COULD WE TURN SAN SEBASTIAN DE LOS REYES INTO A SUSTAINABLE MUNICIPALITY?

In San Sebastián de los Reyes, we are working together in the aim of growing and getting a better future, to reach a sustainable municipality through a project who is called “Agenda 21”. We all follow the steps to get this goal, and we are aware about the needs that citizens and society are claiming for. Therefore, we can say that we are engaged with the task of creating a new city, which carries out issues as participation and commitment.

The project of “Agenda 21”, works in an Action Plan to develop business area, citizenship, trading area, urban planning etc, to reach, in a long term, a sustainable development municipality.

Economic, social and environmental issues are the main points of this process, and people who is working in this, try to get into this idea in the more efficient process way. And also, we should emphasize that “Agenda 21” is based in principles as democracy, transparency and social participation. This last point is an important one, because citizens in San Sebastián de los Reyes feel that their voices are heard, and most of them are getting involved in the social activities that the city hall and organizations offered.

Otherwise, let me come into the idea of the sustainable development action. In few words, it enhances economic and social progress respecting the environment. The first step to develop this idea of the sustainable municipality is the Action Plan, which I have explained before. And we have to go through this with the diagnostic, that provides us technical and social information.

Technical information comes as variables and indicators (for instance, statistics). Public and private agencies provide technical information about environment, socio-economic analysis, urban planning, facilities and infrastructures. Otherwise, social information turn into the source of the Action Plan with staff like, surveys, votes in the website and working groups (four groups, for being clear).

We are analyzing these two factors with the “DAFO” (debilities, threats, strengths and opportunities) which evaluate every single area in these four different branches. But I would like to focus just in one of this areas: URBAN PLANNING.

In this municipality, on the one hand, we have to review again the zonings land use planning, and in the second one, reduce conflicts between the different uses of this ground, reaching a more efficient distribution of these uses. And this is important because we want to tie, economic and social development with environmental protection, and with this, reach the goal of sustainable development.

The two principal aims of the rezoning plan are, increasing the surface of green areas, and expanding the surface for the industrial sector, because most of it is occupied by the residential sector. Let me explain in a clear way. The big issue in San Sebastian de los Reyes is, at first, the scarcity of green, public and open areas. Narrow roadways and pavement, parking cars, and also traffic, occupied the entire space. Thus, this enhances the poor access and we can not find saving walking paths, especially for kids, and old people. And second, we find unused facilities and old buildings taking up space, and in fact,  they could have better use.

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So, a functional restructure of the uses and a good policy of land allocation could bring new potential land uses and could increase urban planning operations. By the way of this renovation, free space and new green areas will grow up, becoming also an attraction for the citizens and for reaching the shape that San Sebastián de los Reyes wants to be.  So as we said before, we can bring a proper administration which relocates uses, and make an intensive restoration of the unused and old infrastructures.

Because of the new demographic and socio- economic situation that the city could suffer, the land should be appropriate zoning, for that reason, we will see changes to different zoning urban uses, and current citizens needs would be supply. The issue here is that we could find a high amount of non-use or non-proper zoning areas inside the blocks. Therefore, a rational organization of the uses and well-distributed areas would be the solution to solve the chaos structure. Reallocating zoning of these areas can cover the demand of public and pedestrian spaces. In addition, reaching a better environmental urbanization in every block and roadways by the proper disposition of roads, traffic and parking places, will increase free spaces for pedestrian uses.

We also find in San Sebastián de los Reyes the lack of trees and vegetation around the locality, and a fault of green areas. But this issue, with the reconstruction of the municipality, it is going to be solved, because open spaces and boulevards will started to emerge.

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In addition, San Sebastián de los Reyes has a large surface of natural areas, with the aim of provide them for parks and green areas. Recycle water is the source to keep in perfect way these parks.

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