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Reference Date: 26-07-98
Experience selected in the 1998 Dubai Award for Best Practice, and catalogued as GOOD.
(
Best Practices Database.)
País/Country: Spain
United Nations Region: Europe
Ecological region: continental
Activity: city/town
Partnerships: Local authority. Paraestatal institution. Central
government.
Themes = Architecture and Urban Design: historic preservation;
sustainable community design. Housing: access to housing finance.
Urban and Regional Planning: community-based planning; consultative
process.
Main contact:
Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas (Local Authority)
Antonio Díaz Méndez
Plaza Mayor, 1
Alcobendas
Madrid
Spain
28100
Tel: 34-1-659 76 00
Fax: 34-1-652 89 25
E-mail: Ayunpla@cityalcoben.org
http://www.cityalcoben.org
Partner:
Consorcio Urbanístico Valdelasfuentes (Paraestatal institution)
Fernando Menéndez Hernández
Maudes, 17
Madrid
Spain
28003
Tel: 34-1-652 12 00 ext. 2143
Fax: 34-1-652 89 45
Partner One Support Type: Financial Support
Partner:
Ministerio de Fomento (Central Government)
P. Castellana, 67
Madrid
Spain
28071
Situation before beginning this initiative
The Strategic Plan of Alcobendas has as objective "to design in a
way participated the development future of the city between the
institutions, social and economic agents of the city". The group
of designated projects "Alcobendas Echo - City" starts of the
elaboration and participation process in the Strategic Plan
developing one of the five basic strategies of the city. To this
strategy is designated it "Welfare and Quality of Life: Sustainable
Development".
In this group of projects participate capable public institutions
of financing the costliest operations - in terms of transportation
and residence infrastructure fundamentally - with those which
previously are come developing contacts. Others implicate in
different projects are the European Union through funds of
their/its programs that are applied to the Project of Recycling of
Residual Waters. Also, through other participation nets, a
transportation company proposes to establish a project of Circular
Urban Transportation (Bus).
The initiative is produced in the framework of an integrated city
socially but with large economic and social differences between
their/its inhabitants. From the economic point of view it is
considered a city with great economic activity diversification,
understood as a potential, and that is intended to guarantee as
guarantee as compared to possible economic sectors crisis. The
real integration is produced between industrial companies,
commercial and of services supported in a high level space of
environmental quality in comparative terms with other metropolitan
cities of Madrid, with a good endowment of communication
infrastructures by highway and supported in the nearness of the
Airport of Madrid - Cards that not special cause difficulties in
environmental terms.
The outlined topics are centered in how to face the different
"item" characterized internationally as basic elements of the
urban sustainability.
Preparing the information and clarifying priorities
The stakeholders involved are grouped between the social agents,
economic and institutional of the participating city in the
elaboration and discussion of the Strategic Plan: The General
Assembly. Subsequently is established a new discussion space
newspaper on topics of the city through designated " Advisory
Forum" integrated basically by the same type of representatives as
well as a Group of Drive of the Projects Alcobendas Echo - City
named "Group of Drive Alcobendas Echo - City" formed also by social
agents, economic and institutional implicate in the area of the
urban sustainability.
Objectives formulation, strategies and resources mobilization The
Group of projects "Alcobendas Echo-City" are an orderly and
coherent set of proposals to advance in the attainment of the
urban sustainability, redefining the validity of the term "
qualitative development" and establishing a series of sectors and
critical topics on those which to act.
The sectors and topics on those which is acted are: Transportation,
Protection of Natrural Environment, Energy, Management of the
Water, Management of waste, Quality of Urban Life, Environmental
Promotion Response to these topics is concretized in the
following actions:
The resources originate of funds mainly of the involved public
administrations (State and Regional) as well as the own municipal
investments. In a case, are obtained funds from the European Union
(Management of the Water).
The investments already begun are: Connection suburban train with
Madrid capital that is translated in approximately 89 million of $
USA, the Rehabilitation of the Historical Center of the city is
translated for the period 1997-1999 in 17,2 million of $ USA, the
Project of Residual Waters for irrigation has obtained financing
in the amount of 5 million from $ USA, the Project from Endowment
from Housings for the subsidized purchase from housings and
agreements with the owners of the soil, even though
their/its/your/his management is translated in 0,3 million of
$USA/year.
