Understanding the influence of EU urban policy in Spanish cities: the case of Málaga

ABSTRACT

This work aims to shed light on the contribution of the urban dimension of the Cohesion Policy (CP) to Spanish cities. It is based on the case study of Málaga, a city in which European Union (EU) programmes have contributed importantly to regenerating its historic centre. The case study uses a mixed qualitative methodology to understand if and to what extent the EU urban programmes have delivered local capacity. The results show that their contribution has been positive, but also identifies the persistence of inertia and relevant contradictions that provide lessons for the post-2020 urban dimension of the CP.

KEYWORDS:

• EU urban policy
• Cohesion Policy
• Europeanization
• Intregrated Sustainable Urban Development (ISUD)
• urban regeneration

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the stakeholders that provided information: Interview 1: Pedro Marín (Director of the Observatorio de Medio Ambiente Urbano de Málaga) on the 23-10-2018; Interview 2: Lola Ortiz (Subdirectora General de Desarrollo Urbano of the Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Pública), and Interview 3: Emilia Martínez Urritia (Jefa de Servicio in the Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Pública) on the 27-6-2018.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. For example, Portugal developed the programmes Polis (2000) and Polis XXI (2007) (Cavaco et al. 2019), Italy developed programmes such as the Contratti di Quartiere (1998) (Governa & Salone 2005; Vinci 2019).

2. The main mechanisms are the following: ● Annual assembly for the monitoring of the EDUSI, counting on the presence of the associations of the area and the citizens. It will evaluate the strategy on the basis of participative tools and yield proposals. ● Use of the online platform, social networks and media to announce the results. ● Use of the participative web EDUSI 2015 during the EDUSI’s active life to regularly gather proposals developed by different agents. ● Sectoral meetings with specific task groups. ● Sectoral table for the participation of citizens in the area of action. It will work as the secretary for the participative process.