Poble Nou de Benitatxell is in luck. The municipality has entered the network of 'Age-Friendly Cities', an initiative promoted by the WHO for the decade of Healthy Aging within the framework of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Yesterday, Sunday, this project was presented to the public in a public act dedicated to the elderly. The mayor was present Miguel Ángel García, the Mayor's Councilor, Isa Garrido, the Children's Councilor, Jorge Pascual, the Social Worker, Inma Llobell, and the manager of Reinventa't, the company in charge of developing the plan in the town, Adrià Llobell.
Benitatxell is the second municipality in the Marina Alta, after Calp, to join this network (Dénia It is also in the process of requesting it). With this initiative, the City Council seeks to promote healthy and active aging, improving the environment and services for older people and incorporating this perspective into municipal policies.
Spain is the second country in the world with the highest life expectancy: 86,2 years in the case of women and 80,3 for men. Specifically, as Garrido pointed out, El Poble Nou de Benitatxell is a highly aged municipality, with a high rate of registered elderly people. To this is added that many foreign residents of advanced age come to retire to the population. For this reason, “when we found out about this network of cities friendly to the elderly, we thought it was a very interesting project and that we couldn't stay out of it”.
After obtaining the distinction, what follows now is the creation of focus groups to organize talks, meetings and interviews with the aim of knowing the opinions, needs, proposals and considerations of people over 60 years of age to start working, as detailed Adrià Llobell, in eight main areas: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, respect and social inclusion, active participation and work, communication and information, social and health services and social participation.
Poble Nou already has a similar experience in this type of project thanks to the local Consell de la Infància i l'Adolescència and the declaration of a Child Friendly City by Unicef. The Councilor for Children, Jorge Pascual, explained how the extraordinary experience of working with the little ones to make them participate in municipal life has been. "Through the coordinators of the Consell de la Infància they held meetings and at the end of the course the mayor and I went to the last session so that they could raise their concerns, motivations and proposals to improve the town."
"We were surprised by their sensitivity and empathy, since many of their proposals were not only designed for children, but also took into account the well-being of the elderly." One of the initiatives they proposed was the installation not only of games for children in the future park in Plaça de les Pesqueres, but also of an area with exercise machines for the elderly.
The mayor, for his part, highlighted the importance of their participation in reflecting the needs of older people in future municipal projects. “Many of the works that we are carrying out or planning, such as the remodeling of Alacant avenue, the Pesqueres square, the installation of pylons in Padre Plácido street or the future widening of sidewalks, are designed precisely to improve the well-being and safety of citizens, especially the elderly. But now we need your opinion to have a broader perspective and adapted to your needs”.
