TV series imagines Athlone in 2050

A new three-part series, Futureville Ireland, to be broadcast on RTE 1 on three nights this week, explores what a new re-imagined city of Athlone would look like in the year 2050.

The series, which will be broadcast at 7pm nightly from this evening, Tuesday November 12 to Thursday, as part of RTE's Science Week programming, will look at what daily life might be like for residents and the latest innovations from the Irish research community making it all possible.

Co-presented by RTÉ’s Carla O’Brien and Dr Lorraine (Lollie) Mancey of the UCD Innovation Academy, the series also looks to bring real contemporary issues such as health, housing and education to the forefront with real solutions for the future.

Athlone, as a capital of the midlands and a new home for a quarter of a million people in 2050, has been chosen as the staging point for this metropolis and its transformation to Futureville. The concept city is built on Irish scientific research that can be easily applicable to any other Irish town or urban centre.

Episode one will showcase the newest technologies that will enable the vision for this city of 250,000 people to become a reality. Episode two will shift the focus to the relationship between Athlone and the Shannon and episode three will explore how we can enhance the quality of daily life in this future city.