A City for All
By Kanika Singh
Dublin City Council is embracing complexity head-on with a challenge-led approach to climate action rather than simply scaling down national policy. The city is cultivating real-world systems innovation, rooted in local collaboration, creativity and a shared vision of public space that works for everyone.
At the heart of this strategy is systems thinking. But as the session made clear, systems thinking on its own is not a silver bullet. This is because urban systems are not merely complicated, they are complex. They are shaped by many nuances and dynamics, where ‘fixing’ or ‘improving’ isolated parts is an almost impossible task. The key lies in understanding the structure of the system itself: the rules, incentives and relationships that determine its behaviour and potential for change.
Insights into Dublin’s approach were shared on Day 2 of ECCA2025 in the city’s session: ‘Dublin City Council: A challenge led approach to support systems innovation for climate action’.
Sabrina Dekker, Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office, shared this example: Most Dublin residents rely on cars for most of their trips. Why is that? It is not just about personal choice; the answer is structural. Most public space is currently allocated to cars, creating what’s known as an ‘attractiveness gap’. This gap makes driving more convenient than public transport, or, in some cases, the only viable option. The city needs to balance, or even reverse, this attractiveness gap, incentivising the use of public transportation over private vehicles. And while reallocating space can solve multiple challenges at once, under current governance models, that shift is far from easy.
Challenge-led approach
A challenge-led approach could offer a way forward, a means of enabling systemic change by working cross sectorally. It is designed to solve complex societal challenges that no individual can solve on their own. To redistribute public space meaningfully, the city needs more than good ideas – it needs an ‘Alliance of the willing’, those who share a (non-technical) vision of what could be. It also needs a defined goal, a pathway to get there, and a dedicated Challenge Delivery Team to connect and coordinate efforts, like an orchestra with a skilled conductor.
This session delved into how a challenge-led approach can spark system change, particularly in urban contexts where traditional governance structures often fall short. Rather than imposing predefined fixed solutions, Dublin’s model encourages cross-sector collaboration, uniting planners, architects, artists, engineers, and residents around shared, deeply human challenges.
Case study: children’s movement in Dublin
One of Dublin’s active live challenges was highlighted: creating a city where children of all ages can move safely and freely.
“We knew that this work takes time, so when things look slow, we cannot start to panic…” Sabrina said, before diving into the project cycle.
The first phase of the project tested the previous Climate Action Plan (2019 – 2024) for Dublin, learning that during the implementation of that plan, a lot of silos existed, which need to be overcome through encouraging a greater level of collaboration among actors.
The city’s first big live challenge was then outlined: children of all ages should be able to move safely through the city - because if that’s possible, then people of all ages and abilities can too. To achieve this, an experiment was done on-ground, to get a child’s view of Dublin. This was not a rhetorical exercise. The team literally explored the city through a child's eyes, using photos taken at child height to map barriers. Sabrina noted: “We found that the view can be quite frightening from that height,” and this exercise helped them to visualise space differently.
The next project phase identified a pilot area using team-led walkabouts across six neighbourhoods. The chosen location balanced complexity: it had both prevalence of anti-social behaviour and important institutions, and was also dominated by car traffic. While many children were already walking and cycling in the area, the high number of cars still posed challenges to children’s safety. This needed to be resolved, along with an increase in green spaces, play equipment, and improved lighting. The team started by defining the word ‘play’ and what it meant to make a space play-friendly for children. Interestingly, this question sparked debate, with everyone involved (engineers, architects, sports officers) having different ideas. The group ultimately decided to focus on the broader concept of ‘movement’.
The resulting pilot initiatives saw creative, community-led interventions, from a colourful pedal party parade to a child-led workshop and walkabout, with local children contributing their voices and visions; imaginative, visible and rooted in community.
A broader vision for 2030
What will Dublin look like in 2030? During a collective vision walk, six groups of adults (six ‘thinking hats’) imagined themselves in the near future and noted their images of what an ideal Dublin inhabits. Limited private car use. More inviting green space. Improved and accessible walking spaces for all. This creative exercise was not just symbolic - it informed concrete next steps. The city council has since launched a Sandbox Commission to support artists in bringing these visions to life, embedding creativity into climate action.
Making system change manageable
Meaningful transformation takes time and intention. The work can be likened to running a marathon - even if the pace feels slow and the path seems long, continuing forward will get you to the finish line. The council learned many lessons through its work:
- Engage early with the top: Early engagement with senior management can help secure trust and resources.
- Progressive actor engagement: Strategic and considerate, so the right actor is brought in at the right stage.
- Think subtraction: Actions that remove barriers can be more powerful than those that simply add new elements.
- Balance between concreteness and scale: To ensure that (big) ambition is followed with concrete deliverables.
- Meet people where they are: Instead of aimlessly selling a project, help people see how it aligns with and solves the current challenges they face.
- People dedicated to connecting: Use of ‘Connectors’, who can bridge departments and sectors, makes projects effective.
Sabrina closed the session with a reminder of the importance of building trust between actors and citizens for better cities: “The city council isn’t a faceless institution. It’s made of people who live in the city too and care about making it better.”
Chair
Sabrina Dekker (Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office)
Speakers
Mariana Mirabile (OECD)
Conor Quinlan (EPA)
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