Benidorm promotes participatory consultation open to all citizens to define its Urban Agenda

Benidorm City Council has launched this Tuesday the participatory process for the preparation of the Benidorm Urban Agenda, a strategic document on which decisions will be based on territorial and urban policy between now and 2030 and which will mark the future of the municipality under the principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Thus, the Council has held separate sessions with the municipal councils of Mobility, Urban Scene Advisor and Neighbourhood, which have been chaired by Mayor Toni Pérez, to explain the objectives of this roadmap for its preparation and to request their participation in the preparation and drafting of the same.

The councillors of each of the departments involved have also participated in these meetings, such as the Mobility and Urban Scene Council, Francis Muñoz; the Innovation and European Funds Council, Aida García Mayor; or the Citizen Participation Council, Ana Pellicer, together with other members of the Corporation.

The mayor of the city has explained to these participating entities that the Urban Agenda of Benidorm "is going to be written with the help of all citizens because we want it to be a living, practical document and as in line as possible with the reality of our city", so he has considered that "the participation of everyone and the contribution of citizens, entities and groups will be fundamental to think about the Benidorm we want and what is the way to get there".

To address the first phase of the preparation of the Urban Agenda, the Diagnosis phase, the company responsible for its development has prepared an online questionnaire to facilitate the participation of as many people as possible, a questionnaire that can be accessed through the following link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfx0QdQevT_F5flPexQbHsLVtihVAm…. This questionnaire, which can be filled out until February 11, allows any citizen to give their opinion on the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities that have been identified in the city and offer other options, comments and ideas to be able to carry out a complete diagnosis of the starting situation, as it has been presented to the Mobility, Urban Scene and Neighbourhood Councils, where a large number of groups, companies and social and neighbourhood groups of the municipality are represented.

Within the work methodology for the preparation of the Urban Agenda, it is planned to design actions aimed at ordering the territory and making rational use of the land, conserving and protecting it; avoiding urban dispersion and revitalising the existing city; preventing and reducing the effects of climate change and improving resilience; making sustainable management of resources and promoting the circular economy; promoting proximity and sustainable mobility; promoting social cohesion and seeking equity; promoting and favouring the urban economy; guaranteeing access to housing; leading and promoting digital innovation; and improve intervention instruments and governance. In this regard, both Toni Pérez and the head of the company selected for technical assistance have stated that “in some of these fields, Benidorm is ahead and has a lot of work advanced”.

Once this first phase of diagnosis is completed, the following planned actions will involve the alignment of the different municipal action plans already in place and those to come; the preparation of an Action Plan on the Urban Agenda, with the definition of new actions; and the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. “Different phases whose result will be the drafting of an Urban Agenda with which we will place ourselves, once again, in the lines set out by the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, especially number 11 – Making cities and urban settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable –, while continuing on the path of designing actions so that Benidorm continues to be a more sustainable, fair and intelligent city in the coming years”, the mayor stressed.