City of Alicante - Spain “Alicante Maritime Station, a Gateway to the Historical Centre” INDEX
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City of Alicante - Spain “Alicante Maritime Station, a gateway to the Historical Centre” INDEX 1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………….2 1.1 Synopsis ………………………………..…………………………………………………………………3 1.2 CTUR ’s Partners ……………………………………………………………………………………6 1.3 Work methodology and activities ………………………………………………….7 1.4 Local Support Group ……………………………………………………………………………8 2. The city of Alicante ………………………………………………………………………………11 2.1 History ………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 2.2 Key Features of the city and the port …………………………………………14 2.3 Updated Context (Plan Racha, Port of Alicante, Tourism)…16 3. The Local Action Plan …………………………………………………………………………27 4. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………….57 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 SYNOPSIS Cruise Traffic And Urban Regeneration ( CTUR) URBACT is a European exchange and learning programme aimed at promoting sustainable urban development. It comprises 300 cities, 29 countries, and 5,000 active participants. URBACT is jointly financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and the Member States. It enables cities to work together to develop solutions to major urban challenges, and thereby it plays a key role in addressing increasingly complex social challenges. It helps cities to develop pragmatic solutions that are innovative, sustainable, and that integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions. URBACT enables its members to: share good practices and benefit from the lessons that may be learned from professionals involved in urban policy making throughout Europe. The topic « Cruise traffic and urban regeneration - CTUR » focuses on the study of sustainable development of port cities. Cruise tourism involves the city and the port, and has close links with urban tourism. The flow of persons generated by cruise tourism depends on the quality of the city’s cultural offerings. 3 In the past years, many port cities have focused on the development of cultural facilities of national or international importance. The Guggenheim museum in Bilbao is a good example of this well marked tendency. The urban-port heritage contributes favourably to the identity of a place and represents a new alternative for visitors. For some cities (Naples, Barcelona, Amsterdam, etc.), the presence of an exceptional « historical » urban heritage helps to establish their reputation as a tourist destination. However, other cities find it more challenging to bring out artistic and cultural interest in their built environment. For these cities, the solution is to add value to the industrial and port heritage. The warehouses and docksides represent opportunities to revitalize and diversify commercial facilities in the heart of the city. By encouraging the location of up market specialist shops in an environment with a strong identity (built heritage and docks), a new kind of urban focal point has been created in many port cities today. After significant investment in the rehabilitation and refurbishment of the Historic Quarter and the Port area, our aim for the city of Alicante is to connect the cruise market and passengers to the Historic City Centre. 4 1.2 CTUR PARTNERS NAPLES (Italy) ALICANTE (Spain) DUBLIN (Ireland) HELSINKI (Finland) LEIXÕES PORT AUTHORITY (Portugal) MATOSINHOS (Portugal) NAPLES PORTAUTHORITY (Italy) RHODES (Greece) ROSTOCK (Germany) TRIESTE (Italy) VALENCIA (Spain) VARNA (Bulgaria) ISTANBUL – o.p. (Turkey) AIVP (International Association of Cities and Ports) 6 1.3 WORK METHODOLOGY AND ACTIVITIES From January 2009 to July 2011, the network organized 9 seminars: one Kick-off meeting, six thematic workshops on ‘the integrated approach’ and main topics, one Steering Committee and a Final Conference. The Steering Committee will take part in two Annual International Thematic Conferences (2010-2011) on selected topics of specific relevance to all partners in the framework of the CTUR Project. The Thematic Conferences will be promoted by the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP) and the URBACT Secretariat with the cooperation of CTUR Thematic Network. 7 1.4 LOCAL SUPPORT GROUP An Urbact Local Support Group (ULSG) is organised and supported by each partner through a series of meetings at local level. Thus, the ULSGs take part in: the design and follow up of the Local Action plan; identification and validation of network inputs; participation in exchanges; reporting back to the other stakeholders, and involving and/or informing the associated Managing Authorities. Each partner develops its own Local Action Plan (LAP) as a result of the exchange and learning activities and the output of its participation in the network. The LAPs will be a result of shared work between partners and their Local Support Group. 