EXAMINING MATERIAL FLOWS IN FRESHFORD, CO. KILKENNY: AN ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD TRANSPORT CONSUMPTION

This research proposes to advance the pursuit of sustainable development in small Irish settlements by means of exploring the link between materials consumption and sustainability in a small settlement setting. This initiative will facilitate a pattern of development and resource use promoting positive effects on our current supply of natural capital. Natural capital, defined as stocks of natural assets, facilitates our materials consumption, and a criterion for sustainability is now deemed to be non-declining natural capital, thus enabling material flows to be maintained indefinitely (Hinterberger et al. 1997, p2; Bartelmus 1999, p159). The consumption component of personal transport has been accounted for in Freshford, Co. Kilkenny. Ecological footprint (EF) analysis was applied as a tool to indicate the sustainability of current transport patterns within the settlement. The results have indicated that reliance on the private car to facilitate the majority of journeys is the primary contributing factor to unsustainable transport patterns in the settlement.