Valletta is a city built on a peninsula that cannot expand in terms of land area. Yet so much is concentrated inside the city where over 6,400 residents and 2,590 business establishments need to coexist with other realities such as the fact that Valletta is also the administrative city, that 30,000 cars access it daily and that as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 320 monuments, Valletta was last year visited by two million people. These numbers are only set to increase.
Against this scenario however, Valletta still needs to face and address the fact that the above numbers are also causing a huge strain on the city as a liveable place. Conservation constraints, an overall decay of the general environment, air pollution, the increasingly demanding waste management issue, excessive vehicular traffic and the collateral effects of tourism are also the cause of a decline in residential population.
For a city to be alive, it cannot kill the very aspect that makes it alive, namely its residents.
Important decisions are urgently needed if we want Valletta to be a sustainable city to live in. When it comes to most issues, the problem lies in the culture and the mentality of the people. These problems cannot be solved by accommodating current patterns that have led to these issues but we need to instil and push for a change in a mentality that reverses these trends.
The challenges that need to be addressed concern Valletta but these decisions need to be national decisions. After all, Valletta remains Malta’s capital city.
Three opportunities exist that can address the most pressing challenges faced by Valletta on its road to become a more sustainable city, namely the greening and regeneration of public spaces and residential buildings inside and round Valletta, retrofitting of cultural heritage areas with public old heritage buildings and the uptake of clean transport, a serious reduction of congestion and an effective waste management system.
Valletta is a unique city which makes its issues and problems unique. This demands a unique approach. A number of challenges hinder further regeneration such as waste management, archaeological findings, constant infrastructural works and the difficulty in striking a balance between the needs of various stakeholders.
The reality cannot be changed: Valletta is home to a community of 50,000 people who live, work, and play in the city every day
However, an upgrade of government and public buildings, better paving, increased access to the coast round the city and the introduction of a third disposal bag for food waste could be a great start.
Urban mobility is perhaps the biggest issue being faced. Besides its 6,400 residents, Valletta hosts 11,000 workers every day and we’re not counting shoppers and tourists. This is bringing a heavy strain on the city caused by the many cars who want to access the city, counteracted by the huge amount of delivery vehicles that contribute to further congestion.
Some of the proposed solutions include the elimination of rented tourist cars entering Valletta, limiting the size of vehicles entering the city, more park and ride areas and an improved shuttle service with the use of electric vans and the better utilisation of the ring road for deliveries inside the city. A hub should be created outside of Valletta, and a last-mile concept adopted to delivery vehicles.
Gardens and open spaces are still underutilised, green roofs are difficult to implement due to the fragility of Valletta’s old buildings and no updated plan of Valletta exists to better monitor development.
Advancements in green technology could however help solve some of the problems as could better management and enhancement of Valletta’s gardens.
The reality cannot be changed: Valletta is home to a community of 50,000 people who live, work, and play in the city every day. The challenge is to find ways how this can remain possible without seeing the city imploding under all this activity. The solution is in making a sustainable case for Valletta.
We need to work together with commitment and passion. We are already lucky that Valletta has been chosen as a Smart Sustainable District, which means that professionals and stakeholders will now be working together to create a new living reality that puts people first, be it the residents, the workers or the city’s visitors.
We have a unique opportunity to give our capital gem a new lease of life.
Gonca Kara Demir from Paragon Europe is project manager for Valletta as Smart Sustainable District.