"Previously, a clear relationship between population size and sustainability level achieved by a settlement had not been found. This was in part because the issues are complex and partly because we had insufficient data. This research aimed to provide a better understanding of sustainability efficiencies which might be achieved in urban settings" Prof Moles added.

"In this research project, resources were made available by the EPA to support data collection over 18 months. Five researchers collected data on approximately 300 attributes in the 79 settlements. A questionnaire was completed by nearly 4000 householders, providing much needed quantitative and qualitative data relating to lifestyle and environmental impact.  It was found that as a rule the bigger the settlement, the more sustainable the lifestyle of people living in it. On average, Limerick households were most sustainable among the group surveyed.  But Limerick was not the leader across all areas of investigation. While the transport 'footprint' was low, journeys to work shops and schools tended to be quite long in many parts of Limerick and traffic congestion is a problem in this and many other larger urban areas. The city scored poorly in relation to environment but this has improved since the research with the opening of the new waste water treatment plan.  Proportionally more people eat out in Limerick and this increased the food footprint, as restaurants carry a relatively high environmental cost."

"The results of the research help us better understand the steps needed towards improving Ireland's record in sustainability and inform future urban and rural planning. The reality is that the current lifestyle of the average inhabitant of Irish settlements results in a footprint which far exceeds the global average" said Prof Moles. The settlements with the least sustainable households were found in smaller, more isolated villages and small towns and in satellite towns near larger urban areas, especially those which had grown quickly in recent years. 

The research was conducted by Dr Bernadette O'Regan, Dr John Morrissey, Dr Walter Foley, and Professor Richard Moles, all working in the University of Limerick Centre for Environmental Research (CER). A new project aims to define and test the feasibility of policies designed to improve householders' sustainability throughout Ireland.

Established in 1994, the Centre for Environmental Research (CER) is a multidisciplinary centre encompassing many areas of environmental research. UL is the leading Irish university in studies on urban sustainability. Among other published studies from CER include the identification of sustainability indicators for the Mid-Western region of Ireland, system dynamics modelling of the environmental impacts of base metal mining, modelling the spread of disease, and the production of a protocol for the identification of polluted soil and water associated with mines. Much of the work was funded by the EPA under the National Development Plan, and reports can be downloaded from epa.ie. For more information contact richard.moles@ul.ie.