Summary

February the 1^st 2021, Spain. The Urban Agenda for the Basque Country (Spain) Bultzatu 2050 is a document that frames the sustainable development of the Country in terms of the environment, housing, energy, economy and employment, mobility and transportation, digital transition, quality of life and health, as well as social inclusion, for the next 30 years.

“Bultzatu 2050 is an effort to systematize and provide strategic direction and consistency in public policies aimed at improving the potential of the Basque region, to offer opportunities for economic growth, sustainability and social cohesion“ says Iñaki Arriola, Counsellor for the Environment, Land Use Planning and Housing.

The Basque Country is one of the most heavily urbanized European regions. According to EUSTAT figures, only 2% of the Basque population lives in municipalities with less than 2,000 inhabitants. It has the second highest population density rate in Spain, after the Community of Madrid. The three main metropolitan areas of the Basque Country are home to 1.55 million people, meaning that 71,56% of the Basque population is concentrated in these three areas. Therefore, the Basque Country is an eminently urban region, providing the backbone for rural and urban areas that complement each other.

The general objective of the Urban Agenda for the Basque Country - Bultzatu 2050 is to guarantee the conditions for the exercise of the right to the city in a context of economic, social, environmental and technological transition.This Agenda covers a wide and diverse myriad of topics. It focuses its attention on the weakest points from a social, economic and environmental point of view, with the aim of overcoming the differences and improving the imbalances that may now exist. It also addresses an integral approach to resources, that is, energy dependence (which in the Basque Country reaches 93%), on raw materials; or food self-sufficiency (the Basque Country is only self-sufficient in 19% of the agricultural products it consumes); waste management, or adaptation to climate change, with some risky situations especially on the coast.

It has been prepared through an exercise of analysis, forward planning and consultation, culminating in the approval of a living document. It forms an inspirational and strategic plan, capable of guiding the long-term thinking of the Basque Government regarding the region’s urban situation, maintaining continuous dialogue with the relevant actors and stakeholders in its sustainable development.

The Urban Agenda for the Basque Country is the result of a long participation effort, in which, in addition to coordination with other Basque Government ministries and administrations, different agents have collaborated: universities, technology centers, private companies, social groups and NGOs, unions, clusters, as well as international organizations.

Bultzatu 2050 points out as pillars the following elements:

• Economic promotion and competitiveness: The promotion of an innovative, competitive and inclusive urban economy that fosters the creation of quality employment and allows the economic revitalization of the territory, taking advantage of the new opportunities offered by digitalization and the knowledge-based economy.
• Sustainability and environmental resilience: The promotion of an environmentally sustainable urban reality, balanced in territorial terms, capable of functioning properly with the environment and of favoring the interrelations between the rural and urban worlds, from a perspective of environmental preservation and the search for environmental, climatic and energy objectives.
• Social inclusion and social welfare: The construction of a socially inclusive city model that adequately addresses the housing and services needs of a diverse population with differentiated requirements, in a context of social equity, cultural diversity and opportunities for everyone who lives and works in it.
• Governance and participation: A multilevel governance model, based on local autonomy but where different actors intervene in concerted ways, including public administrations, the private sector and civil society, as well as citizens.

The Urban Agenda for the Basque Country is fully aligned with the European Urban Agenda and with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set by the UN, , and especially with SDG 11 (on Sustainable Cities and Communities).

For more information visit https://www.euskadi.eus/informacion/bultzatu-2050-basque-urban-agenda/web01-a2lurral/es/

Additional documents

• Agenda-Bultzatu 2050 (PDF, 29 MB) 
• Urban-Agenda for the Basque Country 2050 (PDF, 29 MB) 
• Agenda Urbana Bultzatu 2050- Anexo.pdf (PDF, 9 MB) 
• Resumen Ejecutivo (PDF, 5 MB) 
• Executive Summary (PDF, 5 MB)