Losing more than a thousand inhabitants a year is a worrying trend, which has reached a point that should set off alarm bells in the city. And the City Council is very aware of this problem; as they are – the three political parties that form the plenary arc – that in this matter no one should look for culprits or those responsible, because there are none since it is about a scenario “that is not from now, nor from the 6 months that the current government has been in office, nor from the 8 years that the previous one was in, nor from the last 20”, as pointed out by the PSOE spokesperson, Óscar Torres. “We have been losing population for 30 years,” says Adelante leader David de la Cruz.
Therefore, the starting point when confronted with the devastating latest data that the INE once again reflects regarding the population of Cadiz is that of concern without political overtones, without seeking to profit from the adversary, without making this a problem. “a weapon thrown from the political field,” as Óscar Torres points out.
In fact, the three parties with responsibility in the City Council (PP, PSOE and Adelante) also agree when it comes to setting the possible solutions for this alarm regarding depopulation. There is only two: Employment and Housing.
“I always use the word opportunity to talk about this. And let me explain: what is happening has to do with employment and housing; and therefore What needs to be done is to generate housing and employment opportunities. Generate opportunities from the private sector, as happened on Friday where the Local Government Board approved licenses to build a total of 75 private homes in different parts of the city or as will happen in Navalips with 50%; and from the public, especially through the Junta de Andalucía and ourselves. That is the path we have to take,” explains the city’s mayor, Bruno García.
And in parallel to housing, García is committed to “generating employment and reinforcing what exists”, for which he points out several “fundamental” focuses on the horizon: the development of the outer polygon of the Free Trade Zone, the Dock-City integration, and the large pending facilities and infrastructures, “that will generate opportunities and employment.” “There are projects that are being worked on that lead us to think about an important impulse that will stop depopulation,” concludes the mayor about these possible job creation niches.
All of this with a clear objective, in which Óscar Torres also agrees: “slow down the pace of depopulation.” That is to say, The current scenario is not going to be reversed from one year to the next, far from it.. Therefore, the objective that the city must set is to “stop this high rate of depopulation, which cannot be achieved in one year or two,” García insists.
“The remedy is not easy,” David de la Cruz points out in the same sense as the rest of the spokespersons, who in his case introduces slight variables or extra ingredients to these great challenges of housing and employment. Regarding the latter, the Adelante representative advocates “modifying the strategy to achieve a powerful industrial fabric in the Bay of Cádiz so that all the eggs are not put in the basket of tourism, which is a sector that provides many jobs but also marked by great precariousness in general.” “If there is industry and jobs with greater added value, as would occur with the reindustrialization of the Bay, there will be a greater capacity for men and women from Cádiz to be able to stay and live in their city,” he adds.
And in terms of housing, he introduces a review in which the PSOE also agrees: stop the touristification of housing, put limits on the conversion of regular apartments into daily rentals for tourism. “If this is not done, what happens is that housing becomes an asset for speculation and most of the apartments sold in the city are bought by wealthy people from outside for a second home or to speculate by converting what could be be a home in tourist apartments,” says De la Cruz; which demands that “all the housing created by the City Council be public and for social rent”, as well as that the central government regulate the sales and rental prices “so that speculation around housing in cities does not continue to run rampant.” like ours”. “Why do other towns in the Bay grow in population and not Cádiz? Well, because of the brutal speculation that is taking place in Cádiz around housing that is putting it at an impossible price for the men and women of Cádiz who want to live in their city. And we have to act in response to that,” she continues to explain.
And to all this David de la Cruz adds another variable that, in his opinion, would stop depopulation: turning Cádiz into a city “in which families can live comfortably, with conciliation and care policiesa friendlier city since pedestrianization, with more green and recreational areas to make it a more accessible, more inclusive and better city to live in.”
“Cádiz loses 6 or 7 inhabitants every hour”
“Every 6-7 hours we lose an inhabitant in Cádiz. Emptied Spain does not lose at this rate.” This is how forceful Óscar Torres is when referring to the population data relating to the city and that tragic curve that threatens the city to drop below 100,000 inhabitants; a line that would be “unbearable from all points of view.”
No one is oblivious to the consequences that falling below 100,000 inhabitants would have (fewer councillors, less income, another economic management model, new dependencies…). Neither does the mayor; but, in his case, he prefers to face reality with optimism and hope. “The numbers are worrying, of course. But more than worrying, you have to take care of yourself,” says Bruno García, who is convinced that the trend can be stopped in the coming years with these doses of housing and employment.
In fact, García recalls that the city enjoys a “special plan that Teófila achieved” and that it provides extraordinary income linked to the special characteristics of this island that is the municipal area of Cadiz. And in relation to this particular condition of the city and the current scenario of serious loss of inhabitants, Óscar Torres throws a question into the air: “Why not ask the Junta de Andalucía and the central government for a special plan for the city against depopulation?”
2023-12-17 05:00:00
#Employment #Housing #Cádizs #vaccine #population #bleeding
