8 min read Some suburban areas of Dublin have thrived during the pandemic, with new outdoor facilites creating a tighter sense of community, while other parts of the city continue to cry out for better resources The south Dublin suburb of Blackrock is a place transformed. Where the affluent seaside village had always been well-presented, if a little bland and uninspiring, since lockdown it is now âbuzzingâ, âthrivingâ and has a ânew-found sense of communityâ say locals. New benches, picnic-tables, a two-way cycle lane protected by a line of raised-bed planters, and young trees positioned along the main street welcome visitors. Even on-street coffee-tables beckon. Traffic has been reduced to one-way and footpaths have been widened to twice or more of their pre-Covid dimensions.