Abstract
This work aims to understand how the Spanish Urban Agenda (SUA), approved in 2019, is providing (or not) a urban policy for a better post-COVID urban future. The study analyses the SUA’s source, its evolution, and main features to understand the contribution it is making to the national urban policy framework. It explores the extent to which the SUA has been influenced by policy transfer dynamics from international bodies. The main conclusion is that the SUA is not as new as presented by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA), as it was based on previous work by the Ministry of Finance. In fact, it integrates recommendations made by the European Commission and its methodological approach—Urban Acquis—to sustainable urban development. However, the MITMA’s new leadership has drawn on the 2030 Agenda, which has helped shape the SUA’s content. In policy transfer terms, the SUA arises as a case of “hybridization”. Separately, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the SUA in terms of policy implementation. The Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan—España Puede—provides for the first time funding for reinforcing its policy role in Spain.
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Notes
- 1.
This represents around 13% of Spanish territory (Ministry of Public Works 2013).
- 2.
Spain is a “quasi-federal” country. It is territorially organized in 17 regions—Comunidades Autónomas: two autonomous cities in the north of Africa (Ceuta and Melilla), 50 provinces, and 8124 municipalities. Among these, only 402 municipalities have over 20,000 inhabitants, while almost 90% have less than 5000 (SUA 2019, pp. 46–47).
- 3.
More information at: https://unhabitat.org/es/node/4407.
- 4.
More information at: https://unhabitat.org/programme/national-urban-policy.
- 5.
The office of UN-Habitat Spain is in fact located in the building of the Ministry of Public Works and a formal collaboration agreement has existed since 2010.
- 6.
More information about the SUA can be found at: https://www.aue.gob.es/.
- 7.
More information can be found at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_1835.
- 8.
More information about the call can be found at: https://www.mitma.gob.es/ministerio/proyectos-singulares/prtr/vivienda-y-agenda-urbana/programa_ayudas_proyecto_piloto_accion_local.
- 9.
Sixteen municipalities of less than 5000 inhabitants; 24 municipalities between 5001 and 20,000 inhabitants; 21 municipalities between 20,001 and 50,000 inhabitants; 22 municipalities between 50,001 and 100,000 inhabitants; 20 municipalities between 100,001 and 300,000 inhabitants; 8 municipalities of more than 300,000 inhabitants; 10 local entities that involve the integration of a number of municipalities (e.g., provinces).
- 10.
Boletín Oficial del Estado 213 de 2021: 3.
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González Medina, M., De Gregorio Hurtado, S. (2022). Analysis of the Spanish Urban Agenda from a Policy Transfer Perspective. Advancing to More Resilient Post-COVID Urban Areas. In: Gelli, F., Basso, M. (eds) Identifying Models of National Urban Agendas . Comparative Studies of Political Agendas. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08388-4_11
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