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MT September 16 2018

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26 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 SEPTEMBER 2018 OUR economy is booming and we believe that our tiny islands are doing better than most in Europe. Malta is overbuilt and overcrowded by foreigners to the point that one teased that the whole island could sink in the Med. Most of us are complacent; we work hard and enjoy the island lifestyle. Our children just hold out their hand when they want something extravagant and they usually get it. The young generation think it has always been like this. Few intellectuals can deny that there is prosperity. Nonetheless, has anybody in this 21-mile island consid- ered the cost of the damage that we are doing to our home environment? Are we burning down the house to stay warm where the envi- ronment is concerned? This administration has full marks for the thriving economy, but it seems that it has been unsuccessful in the environment sector. When one asks the 'competent authorities' serious ques- tions about the planning and management of our quality of life, they do not know what to say, it seems that they are never in a position to respond. The decision-makers of this country are portrayed like some young cast from Hollywood. Designer clothes. They look great. They seem to be connected via Blue- tooth to one collective brain that takes all the country's decisions. Positivity and product branding is all that is needed to get elected, but Malta needs experienced proven people with sub- stance and vision, at least in the background, so that get things done in a responsible manner. There are too many busy rich young people in power that do not compre- hend the consequences of the extensive damage to our quality of life. The only time they get to reflect is in some funeral for a family member or friend that passes away with cancer or breathing problems because of the pol- lution. Unfortunately, the envi- ronment and town planning literally has gone to the dogs. Ruthless huge rushed devel- opment without any form of serious planning is an everyday event. The country is one dust storm and the de- veloper seems untouchable. I am on two consultative fora where, amongst other issues, we try to discuss the serious issues that are threatening our environ- ment. Unfortunately, the qualified professionals bring- ing up these imminent and dangerous issues are usu- ally overpowered by intense representatives of private organisations that seem to have the ear of the decision- makers because of their rich powerful lobbies. One such example is the haphazard manner that the permits for the huge devel- opments in Paceville are being issued without a seri- ous holistic plan of the area. When I asked how the new 16,500 commuters (PF p105) and service providers from the new projects are going to travel through our already gridlocked traffic in Sliema, St Julian's, Gzira, Msida, San Gwann, Marsa and the rest of Malta, the developers con- tended that there is no time to make a town-planning masterplan since most of the projects have already been sold or committed. The same question was brought up in another fo- rum at Planning Authority and when we insisted that whoever is approving the permits should explain to the committee how the new city – with about twenty-five new high-rises and the surround- ing neighbourhoods – is go- ing to function, no one was in a position to respond. In 2016, the Planning Authority published what it called 'An Integrated De- velopment Framework' for Paceville consisting of a large number of towers located in a concentrated area of Paceville. When they ran out of land they even proposed placing building blocks in the sea. The 'Framework' was not welcomed by certain sectors due to the negative impact on the environment and the ruthless proposed annihilation of hundreds of existing businesses. At least, there was an at- tempt for a professional framework for all these tow- ers. It could be the case that the foreign expert consult- ants might not have under- stood the fragile fabric that makes the success business story of Paceville and were possibly misled in their brief- ing. The plan was scrapped and we were officially told that a new masterplan would soon be commissioned. Two years later nothing has happened except that the planning permissions for some of the large towers are slowly being issued. As an architectural gradu- ate in Urban City Design in the USA, I see no major problem with towers be- ing allowed on the islands especially if they are done responsibly within a real modern urban management plan. This could relieve the pressure from building in the countryside. The problem is that the authority might be issuing blind permits without considering the collective holistic negative consequences that these cluster projects are going to cause without the necessary modern infrastructure. If you think that existing traffic conditions are bad, just wait until circa 16,500 new commuters and new service providers from Pace- ville alone, not to mention thousands others from the other mega projects in Gzira, Mriehel etc. are added to the congestion. No amount of sugar-coating the problems with the present 'eye-candy' road refurbishment will solve the near future congestion. I worked on city towers in western main cities and well before a tower commences construction, the planners and the authorities would have made sure that the services, people movement and traffic are all accounted for. We sometimes had built future underground links to trains, shopping centres, services tunnels, connec- tions to other towers and car parks and the like. This was all done up before any final permission was granted. The developers then would be aware of all the present and future links are and prepare the necessary connections beforehand. What will be the conse- quences if thousands of people working within these buildings find it impossible to commute? According to the 2016 report, the new projects would have more than twice the Gross Development Floor space of the existing GDF in Paceville. Three times the size of what it is today. Should we allow such development to keep on taking place in a blind manner and without having a serious professional masterplan. I would like to propose suggestions that could lessen the serious problems that are going to be created: 1. The PA, the new forth- coming MABI, TM, ERA and related entities should collectively prepare the ground work for such a huge endeavour before build- ing permits are issued. It would look into the present and future infrastructural requirements that would be connected to each building. A detailed strategic urban town planning plan has to be finalised. This should in- clude a mandatory relation- ship requirements between residences and workspaces in order to minimise the distances of travel. 2. A green plan of Paceville Martin Debono Environment: not in a position to respond Qualif ied professionals are usually overpowered by representatives of private organisations that seem to have the ear of the decision- makers because of their rich powerful lobbies Martin J. De Bono is an architect at Urban City Design

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