8 Alicante Local Support Group SURNAME NAME ORGANIZATION LEVEL POSITION Email CITY COUNTRY CONSELLERIA DE INFRAESTRUCTURA Y TRANSPORTE GENERAL FERRER ISMAEL REGIONAL [email protected] VALENCIA SPAIN /REGIONAL MINISTRY MANAGER OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT CITY OF [email protected] JIMÉNEZ CÉSAR OFICINA RIVA MANAGER VALENCIA SPAIN VALENCIA CITY OF CABEZA MIGUEL HOUSING DEPARTMENT COUNCIL [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN ALICANTE CITY OF MAYOR GASPAR HOUSING DEPARTMENT MANAGER [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN ALICANTE CITY OF GARCÍA-ROMEU MARTA TOURISM DEPARTMENT COUNCIL [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN ALICANTE PORT OF MARKETING BAUTISTA MÓNICA PORT AUTHORITY [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN ALICANTE DIRECTOR 9 Alicante Local Support Group II (Technical) SURNAME NAME ORGANIZATION LEVEL POSITION Email CITY COUNTRY CITY OF [email protected] GALBIS MARTA RIVA OFFICE ARCHITECT VALENCIA SPAIN VALENCIA HOUSING CITY OF RIPOLL Mª TERESA COORDINATOR [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN DEPARTMENT ALICANTE CITY OF HOUSING EXTERNAL PRIETO SARA ALICANTE [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN DEPARTMENT RELATIONS CITY OF HOUSING COUNCIL [email protected] MUÑOZ GEMA ALICANTE ALICANTE SPAIN DEPARTMENT ASSISTANCE TOURISM ALCARAZ RAQUEL CITY OF TOURISM DEP. [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN DEPARTMENT ALICANTE TOURISM DÍAZ EDNA CITY OF TOURISM DEP. [email protected] ALICANTE SPAIN DEPARTMENT ALICANTE PORT OF CRUISES DIVISION [email protected] SPAIN LÓPEZ LUIS PORT ATHORITY ALICANTE ALICANTE MANAGER 10 2. THE CITY OF ALICANTE 11 2.1 HISTORY Origins Alicante is a city with over 3000 years of history, as revealed by the earliest archaeological remains found at the Cova del Fum cave in Fontcalent, which date from the third millennium BC.The earliest inhabited settlements were found on the hillside of Mount Benacantil, where there is believed to have been an Iberian population. The earliest town as such dates back to the 4th century BC which is when Tossal de Manises, first became home to the Ibero-Roman colony of Lucentum. The Moorish Conquest After the Roman era came the Moorish conquest, when the colony was relocated to the slopes of Mount Benacantil for defensive reasons, creating the Vila Vella or Old Town. The Reconquest In 1247, when the town was captured, for the Kingdom of Castille by the Infante Alfonso, who was to become King Alfonso X, The Wise, it came to be known as Vila Nova, or the New Town.In 1249, King Jaime II incorporated the town of Alicante into the Kingdom of Valencia and then two centuries later, in 1490, Ferdinand the Catholic King granted Alicante the status of city. 12 19th Century In the 19th century progress arrived in the city with shape of the Alicante-Madrid railway, the installation of street lighting and the new town planning regulations, which would eliminate the walls and create new neighbourhoods. In the 20th century the bonfire celebrations known as the Hogueras de San Juan, which have been officially declared as of Interest to International Tourism, were bornThen, the University was opened and in 1993 the city was selected as the headquarters of the European Office of Harmonisation for the Internal Market (OHIM), the EU's largest independent agency. 13 2.2 KEY FEATURES OF THE CITY AND THE PORT The city of Alicante, located on the south east coast of Spain, is a favourite Spanish destination. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 335.459, estimated as of 2010, ranking as the second-largest in Valencia Region. It has excellent communication links with the rest of Spain and Europe, thanks to its international airport. Alicante city has experienced significant development over the last 15 years. The Historic Quarter has been revitalised and restored with all its monumental and cultural heritage. We have now diversified our tourism offerings to include different options: architecture, monuments, museums, regional cuisine and local handicrafts. 14 The Port of Alicante is only a one night voyage from the principal Spanish Ports of the Mediterranean: Barcelona, Malaga and the Balearic Islands. Alicante Port, like the city, has grown significantly during the last 10 years. In 2003 cruise traffic in Alicante increased by 43.9% from 2002. Many meetings and initiatives have taken place to support cruise tourism. There is a new Maritime Station which is equipped to meet diverse cruise ship requirements, enabling simultaneous disembarkations with gangways and fingers for very big cruise liners. The Port is well integrated into the city, offering passengers the possibility to visit the different tourist attractions by foot. Coordinates: 38º20’13’’ N, 0º29’19’’ W 15 2.3 UPDATED CONTEXT PLAN RACHA (Rehabilitation of the Historical