SUEZ reflects with the municipalities of San Fernando, Zaragoza, Gijón and Roquetas on the need to modify the territorial model and make cities more resilient

The event ‘Agenda Urbana. The metamorphosis of our cities', organized by TECH friendly and SUEZ Spain, in collaboration with the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FAMP), which took place this morning in Seville and which could be followed online, served as a space for reflection to address the opportunities presented by the Urban Agenda for cities. A tool to achieve a sustainable and integrated development of cities, favoring the implementation of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) at the local level, with special attention to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and betting on a compact city model , connected, integrated, sustainable and inclusive.

SUEZ Spain moderated the first debate table of the event that focused on 'The Green Revolution of Cities', which was attended by representatives of the cities of Zaragoza, Gijón, San Fernando (Cádiz) and Roquetas (Almería) and was moderated by Miguel Ángel Benito, Business Director of SUEZ Spain.

Francisco Gutiérrez, Councilor for Urban Development of the Roquetas de Mar City Council and president of the Consorcio del Ciclo Integral del Agua del Poniente Almeriense, highlighted how one of the great challenges of the city of Roquetas is the protection of the aquifer of the Poniente Almeriense, overexploited and each more salinized. The use of desalinated water is one of the actions already underway, and raised the need for investment in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to achieve the tertiary use of wastewater and thus be able to use reclaimed water in agricultural irrigation and washouts, achieving zero discharge. The European Funds "are a magnificent opportunity to face this challenge," he stressed.

For Gutiérrez, in order to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and this new sustainable city model, the digitization of services, such as water, lighting and urban traffic, is essential. In this regard, he highlighted the remote control of Hidralia, the municipality's water service concessionaire, with which he is working on a horizontal platform model, where through the application of 'Big Data' technology and 'Cloud Computing' they could be adjusted public services according to the needs of each moment. An accessible and transparent platform, not only to be able to make the best decisions but to keep citizens informed at all times.

The mayor of San Fernando, Patricia Cavada, highlighted in her speech the need to implement projects that include sustainable criteria and transformation of the territory, that are innovative, provide improvements to the existing and are of massive use by citizens. With these criteria, she presented various projects in her municipality, linked to Edusi funds, such as the ‘Magdalena Space Recovery Plan’ as an example of the enhancement of natural resources in the process of degradation. The mayor also makes a firm commitment to the integration of the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park in the city, adding green infrastructures that serve to improve the quality of life of citizens.

Julián Francisco Illana, general director of European Funds of the Zaragoza City Council, explained the design of 'Zaragoza Sustainable Sports', a strategy to ensure that Zaragoza combines sport, health and the environment, promoting environments and actions that promote health and quality of life , by promoting sustainable sports activities.

Finally, Patricia García Zapico, Director of Innovation and Promotion of the Gijón City Council, put on the table 'Gijón DemoLab' a new space open to the participation of the innovation ecosystem for smart public lighting, in which interoperability checks are allowed between devices (luminaires and IoT nodes) manufactured by different companies.

The next round table that hosted the conference was that of 'Sustainable Urban Economy' moderated by TECH friendly, in which Cristóbal Garre, councilor delegate for Economic Development and SMEs, Employment, Innovation and New Technologies Marbella City Council made an exhibition of the bet of the town for an intelligent, sustainable and quality tourism. He pointed out how the sustainable economic reactivation, “in a green key” also focuses on the search for productivity, the promotion of key sectors of the local economy, the generation of employment and the dynamization and diversification of economic activity.

The last table, entitled 'Citizen Participation and Multilevel Collaboration' and moderated by Teresa Muela, general secretary of the FAMP, dealt with the level of efficiency in the intervention and governance instruments as the key to truly moving towards a sustainable, intelligent urban development and integrator.

The conference was opened by David Lucas, Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda; Marifrán Carazo, Minister of Development of the Junta de Andalucía; Juan Espadas Cejas, mayor of Seville, and Fernando Rodríguez Villalobos, president of the FAMP and president of the Seville Provincial Council, who highlighted that “innovation and sustainable urban development are the current challenges of municipalism”.