreadful night of the riots in Dublin ,” Mr Mitchell explained. This was back in 2023, when the city centre ignited in a fury of arson, vandalism and looting that saw the polite façade of everyday society crumble in a moment of civil unrest that then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar suggested would cost “tens of millions” to address.

The City Co-ordination Office was formed in the immediate aftermath of the riots with a recognition of a need to protect the city’s most vulnerable residents, but also find a way to tap into what had been lost over the preceding decades. “The idea of living in the city centre, making town the place to go again, to socialise in the shops and meet friends,” Mr Mitchell said of the ethos behind their department.

Informed by the “ten big moves” of the Taoiseach ’s Taskforce, which sought to revitalise the city through social housing regeneration, tackling dereliction and vacancy, and increasing security, there were clear goals for Dublin. This saw the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) through which the council could enact change.

With a dedicated staff focused “100% on the city centre,” Mr Mitchell said they requested €140 million per year to turn their ambitions into a reality. “We have nine people who wake up every morning and don’t deal with 47 things a day, their only thing to think about is the city centre.”

This includes projects transforming physical infrastructure while also integrating art, culture and community into all of their actions. “Without the community involved you don’t have all the legs of the stool complete,” Mr Mitchell said at Monday’s Community, Gaeilge, Sport, Arts & Culture SPC.

A prime example of this is turning empty and derelict buildings in Dublin city into homes, with Middle Abbey Street and North Frederick Street chosen for a pilot project encouraging property owners to take part. While Sunil Sharpe from Give Us the Night expressed concern that residential living on city centre streets could lead to a reduction of nightlife, Mr Mitchell said their ambition is the opposite.

He said they wish to invite new residents to city streets, but to keep the culture happening as “varied and mixed as possible”. “The Irish Independent building is going to be a student accommodation space,” he said, highlighting the potential for vibrancy, cafe culture, music, dance and nightlife.

People living above shopfronts is one ambition, but reactivating vacant sites on street level is another. Mr Mitchell spoke about a unit on Capel Street that they are utilising for “meanwhile use,” which means it can serve pop-up shops or cultural activities as plans for a more permanent use are ongoing.

“The idea is it’s visible to the street, people can walk in and not just something happening behind closed doors,” he said. He outlined a plan to activate buildings for “short stints” which will help encourage activity on the street while also supporting safety and visibility for the entire surrounding area.

An advisory board made up of five Dublin city councillors and external experts help oversee the goals of the office and are involved with cultural developments related to things like the Abbey, the GPO reimagination, the Ambassador Theatre, the Irish National Opera, Mr Mitchell said.

Another recent initiative was Discover Talbot Street, a council-led weekend festival that brought together food, crafts, music and family fun just last week. Mr Mitchell said that interventions like this are part of their ambition to “get the streets alive” and invite participation from residents and businesses in the area. By encouraging those “with skin in the game” to contribute to their own street, he believes the positives for city management will be felt well into the future.

Maria Fleming from the National Campaign for the Arts commended the office’s initiatives and said it is great to have a budget behind arts and cultural projects. But she also highlighted the recent loss of cultural spaces in the city, such as the controversial closure of The Complex , and said it is vital the advisory board collaborate with those in the arts community.

Social Democrats Cllr Cat O’Driscoll highlighted the incredible potential of “meanwhile use” for vacant street level spaces, but said this should extend to the many empty units sitting above shop fronts. While there’s a project to convert some into residential homes, she said not all will meet the standard required but may still have the potential to house artists and cultural space seekers.

Dublin is a city full of potential and the path forward isn’t to simply try to go back in time to an era where urban living was the norm, but to take what was great about that and write the next chapter. By embracing the potential for not just the residential use or empty units but also letting culture and community thrive, the city could become better than it ever was.

The challenges ahead are delicate and involve balancing the needs of potential residents with embracing the positives of bustling nightlife and an active cultural scene. The City Co-ordination Office may be trying to put steps in place to reactivate the dormant spaces throughout Dublin, but it will take people coming together through creativity and ingenuity for it to truly reach its full potential.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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