What is the Spanish Urban Agenda?

The Agenda is a strategic document, non-regulatory in nature, imbued with pragmatic approaches that are intended to be useful and, of course, consensual. It opts for a desirable urban model for the future and aims to set a new vision of Urban Planning that could be called 1.0. It will undoubtedly require successive improved versions, 2.0, 3.0, etc., and this will be possible as long as the various public and private actors incorporate effective implementation processes and mechanisms.

The Spanish Urban Agenda contains:

1. A diagnosis of the urban and rural areas in Spain.
2. A strategic framework structured into a Decalogue of Goals, containing a total of 30 specific goals, with their possible guidelines.
3. A system of indicators that can be used to evaluate and track the compliance with the strategic goals.
4. Some fact sheets illustrating how action plans can be drawn up to implement the AUE and
5. An Action Plan for the National Government with specific proposals that fall under its competence

The Diagnosis document is particularly useful, as it provides an objective analysis of the reality by considering the most varied topics (which range from demographic change and depopulation of rural areas to mobility, including urban metabolism and governance issues) and identifying the main problems that threaten the sustainability of Spanish cities and towns urban model.

Appendix Regional Maps

• Maps of Andalucía
• Maps of Aragón
• Maps of P. de Asturias
• Maps of Islas Baleares
• Maps of Canarias
• Maps of Cantabria
• Maps of Castilla y León
• Maps of Castilla la Mancha
• Maps of Cataluña
• Maps of C. Valenciana
• Maps of Extremadura
• Maps of Galicia
• Maps of C. de Madrid
• Maps of R. de Murcia
• Maps of C. F. de Navarra
• Maps of País Vasco
• Maps of La Rioja
• Maps of Ceuta y Melilla

The New Urban Agenda of the United Nations illustrates the integrated approaches that the integrated concept (environmental, social and economic) of sustainability requires. They can also be easily extracted when analysing the Action Plans that have emerged during the implementation of the European Union's Urban Agenda. In the same terms, the Spanish Urban Agenda is based on the necessary commitment to a comprehensive vision of the territorial component and to defending the concept of variable geography with respect to strategies, because it is the vector of the strategy itself that defines the territorial scope, not the other way around.

Thus, the goals of this Agenda are broad and ambitious, as evidenced by this strategic framework, which consists of a set of goals to be achieved and a list of possible lines of action to be implemented by each stakeholder wishing to commit to the Agenda.

• Strategic Goal 1: Plan land use and use it more rationally, preserve and protect it
• Strategic Goal 6: Encourage social cohesion and strive for equality.
• Strategic Goal 2: Avoid urban sprawl and revitalise existing cities.
• Strategic Goal 7: Promote and encourage the Urban Economy.
• Strategic Goal 3: Prevent and reduce the impacts of climate change and improve resilience.
• Strategic Goal 8: Ensure access to housing.
• Strategic Goal 4: Use resources sustainably and promote the circular economy.
• Strategic Goal 9: Lead and promote digital innovation.
• Strategic Goal 5: Promote proximity and sustainable mobility.
• Strategic Goal 10: Improve instruments of participation and governance.

The set of tracking and evaluation indicators proposed in the Spanish Urban Agenda are associated with each one of the specific goals for the implementation of the Agenda. These indicators are adapted to the initial situation and the context of each city and urban area, and can be used to establish the level of improvement that is sought through the planned measures and actions.

The aim is to ensure the highest compatibility and coordination with the indicators used in the various urban strategies and projects currently being implemented by Local Authorities in each thematic area linked to the specific goals. They make up a set of comparable and aggregable indicators that will allow Spain to satisfy its reporting requirements under the international Agendas and will also allow an analysis and evaluation at supramunicipal level.

This indicator system will be used to clearly define the results that will be achieved through the application of the Spanish Urban Agenda in terms of improving the quality of life and urban sustainability, and on the preparation of cities to face future challenges.

The Spanish Urban Agenda was drawn up taking into account the contributions of all the key players in urban development. The long, participatory process lasted over a year and a half and began in June 2017, when a group of independent and multidisciplinary experts was created in order to write a zero draft to provide a basis for starting the work.

The participation was organised around seven different working groups, which in turn led, in some cases, to several sub-groups and even bilateral meetings and contacts.