The progress of the Management Plan of the city of Cordoba in its UNESCO protected area leaves a broad diagnosis on how this area of 80 hectares based on the collection of data and opinions carried out by the consultancy firm in charge of the UTE document Living heritage.
This one has used the indicators managed by the City Hall, its basic plans and regulations in this regard and the information extracted from the work tables and representative agents. Now, the opinion of the neighbors and others will come collectives those who are supposed to be hurt.
The plan lists up to 70 factors that affect the property to a greater or lesser extent. World Heritageor even potentially. And he does so in the order of recurrence that these weaknesses had in the contributions or documentary sources on which he relied.
So, the first of these factors is the current undeniable debate on tourist pressure, or what the document, to which ABC had access, calls the “environmental deterioration environments under the effect of tourist pressure and excess events.
Noise, dirt, vandalism, damage to street furniture and heritage due to “excessive outsourcing” of public spaces and areas of a greater influx and which attract a large number of events.
It is striking to note that among the ten most cited factors, there are four of a purely technical nature and linked to the awarenessthe implementation or dissemination and training on UNESCO’s own protocols and on what is meant by world heritage.
In fact, the fourth most important factor, according to this criterion, is the absence of scientific research on world heritage and its relationship with the most protected part of the Casco.
And on the other hand, in much more displaced positions, situations appear whose impact is more evident: such as the transformation of tourist apartments (26th place), the loss of authenticity of the Terrace Festival (25), the request for access to renewable energies; maintenance of the Guadalquivir River (41); heavy traffic (47), inadequate cabling and furniture (48) or improving urban planning discipline (68).
And on the contrary, the lack of training of technicians or ordinary Cordovan people themselves in UNESCO protocols is also the ninth problem classified as high risk.
Among the top ten, four concern UNESCO regulations, their application, their monitoring and even the training of neighbors.
The second threat revealed by this diagnosis concerns heritage elements awaiting recovery or unused. It clearly cites examples such as Regina, the Slide DepositSanta Clara, the Albolafia mill, the Bishop’s garden (Sacred Field of Martyrs) or Alameda Road.
Added to this is the deterioration of many parts of the wall or the lack of space in the Bellas Artes. For some of these facilities, works or construction projects have already been put out to tender. intervention on recent dates.
The third most notable element of the disease is the lack of equipment and access to basic services. Public transport, parking for cars or bicycles and even ATMs or fiber optics, among others.
THE mobility This is another of the failures that this roadmap focuses on. The conflict between pedestrians and private vehicles and with particular emphasis on access roads to schools due to the scale and narrowness of many streets.
Access to housing
In seventh place appears one of the most obvious battle horses: the aging and continuous loss of population that the historic complex has been suffering since 1998, with aggravating circumstances such as housing shortage dedicated to social rentals or “with strong access restrictions for the installation of new residents”, particularly young people under 35.
The following line points to cultural industry contemporary as a sector that could contribute to further boosting the Casco without a tourist orientation. In addition to these detected gaps, there are a series of less discussed aspects whose impact is approximate.
From lack of shade and high rates of vacant housing to loss of jobs, traditional tradeelectricity supply problems, loss of values during traditional festivals, use of animals or increase in hotel beds compared to those of residents. And even “the inadequacy of the public transport model”.
