Next Stop: Dundalk, Ireland. Located in County Louth midway between Dublin and Belfast, just south of the Northern Ireland border. Dundalk is a historically industrial and port town that was hit hard from two big moments in Irish history, first Irish independence from British Empire in 1921, which meant UK factories moved out, and when Ireland joined the European Union when more industrial jobs moved to other parts of the EU. This meant it suffered a long economic decline.
So in comes the Dundalk Business Improvement District in 2009, Ireland’s first BID, to literally brighten things up. They have transformed the downtown, making it a destination.
One project I was most impressed by is that 6 years ago they started painting the downtown building facades themselves, covering up the typical dingy greys and whites with bright cheery colors. They brought back old store signs to emphasize the nostalgia people felt for the place with the goal of getting the community to fall back in love with the city. They also have a major mural program. The BID also was able to find resources to create a new public plaza that they use for big public events like their Christmas lights and celebration to attract tourists and also small ones like a weekly farmers market to get locals to spend more time downtown. Click through my pics to see other little details they have added to the streetscape making Dundalk a great place to visit.
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