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Opengela, the programme that aims to extend urban regeneration in the Basque Country, was one of the speakers at the conference organised on Wednesday 11 December in Bilbao by the Basque Government under the slogan ‘Sustainable cities in the Basque Country: innovation, internationalisation and progress’. During the conference, the third monitoring report of the Basque Urban Agenda – Bultzatu 2050 was presented, which highlighted the importance of building resilient and inclusive cities.
The Opengela model, which has already enabled the implementation of proximity offices in 25 municipalities in the Basque Country, was mentioned as a key example of urban regeneration. Its approach combines energy efficiency in buildings and improved social cohesion, in line with the strategic objectives of sustainability and climate neutrality promoted by the Basque Urban Agenda.
Mikel Gargallo, Director of Territorial Planning and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government opened the event by underlining that the Basque Urban Agenda constitutes a strategic framework to respond to current urban challenges, from climate change to social cohesion. ‘Urban regeneration is essential to improve built environments and promote more liveable cities’, he stressed.
Likewise, Juan Carlos Abascal, Vice-councillor for Territorial Planning, emphasised at the closing speech the importance of collaborative and multilevel governance in order to achieve the objectives set out in the 2050 horizon. ‘We are living through a change of era with many challenges, such as the need to generate cities and urban environments that promote well-being, sustainability and challenges such as effective and real equality, attention to an increasingly ageing society, and social justice’, said the Vice-councillor.
Sustainable cities facing climate change
The conference was attended by experts such as Estibaliz Sanz, researcher at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), who presented the advances in the field of sustainable and resilient cities, one of the strategic axes of Bultzatu 2050. In her analysis, Sanz highlighted that 73% of the population is concentrated in metropolitan urban areas and that there is a significant ageing of the population, with an average age of 46. She also stressed that, according to the analysis of climate change vulnerability in the Basque Country, with a scenario for the end of the century, 100% of municipalities will be affected by heat waves, 81% by river flooding, 23% by rising sea levels (which affects 60% of the population). These data indicate a forecast of economic losses due to climate change, significant health impacts and an increase in social inequality.
In response to these challenges, the researcher stressed the objectives of the Basque Urban Agenda Bultzatu 2050: to promote a comprehensive urban perspective in the sustainability class in response to environmental challenges; to encourage co-responsibility, collaboration and participation, public, private, social and citizen sectors; to respond to the objectives of the Klima 2050 Strategy urban fabric; and to promote an environmental policy as an economic vector and the generation of new opportunities for employment, wellbeing and health in cities.
Inclusive and sustainable cities
The conference also addressed aspects such as social inclusion, a priority axis for the Basque Urban Agenda. Julia Shershneva, PhD from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), presented an analysis of strategic priority 8, which focuses on inclusion as a sign of identity. During her intervention, she underlined the importance of understanding social inclusion as a multidimensional phenomenon that affects territory, quality of life, income and access to citizenship rights.
Shershneva proposed various lines of action, including the promotion of social cohesion, tackling inequality and social exclusion, guaranteeing universal access to education and promoting culture and leisure accessible to all citizens. Shershneva also highlighted key challenges such as the fight against socio-economic and school segregation, the consolidation of the Basque language as an element of cohesion, and the development of actions to strengthen inclusion and coexistence.
An international model
The session also included the intervention of Sébastien Vaulzelle, director of the United Nations Local2030 Office, with the presentation ‘The role of Urban Agendas in the localisation of the 2030 Agenda’. Vaulzelle stressed that the cities of the future depend on both local policies and external factors, such as relations with other territories, geopolitical tensions and the effects of climate change. He stressed that the 2030 Agenda boosts the Bultzatu 2050 Urban Agenda and presented four keys to build integrated and sustainable cities:
