Dr. Husam AlWaer: Understanding the 20-Minute Neighbourhood
Placemaking moved decisively to the centre of the housing debate at the RIAI and Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Housing Conference in Sligo, held at The Model on 23–24 February 2026.
Framed around ‘Activation Through Collaboration’, the event repeatedly returned to one big question: can Ireland meet its housing targets without repeating the spatial mistakes of the past three decades?
That question was explored more fully in Session 4, ‘The 20-minute Neighbourhood: Lessons from Scotland’, chaired by Máire Henry MRIAI, with a keynote from Husam Al Waer, Chair of Urban Design at the University of Dundee, and panel contributions from Andrée Dargan FRIAI (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council) and Cathal O’Boyle FRIAI (Cork City Council).
It was the placemaking highlight of Day 1 because it moved beyond the usual discussions around 15-minute city/20-minute city and interrogated the mechanics of delivering local living in both urban and rural contexts.
From housing outputs to civic infrastructure
Al Waer positioned the 20-minute neighbourhood not as a transport concept (TOD) but as a person-centred framework. His starting point was that housing alone does not create community. A neighbourhood requires civic and social infrastructure: schools, local shops, health services, green space, libraries, mobility connections, and everyday amenities that enable daily life within short distances.
He was explicit that the model is not about eliminating cars, nor about creating “isolated” or self-contained enclaves. The objective is to reduce car dependency by designing places where proximity, density, mixed use, connectivity and inclusivity are aligned. Without sufficient population intensity and a connected street network, services are not viable. Without services, local living fails. Without early investment in movement networks, households default to car ownership, which then becomes structurally embedded.
For practitioners, the key takeaway was sequencing. If homes are built first and infrastructure later, behavioural patterns form early. Families organise around long-distance travel before local alternatives exist. By the time services arrive, the travel culture is already locked in. This point really resonated in the Irish cycling and active travel context.
Density, viability and critical mass
One of the most practically useful sections of the keynote concerned density and service viability. Al Waer argued that density should be understood as an OUTCOME of how places function rather than as a determinant. He referenced evidence linking population density to the viability of neighbourhood shops, primary care, schools and bus services. He emphasised measuring people per hectare rather than units per hectare to understand actual service demand and intensity of occupation.
For placemaking practitioners, the point was made – and data shared – that neighbourhood centres cannot be retrofitted easily where population thresholds are not achieved. A small shop, a frequent bus service, or a local health centre requires a defined catchment. Without critical mass within walking distance, services either fail or never materialise.
He also addressed misconceptions around privacy and density, referencing European “gentle density” models based on perimeter blocks and mid-rise typologies. These forms can increase intensity while maintaining amenity and reducing land take. The Irish housing typology profile, heavily weighted toward detached and semi-detached homes, was implicitly contrasted with European models where apartments and mid-rise formats support mixed-use neighbourhoods.
The city of neighbourhoods versus the monocentric model
Al Waer contrasted two strategic approaches. One prioritises strengthening the city centre on the assumption that vitality radiates outward. The other views cities as networks of connected neighbourhoods, each with its own local high street, services and civic life, supported by public transport and short travel distances.
He argued that shortening distances reduces structural pressure for car ownership. He referenced examples from continental Europe where neighbourhood-level centres are supported by mobility hubs and integrated transport. The loud message for Irish practitioners was not to undermine city centres, but to recognise that city resilience depends on distributed neighbourhood vitality.
Rural application and networked villages
Of particular and personal interest to me, part of the session addressed rural contexts. Al Waer described work with Angus Council in Scotland that reframed rural local living as “networked villages”. Rather than treating small settlements as isolated units lacking critical mass, the approach conceptualises them as connected clusters.
In this model:
- Villages are linked through active travel routes and mobility hubs.
- Shared facilities are distributed strategically rather than duplicated in every settlement.
- Density increases, where appropriate, are located adjacent to mobility hubs rather than dispersed randomly.
