Around €25 million, equivalent to five per cent of Malta’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocation, has been set aside for the regeneration of urban areas.

Speaking during a Meusac consultation meeting yesterday, Joseph Gauci, from the planning authority, explained that the funds would not contribute only to the physical regeneration of buildings and infrastructure.

Rather, he said, the allocation would focus on the empowerment of local communities in deprived areas,to equip residents with appropriate skills and counteract displacement.

The initiative is part of a renewed impetus at European level towards prioritising sustainable urban development, including the creation of a new Urban Agenda.

The set of pre-agreed priorities and initiatives would include greater cooperation on urban issues, policy coordination and ensuring all policies consider the urban impact of their implementation.

We do not want to be thought of as a single urban area. The focus is on distinctiveness; the problems that Birkirkara faces are not the same as those in Valletta

Currently, Mr Gauci said, the importance given to urban issues was entirely dependent on individual EU presidencies, which meant there was often little continuity.

People living in cities presently account for 75 per cent of Europe’s total population. Cities also represent 80 per cent of Europe’s energy use and 85 per cent of its GDP.

According to Mr Gauci, there is also a growing appreciation at EU level of the specific requirements of small-to-medium-sized cities.

“We feel there is a certain mainstreaming of EU policy regardless of the size of a country. Urban poverty in Malta is not the same as urban poverty in the UK. The problems, approaches and solutions must all be thought of differently.”

Mr Gauci said Maltese authorities were advocating a place-based approach, with tailor-made solutions for different towns and regions.

“We do not want to be thought of as a single urban area. The focus is on distinctiveness; the problems that Birkirkara faces are not the same as those in Valletta.”