30 Nov 2005

The Atlas of Cork City

What better way to celebrate Cork's designation as European Capital of Culture than to publish a long lasting record of all of its historical and cultural treasures. Over 60 experts from varied disciplines have come together to produce a book that is lavishly illustrated with maps, photographs, aerial photographs and diagrams-Atlas of Cork City (ISBN 1 85918 380 87, Hardback, €49 (until December 31, 2005), €59 £39, 480pp, 299 x 237mm. Edited by John Crowley, Robert Devoy, Denis Linehan and Patrick O'Flanagan (University College Cork) Cartography, Michael Murphy.  The Atlas of Cork City was supported by Cork 2005 European Capital of Culture.

The Atlas provides the reader with a range of perspectives on the city and its development over time. It is not an atlas in the conventional sense, as it is not solely reliant on maps, though there are many of these, both historical and specially commissioned for the volume. The initial chapters place the city in its environmental setting. Subsequent chapters trace its physical and cultural development over time. With over sixty contributors from a wide range of disciplines offering forty chapters and a fascinating series of case studies, the range is remarkable and the topics covered often surprising. Over 200 maps cover everything from geology, through evolving street patterns, to the distribution of GAA clubs.

Snippets from the Atlas include:

• Cork city is the only large urban area in the country to record a fall in the population in the 2002 census. 
• Older people make up a significant proportion of one-person households in Cork
• County Cork now boasts the third highest concentration of pharmaceutical companies in the world.
• €4 billion has been invested in the fabric and infrastructure of the city since 2000.
• Cork is quite an unequal city. Evidence from the 2002 census reveals that poverty in the city has broadly reduced, but the gap between rich and poor has increased.
• The 2002 Census reports that some 5.4% of the population of Cork city consists of people whose nationality is non-Irish / UK.
• The proportion of households owning a car has risen from 43% in 1971 to 66% in 2002.

Cork has been a city continually in transition and the atlas will provide its readers, and planners with an opportunity to reflect in a more informed way on its future development.

The Atlas of Cork City was launched at University College Cork by Dr Garret FitzGerald and Jimmy Barry-Murphy on Wednesday, 30 November.

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