Dublin planners 'making motorists happy and pedestrians miserable'

A Danish urbanist has said Dublin must stop making motorists happy and pedestrians miserable.

Renonwed urban planner Professor Jan Gehl was invited to speak at a talk organised by the Irish Planning Institute on liveable cities.

He says Dublin needs "thousands more seats or park benches in the city centre", he added that not one of the 35 most liveable cities in the world were in Britain or its former colonies because traffic planners have been allowed to exert undue influence.

Gehl also says a fundamental characteristic of a civilised city is that "you can get along, get across and get around" even if you are disabled - he did not see that in Dublin.