Alicante's City Project for the Coming Decades: Green Model, Focus on Neighbourhoods, and 33,000 New Homes

In 2045, Alicante will be vastly different from today, with expectations of reaching over 440,000 inhabitants. This growth necessitates significant expansion and reorganisation. This is the aim of the new Structural General Plan and Detailed Planning Plan, which will determine where new housing will be, how transport will be structured, where new industrial land will be located, and how green areas will be developed over the next 20 years. These documents will update the Urban Planning General Plan from 1987.

This Monday, the preliminary consultation was presented, aiming to involve citizens in the development of this Structural General Plan (SGP). The City Council plans to approve the initial strategic document and the draft SGP this summer, which will allow the start of the environmental and territorial evaluation process in the Generalitat.

Alicante, a Plan with You is the name given by the council to the sessions that will be held over a month on various aspects of this SGP. Alicante's mayor, Luis Barcala, stated, "We are embarking on an exciting journey to design together the city we want for the coming years."

The new SGP envisions the creation of 32,682 new homes. This plan aims to stitch the city together and fill the gaps left in the consolidated city, from which more than 5,000 new houses will emerge.

Additionally, 27,677 new homes will come from new development sectors or the conversion of industrial spaces that have become enclosed within the city. These new residential growth sectors will include areas like Albufereta, PAU 3 (in Vistahermosa), or PAU 9 (in Orgergia-Villafranqueza), as well as the development of a new residential arc spanning the city from north to south within the A-70.

The preliminary consultation also highlights the need to create protected housing in new developments and convert industrial fabrics encapsulated by the city and surrounded by residential areas. Hence, it proposes their transformation to allow the construction of new homes.

"Against the expansive urbanism of other times, we advocate for a compact city," stated the mayor, emphasizing that "our hallmark, what sets us apart from previous General Plan projects, is the regeneration and transformation of consolidated urban areas and the activation and enhancement of southern neighbourhoods." The new urban development areas "will be compact and dense, seeking territorial balance with the activation of southern neighbourhoods."

The preliminary consultation document also includes the proposal to create a city where neighbourhoods become the protagonists. It proposes generating new centralities to avoid displacements and promote urban regeneration. This proposal also includes connecting neighbourhoods through common spaces, green and pedestrian corridors, and encapsulating low-density areas on the periphery.

Another structural line includes requalifying the consolidated city by filling existing gaps in the urban fabric. It proposes several requalification operations such as the Port-City connection, the Central Park, the Sangueta-Serra Grossa area, the redesign of the southern coastline, or the promotion of the Creative City with facilities distributed across different neighbourhoods.

Among the proposals for what Alicante will be like in 2045 is an urban transformation that seeks to expand the city's green areas. With a clear commitment to regenerating the coastal front with a promenade that will connect the entire Alicante coast or the development of a peri-urban green ring that will be linked through green corridors.

The proposal includes creating parks in areas such as the Towers of the Huerta, the Rabassa lagoons, or the Central Park. It also aims to enhance the city's river spaces, such as the Barranco de las Ovejas or the Albufereta.

The new SGP will also reorganise mobility in search of a radial system that moves traffic away from the coastal front. It includes the creation of a third metropolitan ring road to relieve the city centre of vehicular traffic and prioritise pedestrian and public transport mobility.

To achieve this, proposals include expanding the Tram network, implementing park-and-ride facilities, the intermodal station, and the removal of railway barriers.

In improving mobility, the transformation of the Gran Vía is also proposed to prioritise public transport, complete the Vía Parque, or convert the A-70 into a boulevard.

The preliminary consultation is designed to allow all Alicante residents to participate. It includes a survey open until May 15 on the website alicanteunplancontigo.es. Additionally, residents can resolve their doubts and make proposals in three participatory workshops.

The Councillor for Urban Planning, Rocío Gómez, highlighted that 'Alicante, a plan with you' "is a statement of intent, this will be a plan designed by everyone and everyone will have a voice." She emphasised that "today we open the doors to a collective conversation that will set the course for Alicante's next Structural General Plan, and we do so with a clear focus: to listen, share, and build together."

This same Monday, the website alicanteunplancontigo.es was launched, providing information on the SGP processing process, the strategic lines already set by the City Council as the basis of this document, and specifically on the preliminary consultation phase. It also allows access to the survey to express opinions on issues such as green infrastructure and mobility; urban growth and development, and urban services and regeneration, which will be open until May 15.