ARÁNZAZU VALLEJO CLOSES THE 1st INTERNATIONAL TOWN PLANNING FORUM
"TERRITORIOS 21"

This afternoon, the Vice-President and Director of Tourism, Environment and Territorial Policy of the Autonomous Community Government of La Rioja, Mrs. Aránzazu Vallejo, closed the 1st International Town Planning Forum “Territorios 21”. In her speech, she thanked all the participants and speakers for attending the forum and confirmed her intention to make this meeting a biannual event.

Mrs. Aránzazu Vallejo read out a decalogue, a ten-point roadmap summarising the contents presented over the two days of this Forum. The ten points were as follows:

1.- At the dawn of the 21st century, new urban realities are emerging on traditional physical foundations, giving rise to new ways of interpreting and reflecting on Cities and Territories.

2.- Some cities and regions may be considered to be "Territories with Projects", insofar as they have managed to design a desirable future "Urban Profile", which enables them to embark on more balanced territorial development.

3.- The “Territorios 21” or "Intelligent Territories" are territories that are capable of offering a coherent response to the "Urban Trilogy": Environmental Sustainability, Social Cohesion and Competitiveness.

4.- Historical Centres must be recovered and revitalized as the exponents of the identities of cities, forming a cultural landscape that must be the essence of the future development of each city.

5.- The key factor of the economy in the 21st century are people; a commitment to the "quality of the place" - so palpable in medium-sized cities such as Logroño - means identifying the intelligent profiles of our cities, strengthening the features that imbue them with their identities in an increasingly standardised world.

6.- It is necessary to vindicate self-esteem in the urban model of medium-sized cities, home to two thirds of the world’s urban population, and which present a whole series of positive attributes: their relationship with nature, human scale, proximity to services, lower levels of traffic, stress and social conflictivity, etc.

7.- The future profile of cities must be forged on their potential excellences, strengths capable of driving them towards greater social and economic development within a territorial context of sustainability.

8.- In a complex metropolitan scenario, where reality transcends administrative limitations, municipal forces prove to be inadequate for tackling many urban issues.

9.- As is occurring in other medium-sized cities, it is important that a "Metropolitan Culture" of Co-operation and Complementarity be developed around Logroño, in response to the need for and advantages of inter-institutional collaboration.

10.- It is imperative that work be carried out in a co-ordinated manner in order to prevent the future of Logroño and its metropolitan area, i.e. the legacy received by future generations, from becoming merely the sum of a series of unconnected municipal initiatives and private interests. To this aim, co-operation and supra-municipal complementarity are essential.