Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1491498
8 OPINION 2.2.2023 Carlos Moreno - dreaming of our 15-minute city George Mangion George Mangion is a senior partner at PKF, an audit and consultancy firm, and has over 25 years' experience in accounting, taxation, financial and consultancy services. His efforts have made PKF instrumental in establishing many companies in Malta and established PKF as a leading professional financial service provider on the Island M ark Sammut Alessi writing in the Sunday Independent expressed angst when commenting about the application to build a bungalow vil- lage and other amenities in the unspoiled Comino islet. Nobody denies that Castille treats widespread construction as the Alta Mater which is revered as the prime motor of the economy. Sammut Alessi insists that the population's psychologi- cal well-being certainly doesn't make this country's top priorities, since in his opin- ion, the cash registers within the corri- dors in Mile End (level four) ring melo- diously when new construction permits are on the agenda. e writing on the wall is that we may have to sacrifice Comino's beauty for a few business people to make easy money and possibly see some of the spectacular gains eventually populate Dubai's haven accounts. He tars this "Comino" appli- cation with a brush tainted as easy mon- ey. He questions why are we digging up all ODZ and unspoiled land when there are alternatives such as "empty" inner core buildings rotting away. His clarion call is to warm the heart strings of citi- zens who feel powerless when they read about public calls for creation of unsus- tainable wealth-generating business, the kind that brings a sporadic but unsus- tainable stream of income. e penny suddenly dropped - watch how the government is actively looking into buying or renting private land to transform it into open, public spaces, appointing an ex-BOV financial analyst Steve Ellul as CEO of a new agency - Pro- ject Green. As pompously announced by Ellul, this fresh initiative is part of the seven-year plan to invest €700 million to create green urban spaces. Quick on the ball, the Times of Malta editorial took umbrage at this announce- ment saying "traditionally written by the government, this delivers a sort of false equivalence: the government dedicates €700 million for the construction of open spaces but a substantial amount of this cache will be spent on infrastruc- ture, over and above the €500 million allocated by the government for the con- tinuation of the roadbuilding spree seen in the last years. e €200 million differ- ence between the two budgets does not really imply a change in direction." So if TOM is right, is this a new in- itiative or a ruse? ere are quite a few reasons why Project Green was met with widespread cynicism - yet wander dust has not settled on its glossy brochure. It appears that the government shall ac- quire privately owned land that is with- in the development zone but has not yet been developed, and surreptitiously open it up for the public enjoyment. But, one may ask, does this mean that the government will repent and in a contrite mood buy back land from the private owners of Comino, or the yacht project at Hondoq, or various hotel sea- side encumbrances or the shanty towns dotting the coast. e straight answer is, not so fast. We bought for cash a number of band clubs and shares in Lombard but are not so cavalier for the aforesaid. So the rea- sonable trajectory for Ellul, armed with a war chest of €200 million, may be to try introduce the 15-minute City concept pioneered by a famous architect Carlos Moreno. is is an intuitive and adaptable model for people - centred urban development that already popular around the world. Moreno says achieving the 15-minute city requires "deconstructing the city", or, more specifically, mixing as many differ- ent uses as possible. It is an approach to urban design that aims to improve quality of life by creating cities where everything a resident needs can be reached within 15 minutes by foot, bike, or buses. e concept (la ville du quart d'heu- re) found new popularity in 2019 from Carlos Moreno, a French-Colombian professor (pictured) who developed the idea in pursuit of attachment to dis- rupt. Moreno also champions the use of hybrid spaces: turning schoolyards as parks, civic facilities that have multiple uses and multi-use buildings and cultur- al spaces, such as churchyards and dig- ging underground garages in industrial parks. Another mentor for Ellul could be Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. She quickly be- came one of the most prominent cham- pions of the 15-minute city. e idea was a centrepiece of her successful 2020 re-election campaign, and it served as a useful, colloquial packaging for Paris to pedestrianize, promote cycling, electric scooters, restrict cars and bring parks and people-first infrastructure to the City of Light. Paris is treating schools as neighbourhood 'capitals', enabling these properties to serve multiple functions alongside childhood education, and working to strengthen local commercial networks, services and production un- der a romantic 'Produced in Paris' brand. Equally challenging for Ellul, this is a minefield and we wish he gains the col- laboration of the entire Cabinet. Critics are quick to remind us of past peccadil- los saying any national-wide roll-out of a buying spree in village core does not come without controversy. Lobbies of car importers, village shops, and drivers will fight the idea tooth and nail. Starting by extensive construction of bike lanes this alone, transforms parts of the island into a big construction site. By comparison, in Paris, Hidalgo came out with plans to eliminate 60,000 park- ing spots by 2024 and to utilise smart-city technology to make the remaining cars and trucks spots on the road more effi- cient, speeding up package delivery and making it easier to find parking. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she fast-tracked the transformation of streets into emer- gency 'corona pistes', cycle lanes. Some may ask if Hidalgo started miti- gating Paris congestion with 30 million annual visitors - we augur that Ellul suc- ceeds locally armed with a rich purse in this pocket. Readers may wonder how, with three cars per family (and in- creasing), we can start replacing park- ing spots. It is a counterintuitive way to improve traffic, but in fact, the other approach – adding more roads and oth- er accommodations for cars – is what doesn't work. See what we achieved by building the controversial Marsa flyovers (with back-handling allegations) when reality showed us beyond doubt, that more as- phalt leads to more congestion, which in turn leads to demand for more roads. e 15-Minute approach was also fa- vourably commented upon and highly recommended by an article in the Sun- day Independent by Carmen Cacopardo, Chairperson of ADPD. is approach can be seen in action in seven cities – Barcelona, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Milan, Paris and Port- land – with the aim of inspiring other local governments around the world in the design of their own approaches. e information it presents has been shared directly by the cities. In each case, it ex- plains the approach each city is taking, the background to its development, and key features and its traffic calming prac- tices. It also provides links to associated studies and reports. e spirit is willing, let us see if Castille is genuinely interested.