Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/997322
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JUNE 2018 CIVIC action groups and an- gry, and sometimes grumpy residents have been around for decades. Interviewed by Daph- ne Caruana Galizia in 1989, for- mer planning minister Michael Falzon had referred to Sliema residents who were then al- ready complaining about over- development in their locality as "arrogant". 30 years on, the former minis- ter, during whose term in office the Planning Authority was set up to regulate development and the first development bounda- ries drawn up, thinks that social media is making people both more aware of what is hap- pening around them, but even more "vociferous". Yet he still thinks, as he did back in his days in government, people are mostly motivated by the NIMBYist 'Not in my backyard' syndrome even if he makes it clear that "this does not mean that their concerns are not justified." For, after all, in such a crammed and small island, isn't everything which happens, in someone's backyard? Isn't NIMBYism the natural reac- tion of communities whenever pieces of their collective mem- ories and neighbourhood sig- nifiers like trees, old walls and buildings are torn down? Share the outrage Civic action on land-use is- sues dates back to the birth of Din l-Art Helwa in the 1960s. Over the past decades big pro- jects like golf courses, cement plants and car parks have been stopped by various coalitions of residents, NGOs, anti-capitalist activists, church groups and farmers. Yet the advent of the social media has made it easier for people to spread the message. The risk is that people may ap- pease their conscience by mak- ing a "like" or a "share" only to lose interest by the time of the next cause. And the sheer on- slaught of news on a plethora of unrelated developments leaves people feeling more hopeless than ever, with the social media being fertile ground for exag- gerations and partisan twists, which discredit the legitimate concerns of traditional ENGOs. But a tipping point may have been reached thanks to the in- tensification of development pressures triggered by the plethora of pro-development policies approved after Labour was elected in 2013, coupled by a sudden increase in the coun- try's population. This may have triggered a new wave of bolder activism. Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar may have represented a first wave of civic awakening in the first construction boom, fuelled by the 2006 local plans. What perhaps distinguishes the latest wave of civic action is that peo- ple have become bolder. This may be why a recent protest by Graffitti activists who stopped a PA board meeting set to ap- prove an ODZ fuel station, has captured the public imagina- tion. Zonqor opens the lid It was the Zonqor protest or- ganised exactly three years ago, which opened the lid for civic action, following a lull in ac- tivism immediately before and after the 2013 general election. By reaching a critical mass in numbers, it emboldened peo- ple to mobilise against other developments. But how effective is civic ac- tion and protest? After the Zonqor protest the government went ahead with allocat- ing ODZ land to the Ameri- can Univer- sity but only after substan- tially decreasing the ODZ portion of the development. This was fol- lowed by a successful campaign to secure access to Manoel Is- land. The lawyer Claire Bonello, a protagonist in various cam- paigns during the past two years, who was recently ap- pointed chairman of the Ma- noel Island Foundation, says the past few years have been "very eventful". "In the case of Manoel island a dispossessed community supported by wider networks came together, forgetting po- litical allegiances and consist- ently supporting the initiatives to guarantee public enjoyment of the island. There was a large degree of community engage- ment there – and that is vital". NEWS JAMES DEBONO The social media is abuzz with civic action groups decrying over- development in towns and villages and the destruction of trees, historical townhouses and open spaces. But is this just Facebook nimbyism or is Malta experiencing a civic awakening? Beware of the NIMBY Bulebel Industrial Estate Wirt iz-Zejtun has won a decisive victory by forcing government to drop plans for industrial expansion on more than 80,000sq.m of agricultural land through sheer persuasion thus avoiding alienating residents in the Labour leaning locality of Zejtun. ODZ petrol stations A Graffitti protest which interrupted a Planning Board meeting may have captured the popular imagination thus encouraging citizens to take action on other issues but it failed from stopping the board from approving an ODZ petrol station in Luqa. So far the country has lost 12,000sq.m of agricultural land. Yet public pressure has forced government to start revising a policy regulating ODZ petrol stations. The Central Link Project The recently formed Attard Residents Environmental Network is campaigning against the extensive loss of agricultural land in the locality. The residents have decried the lack of consultation on the part of Transport Malta on its plans for the project. Trade Fair Grounds Naxxar residents are mobilising to oppose the development of an extensive commercial and residential complex, comprising 490 apartments, 5,000sq.m of offices and 3,000sq.m of retail outlets spread over 49 blocks in the Trade Fair grounds. The residents' best hope is a revision of local plan policies regulating the area which paved the way for this proposal. The Naxxar local council has opposed these plans. Wied Ghomor A coalition of residents, activists and the Swieqi and St Julian's local councils has successfully opposed the development of an old people's home in a quarry located in the valley. A proposal for a tourist development instead of a cow farm was also withdrawn. But a number of smaller developments including a new guest house and a villas have been approved right inside the valley. "The only problem is that while politicians and planners have to strike a balance between conflicting interests through compromise, environmentalists tend to be averse to compromise" Michael Falzon Lawyer and environmental activist Claire Bonello (left) and former planning minister and architect Michael Falzon