These projects are formulated through a wide and extended
participation riverbed citizen and institutional in the one which
the urban social nets assume the paper of proposing an important
quantity of these topics. The surveys accomplished to the
population indicate systematically as priority the solution to
transportation problems, housing, and urban rehabilitation. They
are
understood as priorities management of the water and of valuation
wastes as well as the protection of the nature. The institutions
assume the resources implementation from the state levels, regional
and local.
Process
The principal problems emerge in the negotiation and endowment of
resources by the important necessary quantity to solve some of the
critical topics.
The principal problems that are maintained are related them to the
transformation of the city in the line of sustainability urban in
strict terms by the tensions that this type of initiatives
generate. From the group of Projects to these difficulties you/them
has been designated "Transition toward the sustainability".
Obtained results
At present (May 1998) the situation is the following:
Sustainability
The integration between the different social elements, economic,
social and environmental is guaranteed through own Strategic Plan
in the one which is registered the Group of Projects Alcobendas
Echo - City and, concretely, in the first of these strategies
directed to the Welfare and the Quality of Life in the urban
environment.
What could mean this initiative concerning the resources is
something that will be measured through the indicators that this
same year 1998 are gone to put to arrangement in the Group in
Projects. It is understood that the impact is going to be very
important, especially in the areas on those which are being
applying resources intensively: Transportation, Housing,
Improvements in the urban environment, reduction in the water
and education consumption of the population. In relationship to
management of wastes is waited, through a regional scale program,
to begin the process in January of 1999.
Given the characteristics of the city and the environment in the
one which is unfolded (industrial characteristics of the city and
in many cases linked to the commodities distribution) is
extraordinarily difficult be outlined a self-sufficiency objective.
Nevertheless, the objectives that are outlined will obtain improve
very important in relationship to given resource consumption
(Transportation, water).
Lessons learned
This initiative has had as fundamental references the international
agreements with respect to the sustainability of the urban
development, concretely the Letter of Aalborg and the Agenda 21
that they have served as guide for the development as the topics
and critical points on those which to act. In the local area have
not been found, unless exceptions not to traslate directly our
city, few initiatives that in a global city area may have been
outlined all these performances integrating them with the objective
of characterizing the city in terms of the sustainablility
environmental.
Yes has been learnt how the lesson but important the possibility of
accomplishing a draft to the development horizon of the compatible
city with positioning the best as well as in relationship to the
improvement of the situation of the employment in the city. Today,
in terms of a metropolitan city, with economic activities
integration, in the area of a country developed in worldwide
comparative terms is actually possible to accomplish a transition
process that contribute. Probably, a radical position of this
concept not consider these efforts as sufficient but the
sustainablility principal learned lessons could be fulfilled in:
Today it is possible to accomplish a transition process toward a
urban policy that consider the sustainable development as key
factor of the development future. This transition process is
extraordinarily important that is not understood by the social and
economic agents as a radical position being risked to an also
radical answer.
It is indispensable to make it in a participation context citizen
and of strategic priorities definition for the action of the local
government as well as to involve particular sector to
administrations and agents.
They can be provided individually (in terms of the cities)
improvements that contribute to the objective of urban
sustainablility. The improvements can be successive guaranteeing
the already accomplished.
Transferability
From our point of view, other cities with similar circumstances can
obtain some advantages observing this initiative. Perhaps some of
they could be the following:
A clear arrangement for the determination and attainment of an
objective of sustainablility so much from the political point of
view as technical and citizen.
The application of resources in a coherent context (Strategic Plan
- Group of Projects Alcobendas Echo -City), with a clear address,
without contradictory and permanent performances in the time.
The alertness for the objectives and implementation attainment of
actions. Indicators development that permit to measure the impact
of these initiatives.
The improvements that, in terms of city positioning, have
performances as these even from the economic point of view
concerning the investments attraction route improves of the quality
of life in a city.
The performances can be accomplished from the global point of view
of the city, they do not have why be sector.
At present, they are numerous the cities that they have been interested by this initiative so much in Spain, Europe, Latin America or, even, China. In the framework of the foreign relationships of the government of the city are numerous the cases in which it has been demanded an explanation of the execution so much of the Strategic Plan as of the different projects that develop it.
| 1998 Spanish Best Practices selected by the International Jury > http://habitat.aq.upm.es/bpes/onu98/bp514.en.html |