The site visits we participated in today were my favorites of the trip thus far. I thought Dr. Kelly explained the economic history of Ireland in extremely entertaining, informative, and story-like way. He combined historical facts, his personal experience, and connections that we can make within our own lives to encompass the culture of Dublin’s financial district in the Docklands. Looking at the architecture of the financial district and the types of business in that area make it very clear that that is the “new,” whereas in the previous areas we have explored, the look of the buildings has been much older.
Thinkhouse relates to new Dublin and the agency’s focus on the youth allows for more relatability to the population of Dublin. We have learned that a third of Dublin is under the age of 25 and this allows for Thinkhouse to thrive in this city. The tech companies attract a much younger generation of employees and Thinkhouse can use this age group not just for their own advertisements, but also to collect information on the global youth.
During our tour of the financial district and hearing Dr. Kelly explain the history, I couldn’t help thinking about how similar it is to Pittsburgh. In my lifetime I have seen major tech companies come into Pittsburgh, specifically the East End. I have watched Penn Avenue in East Liberty become gentrified because of this and there has been a major push for more apartment complexes to accommodate all the young tech employees and attract people back into the city. This has caused prices to rise at an extreme rate, a younger population taking over, and the older generations being pushed out very similar to what Dublin has and is experiencing.
Overall, I think these two site visits were perfectly scheduled on the same day. The exact types of workers and the generation that Dr. Kelly discussed were those who led the presentation at Thinkhouse. Young people are taking over Dublin, and while this is good for the growth and prosperity of the city, the older generation and their skills and security must also be addressed.