Planning and dialogue, the way forward
Two University of Malta deans have aired concern about the state of development planning in Malta, issuing a statement about the situation to the press and making a number of recommendations
Dean of the Faculty for the Built Environment Alex Torpiano and Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing Andrew Azzopardi highlight that developing towns or villages without adequate planning “risks turning our communities into miserable, intolerable and unbearable contexts.”
“The quality of our urban environment, within which our communities have to feel welcome, affects our quality of life. While planning may be a knife-edge balancing act between conflicting interests, if we do not invest in, and trust the outcomes of, socially just, forward-looking urban and rural planning, then we are risking the exponential exacerbation of our current challenges.”
The two highlight that the wellbeing of a community is a complex and difficult balancing of interests of various forces, which shape private and public spaces. “The conflicting interests become more complex when the forces have unequal access to the means and networks available for them to present their cases. Trusting in market forces to find the most socially just and optimal outcome for the majority is naive. Creating the best possible community spaces that maximize the wellbeing of all stakeholders, therefore, requires thoughtful and intricate planning, and especially dialogue involving national and local government and civil society, to ensure that the definition of progress is not hijacked by those with the means to further material, partisan or short-sighted interests.”
The deans explain that the investment in planning within the urban and rural sphere is no easy task. “We do have competent persons adequately trained to undertake this job, but they must be allowed to do their job professionally and without pressure. Competence should be ascribed on the basis of academic merit, proven experience in the field, and, especially, passion for the sector. While the expertise of designated experts should be rigorously ensured prior to appointment, professional practice, during and after engagement, should be protected from speculation, sensationalism and retaliation.”
As Deans of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing and the Faculty for the Built Environment, they asserted that thoughtful spatial planning, “and not the mere processing of development applications, is indeed the way forward. We need to continue to strive for the harmonisation of spatial organisation, which ensures organised communities within the best and most conscientious use of space.”
The deans highlighted the need to direct efforts towards sustainable development that respects development zones. “We need to be vigilant to prevent a recurrence of what happened in 2006, when an area bigger than Sliema was released for development without any vision of what such development could do for Malta.”
The two also made reference to the original plan to have a master plan for Paceville, which never actually came to be.
They encouraged the government to invest in seeking, recognising, retaining, and providing the resources for top talent to thrive within planning roles. They also urged the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority to reach out to civil society and vice-versa, in a meaningful way, and find informed consultation mechanisms which really guarantee public participation and policy harmonisation.
They also spoke of the need to “embolden politicians to act in good faith and without any interference in individual development permission decisions. The wishes of, and the electoral promises to, individual members of the electorate should not be at the forefront of decision-making.
Politicians should resist the unnecessary pandering of their ribbon-cutting vanity.”
They also advised that urban and rural planning should be the result of deliberation and stakeholder engagement with the inputs of various experts, to ensure not only that the best ideas are put forward, but that solutions and compromises will be sustainable in the long run.
Turning to social impact assessments, the deans spoke of the need to strengthen them as a scientific tool that contributes to knowledgeable urban and rural planning.
Through a number of other suggestions, they suggested that urban and rural planning should not be siloed under one portfolio. “Equilibrium is not possible to attain, or maintain, by placing the onus only on the entities responsible for planning and for regulating infrastructural and material resources. If we are to accept the premise that planning targets lead to sustainable urban liveability, other entities (such as employment, leisure, recreation etc.) are also responsible and should partake in the planning discourse.”
They also said that a focus is needed “on well thought-out long-term spatial planning. Planning should not be used as a political tool to placate the political tool to pander to the demands of a specific sector by adopting quick fixes and populist solutions.”
They also recognised that spatial planning is the acknowledgement that there are multiple phenomena worthy of conservation and protection, even if this sometimes means limiting the continuousgrowth mindset adopted by the market. “Culture, history, relationships and well-being are all intangible, and non-easily monetizable assets, which are unfortunately most appreciated when they have been lost. Responding to current realities, while tackling age-old systemic issues, with a view to creating a brighter future for all involved is the goal of spatial planning.”
Lastly, they highlighted the need to “re-fashion the Structure Plan that, by introducing a holistic view of spatial planning for the first time, albeit imperfect, had a positive impact on development in Malta. The SPED, on the other hand, needs to be radically over-hauled to become a more specific strategic document to guide development within a robust monitoring system and based on synergy with the major entities in the sector, namely the Planning Authority, the Environment and Resources Authority, Infrastructure Malta, Transport Malta, the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure Projects, the University of Malta and others.”