Interview with Rafa Durá

Interview with Rafa Durá

Last Friday we had the chance to interview the architect Sr. Rafael Durá. He is currently the president of the Valencian College of Architects and of the Association of Urban Architects of Valencia. He has been the municipal technician of Gandia town hall and was the author of the urban planning instrument relating to the l'Ahuir beach.

Sr. Dura spoke to us, from a position contrary to the redevelopment; of all of the possibilities for the beach, its improvements and the repercussions that would occur if the project to develop the beach was brought to fruition. The problem today was horizontal development, in which extensive amounts of land are required for housing, which results in very high economic and environmental costs because of the need to provide both services and mobility for people (roads, etc.) over larger distance. There are many urban projects that seek to group the total building quota together, (apartment blocks for example) providing housing for the same number of people whilst concentrating the negative impact into a reduced area.

Sr. Dura believes that the problems that a developed l'Ahuir would have, stem from the need for infrastructure and access. As things stand today he thinks that an urbanised beach would not be successful because there is little demand for “sunshine & sand”. Therefore the three principal possibilities are:

Leave the beach untouched, just as it is.
Convert the beach into a protected area.
Continue with the project of voting for ideas and develop the beach according to the winning proposal.

As well as the situation of the l'Ahuir beach, we also discussed the repercussions that any of the possible changes to l'Ahuir would have on Gandia, which according to Sr. Dura would be negligible. Asked whether more hotels were necessary, he said yes, but not in l'Ahuir, since it would be less expensive and have a lesser environmental impact if they were built somewhere else. In conclusion, Sr.Durá defined the beach as an interesting area - one of the few places along the Valencian coastline that has not been developed - with a degree of environmental importance, and he asked that they (the politicians) took this into consideration when deciding how to treat it

For him, the l'Ahuir beach is a place of unspoiled freedom.

Criticism in the Fallas

Criticism in the Fallas 

" Las Fallas" are very popular in Valencia, in essence the people takes some dolls with a critique on political or social issues that interests. The controversy and social debate surrounding the l'Ahuir beach is very evident in our region and an example of this is the criticism seen in the Fallas. During the latest Fallas (March 2014), one of the subjects most commented upon and criticised was the possible development of the l'Ahuir beach. 

The future of the beach is one of the most debated issues amongst the citizens and these arguments were reflected in several of the Fallas monuments this year.   The Fallas have traditionally been critical of the political scene and this year they have demonstrated their disagreement with the decisions taken by the politicians with regard to the l'Ahuir issue. 

Scene in which the politicians are seen writing copias of the message: I will not destroy the l'Ahuir beach

Showing the beach, the nudism and the "canine beach".

The projects appear here like signals
of  complaint against the development

Interview with Joan Cambrils

Interview with Joan Cambrils

On Thursday, 27th February we had the pleasure of interviewing Sr. Joan Carles Cambrils, professor at the University Polytechnic of Valencia.

During the interview we asked him questions dealing with the case of the l’Ahuir beach and the options for this project today. According to Sr. Cambrils, today there are a range of different available options for the l’Ahuir beach; from its remaining a completely virgin beach to the option of building hotels, golf courses and housing

The alternative which he recommends is to do nothing at the present time and protect the area until some point in the future. The risk he believes is that if the beach were to be transformed by development today, Gandia could lose forever one of the few remaining virgin beaches in the entire Mediterranean coast of the Valencian Community Understanding that the alternative decision to protect the beach now would be more expensive and difficult to obtain financing for.
Therefore, the most logical option according to Sr. Cambrils would be to leave the beach as it is for the time being and then in the future when ideas are clearer, decide to build and develop or to undertake the work necessary to make a natural park.

The principal inconveniences of building would be:

The decisions we take cannot be reversed. If something is badly done, everything would be lost.
Lose a unique space
Lose biodiversity
Negatively affect the tourist image of Gandia.

Here you can watch the interview.