World Town Planning Day 2024: 'Homes Start with Planning'

Article updated on 14th February 2025. It was originally published on 8th November 2024.

Celebrated globally in over thirty countries, World Town Planning Day (WTPD) highlights the special role of planning and good planning practices in supporting society by establishing connected and liveable communities—where people can live, work and socialise together.

WTPD is marked on November 8th every year and is now been running for over 75 years. It was first founded in Argentina in 1949 by Professor Carlos della Paolera to advance both public and professional interest in planning.

2024's theme for WTPD is 'Homes Start with Planning' and focuses on the role of planners in delivering housing that both "meets the needs of our communities and helps to create equitable, inclusive and sustainable solutions for all."

The theme speaks to The Land Development Agency's (LDA) commitment to the development of homes that enable healthy lives in connected, sustainable communities, with the LDA's planning team playing a key role in supporting this commitment.

Strategic planning: A key department for the LDA

The LDA's strategic planning team comprises of professional town planners who, together with other supporting roles, engage through a wide variety of stakeholders, nationally, regionally and locally. Their work is key in supporting the LDA deliver a stable, national capacity of homes to support sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant communities.

They work directly with communities and other professionals to develop, evaluate and implement positive community and environmental outcomes.?The team focuses on enabling the sustainable development of new and regenerated communities on sites which will be well-served by infrastructure and services.

To do this, the strategic planning team focuses on engaging with stakeholders to understand the timescales for transfer of the sites. The team also prepares plans to guide how development will happen on the sites. These plans consider things such as what mix of uses works best on each site, how many homes are appropriate for each site and how sites for new communities are designed to fit in with the development that already exists around them.

In progressing plans and proposals, the LDA promotes a proactive and inclusive approach to community and stakeholder engagement, starting from the earliest stages in the planning and design process, through to construction and occupation.

Shanganagh site visit

One event in the run up to WTPD in 2024 included a site visit to Shanganagh Castle Estate, a new development nestled in the heart of Shankill, Dublin—offering the perfect blend of historical charm and modern convenience within an area easily accessed by public transport, along with having everyday amenities nearby. The estate is a real example of good planning and engagement delivering homes within connected, sustainable communities.

The development has also been designed to the highest international environmental and sustainability standards and will be one of the largest in Europe to achieve the passive house low energy use standard. The passive house standard is the world’s most rigorous energy standard focusing on occupant comfort and ultra-low energy use.

As the first passive house development at this scale in Ireland it will provide a significant opportunity to access in-use data for comparative analysis with other energy performance standards.

You can find out more about Shanganagh Castle Estate here.

The LDA

The LDA's key purpose is to maximise the supply of affordable and social homes on public land in a financially sustainable manner, supporting the creation of thriving communities and delivering ongoing positive social impact.

The vision is for the provision of affordable and social housing to meet the needs of the nation, delivering a social return from developments and renewal of communities and a stable, national capacity to support sustainable, inclusive and vibrant communities so that everyone who lives in Ireland can be assured of housing options that support their needs, throughout their lives.

Careers at the LDA

If you're interested in working on projects of national significance and want to play a role creating affordable and social housing across Ireland, now's the time to join a growing organisation offering excellent career development opportunities.

Check out current open roles, including planning role opportunities, on our careers page.

The LDA is guided by the values of Integrity, Collaboration, Sustainability, Innovation & Delivery.