Started in early 1990s as an emergency restoration, the ongoing urban regeneration projects in Valletta seem to be the perfect solution to the long years of ‘neglect’ the city has been subjected to since World War II.
There should be increased focus on stimulating population growth by injecting new life
Most of these projects, if not all, are economic in nature and this provides great monetary value, especially to the business community. Some of them include the regeneration of the Grand Harbour as well as a new transport strategy and the development of City Gate, the opera house site and the former-Freedom Square.
Having being declared a World Heritage City in 1980, Valletta flourishes in the tourism sector and the rehabilitation of the vital monuments without any doubt is a viable economic investment.
Despite the actualisation of these great milestone developments in the city, the facts seem to state otherwise. One would be justified to imagine that these regeneration projects would result in an outburst in the population of Valletta and its environs but, according to statistics, the number of households in the capital is estimated to have decreased by 14 per cent alongside the number of registered voters, which have also dropped by an estimated 20 per cent between 1985 and 1994. Over the last couple of years, these figures kept on declining, indicating serious signs of concern.
The latest figure published in the 2011 preliminary census shows that the population of Valletta dipped under the 6,000 mark, 5,784 to be exact, from the 18,666 just after World War II. In addition, the number of vacant dwellings, as of 2009, stood at 30 per cent of the total dwellings in the capital.
Such statistics leave us with more questions than answers about the ongoing urban regeneration projects in the capital. Despite the numerous urban regeneration projects, why is it that the population is dropping? With this kind of declining population, how sustainable are these projects?
In addressing these questions, the planners of these projects will be forced to diversify their view and focus on addressing the social as well as anthropological aspects of urban regeneration as opposed to merely physical, as currently witnessed. This would, in turn, change the current trend and enhance the sustainability of the entire urban regeneration of the city.
In regard to this angle of view, there should be increased focus on stimulating population growth by injecting new life. One of the ways in which this can be achieved is by increasing emphasis on housing projects in the regeneration plans.
It should be clearly understood that this change of focus is not by any means meant to discredit the ongoing economic projects. They are just as vital as stimulating population growth, despite having gaps that would be essential for overall development of the capital. As a result of the decreasing population in the capital, vacant and dilapidated properties have also increased over the last couple of years.
Apart from depopulation, the current population of Valletta is highly imbalanced considering that an estimated 30 per cent of the entire population consists of citizens aged over 60. It is therefore warranted that the urban regeneration plans recognise the role of an active population within the city’s environs and place the issue of depopulation on the centre of the plan of regenerating Valletta.
Such a plan will effectively address the amount of destruction induced by World War II as well as the impact of depopulation that followed. Thus sustainable rehabilitation of Valletta’s existing housing stock should encourage people to seek residential houses in the area. By attracting the much-needed population, there would be a balance of the economic, social and physical aspects of the capital and its environs.
It is true that preservation presents a major challenge versus regeneration, especially after the passing of the 1992 Development Planning Act, which sought to protect all buildings in the city. However, rehabilitating the 30 per cent vacant properties that stand dilapidated in Valletta new people seeking residence in the city could be attracted. This would be a win-win situation for both conservation and regeneration practices in the capital.
As stated in the Harrison & Hubbard report, the problem that was and still is today is “to modify a city to serve the simple needs of the 16th century so that it may satisfactorily serve the complex needs of today”.
Valletta, therefore, needs to be injected with new life to stimulate population sustainability and one of the ways through which this can be done is by further emphasis on the housing aspect of urban regeneration, which may be accomplished through the rehabilitation of vacant buildings.
As clearly outlined in the Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands, effective and efficient use of the existing housing stock should be made by the “channelling of development activities into existing and committed urban areas, particularly through the rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing social fabric and infrastructures”.
It should be noted that sustainable urban regeneration should ideally address and focus on reversing population decline in cities such as Valletta. The Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands is an example of such because it also focuses on “rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing social fabric and infrastructures”.
The urban regeneration of Valletta will not address the historic concerns of Valletta if it focuses only on the physical aspect. A balance between the physical, social and economic aspects must be struck for the sustainability of the regeneration process.
The ongoing ‘physical’ urban regeneration process in Valletta is but a single step towards ensuring the complete sustainable regeneration of the capital. With most of the major physical and economic projects already running while others are nearing completion, there need to be new strategies towards the social aspect that should be undertaken with pomp and vigour to ensure that the population trend is reversed and sustainability of the regeneration process thereby enhanced. That is the only realistic approach to heal this ailing city of Valletta.