Rural housing and sustainable community development in the West of Ireland: a case study of County Mayo

Ireland’s economy has been transformed in the past decade; it has become one of the fastest growing economies within the European Union. Growth has been unprecedented and unbalanced, primarily located in the east and within larger urban centres. The impacts of economic growth have been far reaching, both direct and indirect. One impact has been upon housing. Increased demand for property; to house the population combined with increased investment and tourism demands upon housing stock are impacting upon the sustainability of many rural areas. The West of Ireland is currently in a unique position as it faces the challenges of renegotiated EU regional/spatial and agricultural policies, demographic shifts, a dynamic housing sector, tourism changes and increased environmental restrictions on land use in the countryside. Three case studies have been chosen in Co. Mayo, predominantly a rural county in order to examine impacts of housing on sustainable community development. The county provides an ideal location for a study of rural housing issues as it now must grapple with a complexity of issues concerning land, people, services, employment, and housing incorporating new spatial development plans. A complex history of Irish emigration, coupled with recent rises in return /in-migration and variable spatial patterns makes for an interesting research topic. Housing policies and developments have responded to population shifts, but the pace of change has been rapid in some locations. Economic issues, social change and environmental impacts will need to be examined across different rural spaces. This research is deliberately broad, and therefore seeks to examine various, inter-related issues within the context of changing housing processes. This research does not seek to generalize about its findings but rather, to find a baseline of resident and agency meanings, terms and discussions to base future research on. Because little holistic research has been done in this particular geographical area an inductive approach will be taken, in order to provide a baseline theory that might give an insight into the social constructions and subjective reality of the research participants: residents and agencies involved in housing and community