Dublin 1660-1860: The Shaping of a City By Maurice Craig Liberties Press, Euro14.99, 386pp

THE authority on Dublin's architectural heritage, it is no wonder Maurice Craig's account has been reprinted with such frequency and this edition, the first since 1992, is again a pleasure to read.

Dublin's great period of growth was from the Restoration to the climax of the Classical Period at the end of the 18th century, when it became one of the greatest cities in Europe. The 19th century brought the Act of Union and decline, with only short surges of positive development.

Writing in 1949, Maurice Craig found the Dublin of 1860 virtually intact, though crumbling, after a long period of economic stagnation. This book achieves a wonderful balance between descriptions - of great buildings, architects, their patrons and the events of history - and anecdotes which enliven the narrative. This all makes for a fluent and highly readable book.

In his preface to the 1992 edition, Craig charted the further destruction of much of Dublin's built heritage, though he did admit a good deal of it was beyond saving due to years of poverty and neglect.

While the work of the government in preserving important public buildings was acknowledged, there were major losses among private buildings.

There had been a rising consensus against the destruction of Dublin, but this had not translated into coherent action or legislation and he considered the issue still in the balance.

There is no doubt architectural conservation has greatly improved, with comprehensive legislation on the listing and conservation of buildings being incorporated in the Planning Acts.

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland have introduced accreditation for architects competent to work on historic buildings and the schools have set up courses in architectural conservation. The history of architecture is also more comprehensively taught in these schools.

It's all in contrast to Craig's lament that "three generations of architects had emerged from the architectural schools uninstructed in the grammar of classical building". Superior financial support also exists for restoration of historic buildings in private hands but this remains at a minimal level.

However, the greatly increased wealth of the citizens has enabled a considerable increase in private restoration projects and the return of many Georgian and Victorian homes to single-family ownership, from the trophy houses of multi-millionaires in Fitzwilliam Square to the artisan dwellings off the South Circular and in Ringsend.

The public sector has been able to achieve much more meanwhile, particularly through the Office of Public Works and the City Council.

Several of the city's churches - notably St Catherine's and St Georges - have been saved and many have been restored to new uses, while others have been rescued by the influx of so many immigrants who have filled existing churches with new congregations.

Most of the battles fought against the damaging road plans, particularly along the quays and the Grand Canal, have been won and the City Council is continuing to reduce car access to the inner city as public transport improves.

But, as Craig states, this is a painfully slow process.

It is in the docklands though that the city is being regenerated on a scale similar to the great developments of the 18th century.

While inevitably mixed in quality, it has a planned consistency and a creation of good public spaces we did not see in the 20th century.

Within the city centre then, the redevelopment of Temple Bar signalled the abandonment of large destructive public projects and the creation of high-quality modern buildings and new public spaces.

The derelict sites and gaps, still apparent to Craig in 1992, have largely disappeared with the Celtic Tiger. Inevitably, the quality is mixed, but with greater affluence and a strong lead from the city planners, there is a new confidence about Irish architecture and a definite style emerging, particularly in Dublin, which is creating a more coherent city.

Another important change is the reversal of population decline.

The inner city has seen a substantial increase in residents over the last 10 years and now the city council has initiated several new regeneration projects to the west of the city centre. This has created mixed communities from old and run-down public housing estates, while also restoring the legacy of former city architect George Sims from the 1930s and 40s.

Dublin City also appears to be retaining its position as the prime retail and cultural centre in spite of the growth of so many major town centres within the conurbation, and the proposed improvements to public transport should reinforce this position. The current programme to decentralise most government departments in their entirety would pose a major threat, but surely the core elements of each department have to remain close to the political centre in the D�il?

While the future for the centre of Dublin looks good, the major problems remain in its suburbs and the dependent region. The scale of problems generated by a city that has already grown from 600,000 in 1960 to 1.2m in 2007 would have been almost impossible to conceive in 1949, or even 1960, and yet the city grew by those proportions in the 18th century from around 40,000 in 1700 to over 200,000 in 1800 and 250,000 in 1820.

I think we can learn some important lessons from that great period of city building from 1660 to 1800, which we have only recently learnt to cherish.

It demonstrated, within the social and political hierarchy of the time, a successful collaboration between entrepreneur and government to create a coherent urban structure and high-quality architecture across a broad spectrum of uses.

This collaboration is now needed to change utterly the destructive impact on the city resulting from our love affair with the motor car which is already turning sour.

We need strong regional government for Dublin with a vision, and robust and detailed plans demonstrating how it will grow in a sustainable way for the benefit of all its citizens. The future growth can be planned and achieved from models already being set in our public transportbased fringe settlements. The major challenge that faces us is how to reconfigure our badly planned and dysfunctional suburbs, mostly created since Maurice Craig wrote his book in 1949.

James Pike is president of the Royal Insitute of Architects in Ireland and founding partner of O'Mahony Pike Architects