"Benidorm has always grown up with the idea of making people happy"

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, welcomed the 150 researchers and architecture professionals who participated last Wednesday in the EURAU18 International Architecture Congress organized by the University of Alicante. This congress is held every two years and is attended by professors, students and researchers from all over the world. The day was focused on knowing the urban and architectural reality of Benidorm, which the mayor presented as "a city that has always grown with the idea of ​​making people happy". The manager of Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao, on the other hand, offered the most significant data that explain Benidorm's tourism leadership and its commitment to become the first Smart Tourist Destination in the country.

In his words of welcome, Toni Pérez stressed that "in urban planning and architecture, Benidorm has one of its main assets and hospitality its raison d'être", to then recall that "in the middle of the last century, Benidorm marked a milestone historical in the development of urban planning in Spain with the approval of the General Plan of Urban Planning. A planning, -added-, avant-garde, daring and ahead of the reality of that time, that today are more and more those who recognize that it is the model, that of the vertical and compact city, more sustainable and respectful with the territory ".

The mayor developed that idea emphasizing that "our city model allows a more rational use of land, concentrates the buildability, frees space and that high density entails an efficient use of water, energy and fossil fuels". He stressed later that "the displacements in this city are short", and now that Benidorm celebrates the Mobility Week, he recalled the fact that "70% of journeys are pedestrian something that has much to do with our urban model or that we already have 80 kilometers of cycle paths and cycle paths, promoting policies that aim to reduce our ecological footprint far beyond the benefits that the compact city has in itself ".

He also stressed that in Benidorm architecture "has adapted to its natural environment, a geographical configuration and an enviable climate, with some beaches facing south", betting on "a vertical construction to consume the territory as little as possible."

After the welcome conferences held in the Assembly Hall of the City Council, the congressmen are planning to move to the El Torrejo Building, to continue the cycle of conferences, organized by professors Javier Sánchez Merina and Joaquín Alvado. The closing conference will be in charge of who was the professor of Projects of the UA, José María Torres Nadal and the day will conclude with act of coexistence in the Tamarindos Walk.