Córdoba mayor puts historic-centre housing in focus

Córdoba, Spain, is putting life in historic city centres under the spotlight: mayor José María Bellido announced plans on Tuesday, 3 November, to examine housing, tourism and transport in World Heritage cities’ old quarters. As the new president of the Organization of World Heritage Cities, he also wants to find more money to preserve historic buildings.

Homes and historic buildings

Bellido plans to set up an observatory to assess housing, tourism, mobility and the quality of life of people living in historic centres. He also wants to look at ways to fund the upkeep of their buildings.

One model comes from Baeza, in Spain’s Jaén province, where a volunteer organisation raises money for preservation. Bellido wants to extend that approach to other cities in the network.

Safety plans and new partnerships

Bellido also wants to advance protection, emergency and safety plans for historic sites. At the organisation’s world congress in Marrakech, Morocco, Córdoba fire chief Daniel Muñoz presented years of preventive work at the city’s Mosque–Cathedral (Mezquita-Catedral).

Córdoba has received proposals to work with Marrakech and cities in Mauritania and Senegal. Bellido’s term as president runs until the next world congress in 2028.

Topics: Housing · Town & community

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com