The aim is to strengthen relationships among settlements and enable shared access to services.
Interestingly, Al Waer linked this to increasing social capital. I see/experience the failings of this across Connemara and much of rural Ireland: when villages are connected and mutually supportive, collective capacity improves. Social capital in this context refers to strengthened inter-settlement ties, shared infrastructure usage, and reciprocal support across a defined network. I would argue that this also increases the capacity of a community to rally and fight for place-based priorities
He was clear that this does not imply urbanising rural areas indiscriminately. Instead, it involves identifying focal points where movement, services and modest density converge, while retaining rural character elsewhere. For Ireland, where dispersed settlement patterns are common, this approach offers a potential alternative to both unchecked one-off housing and wholesale rural consolidation.
Sequencing and funding realities
In the panel discussion that followed, delivery constraints came into sharp focus.
Dargan described Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown’s layered planning framework: county development plans, urban framework plans, active travel corridors, and incremental infill strategies. She referenced the use of brownfield development, living-over-shop conversions, and high-density schemes on constrained sites to increase town-centre population. She also highlighted resistance to traffic reallocation proposals, noting the volume of public submissions in response to pedestrianisation and movement changes. On the face of it, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown certainly appears to be leading the charge in terms of participative public consultation and community engagement.
O’Boyle highlighted structural funding challenges in delivering mixed-use neighbourhoods. While housing has dedicated funding pathways, facilities such as childcare, small commercial spaces, and certain community functions do not always align with existing capital frameworks. As a result, housing is delivered more readily than the social and civic infrastructure that sustains neighbourhood life.
Both speakers made the point well that local living is iterative, ongoing and long-term. Masterplans may set direction, but implementation unfolds over decades.
Governance and responsibility
A recurring question in the session was responsibility. Who is accountable for delivering a functioning 20-minute neighbourhood as a complete outcome? Housing authorities, transport agencies, local government planners, private developers, and central government all hold partial levers. Fragmentation between them creates delivery gaps.
Al Waer spoke to the importance of clear statutory embedding, referencing Scotland’s incorporation of local living principles into national planning policy. For practitioners, the implication is that without statutory clarity and aligned funding mechanisms, placemaking remains aspirational.
Quality and compactness
The session also cautioned against simplistic compactness. Compact urban growth must be paired with green infrastructure and biodiversity investment. Dense environments without adequate public realm, tree canopy and safe space undermine health and liveability.
The quality of journey and destination were both stressed. Proximity is insufficient if routes are unsafe or unpleasant. A green space within five minutes’ walk does not function if perceived as unsafe or poorly maintained.
For Ireland-based placemaking practitioners, the main operational insights were to:
- Sequence infrastructure early: Movement networks and civic facilities shape behaviour before habits are set.
- Plan for critical mass: Service viability depends on catchment population within walking distance.
- Treat density as a design tool: Urban form, block structure and typology determine how intensity performs socially.
- Consider rural networks: In dispersed settlement contexts, connectivity and shared facilities can build social capital without forcing uniform density.
- Clarify governance: Without clear accountability and funding alignment, neighbourhood delivery fragments.
Following a day of housing data and debate – tensions between central and local government were more apparent than usual – this particular session explored housing delivery through a more holistic lens. If Ireland intends to deliver 300,000 homes this decade, the question is not only where they go, but whether they form neighbourhoods capable of sustaining daily life.
I left this session reflecting upon how local living requires deliberate design of connectivity, services, density and governance, in both cities and towns. It was my first time hearing about the 15-minute city/20-minute city in a rural context so I will need to consider the concept of rural networks further.
Here is a link to the reaserch: AlWaer, H., & Cooper, I.(2024): Understanding the 20 Minute Neighbourhood: Making opportunities for people to live well locally. University of Dundee. https://doi.org/10.20933/100001289
And a link to the publication:
For more information, contact Dr. Husam AlWaer h.alwaer@dundee.ac.uk