Pérez defends the application of the SDGs in municipal management and is committed to sustainability at the Meeting of Urban Leaders

In the second Meeting of Urban Leaders organized by Malaga City Council coinciding with Greencities & S-Moving, together with the Red Innpulso and the Spanish Network of Smart Cities, the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, together with thirty mayors of the main Spanish cities that are integrated into the SmartCity network, yesterday afternoon addressed the importance of sustainable and strong urban planning.

Pérez assessed the current situation and warned of the challenges that arise in these moments of economic and social vulnerability for the correct application of the Urban Agenda, which is "the instrument for applying the SDGs in cities".

He described the situation as "uncertainty", due to the incidence of energy prices and inflation that will affect municipal budgets "due to the increase in electricity bills, for example, and other measures applied by administrations, such as the Valencian autonomous community, increasing taxes on solid waste management, or the national one with its local financing policies”.

But, said the mayor of Benidorm, "it is also a time of opportunity" to carry out "changes in municipal management models where sustainability prevails as a transversal axis of actions". The Urban Agenda, said the mayor, is key to this.

Pérez proposed "planning strategies taking into account local challenges, but broadening the vision towards the global sphere" and "developing participation models" while insisting on "deploying synergies and public-private actions" as a guarantee of winning the future.

The mayor of Benidorm insisted "on working under the premise of energy efficiency" and also advocated "developing actions focused on aspects of general efficiency based on the data", as well as making the most of the strengths obtained from the reports of the Smart Office, after the interpretation and analysis of the data and active listening.

As points of action to be taken into account, the mayor of Benidorm positioned the tourist destination city in aspects of mobility, low emission zones, energy efficiency and water management, pointing out to Pérez that "participation, collaboration and commitment" must constitute the bases of action, noting that "the commitment to future actions must have an impact on improving the quality of life and well-being of our neighbours, thanks to the tools that facilitate governance" and must be very clear about "the new life cycle of people".

One of the proposals that the mayor of Benidorm supported focuses, he explained, "on bringing the SDGs into the classroom and starting with early childhood education."

At the meeting, the mayors opted to develop from the FEMP actions aimed at changing both financing models and legal frameworks and regulations such as the Contract Law that dilates municipal actions.

One of the issues debated at the II Meeting of Urban Leaders was the need for the qualification of City Council staff to deal more effectively with the tasks and commitments that emanate from the Urban Agenda to offer better services to residents.

The mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, welcomed this meeting, which is being held within the framework of the Greencities event in Malaga, leading the meeting with Gema Igual, mayor of Santander and vice president of the Spanish Network of Smart Cities, and Carlos Ruiz, Mayor of Viladecans and co-president of the Red Impulso. The mayor of Ermua, Juan Carlos Abascal, co-chaired the meeting.