Getxo Palaces

A truth: they are magnificent and representative buildings of our people. Cultural heritage is the palation of Lezama-Legizamón, the lighthouse of Arriluze, the Aixerrota mill of La Galea or the Bizkaia Bridge. For there is another Getxo: the citizen. Isn't that surprising?

Our municipal government is working on the urban plan (PGOU). In short: It is intended to build 4,395 homes (11,000 potential inhabitants), when we have lost 7,000 neighbours since 2001.

In January we citizens and agents turned to the plan with over 2,000 resources. In May, PGOU Care! Convened by Plataforma, 3,000 getxoztarras showed their support for a reasonable PGOU. Shortly thereafter, the municipal government suffered a major electoral coup and now the parties holding the authority do not have enough power to definitively approve the PGOU, it is the time for dark negotiations.

The Getxoztarras are not against this PGOU because we like to demonstrate in free time, but because there is another Getxo that appears less in the photos but that is worth preserving as much as the palace: the neighborhoods, the natural spaces, the dwellings, the lanantzarras and, ultimately, the citizens.

Obviously, we are not raising a new issue. Wild urban planning is common in such a prosperous, unique, bucolic and touristic country.

A tunnel

A trigonometry problem: it represents the isosceles triangle. Getxo is the vertex of A, Portugalete is the vertex B, Bilbao and Txorierri are the vertex D. For every morning there are retentions from point A to point D, every morning there are queues of cars from point B to point D.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia has projected in a new section of the series Megaconstructions the subfluvial tunnel that will unite the glories of Armur (Getxo-Leioa) and Ballonti (Portugalete). In short: Construction of the six-lane road from point A to point B, to end with the line from points A and B to point D. We do not understand anything.

Those driving the freeway use sustainability or resilience. Also the Low Emission Foci, the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We know: More roads, more vehicles (as simple as raw). To delve deeper into the subject, there are the paradox of Braess or the phenomena “latent demand in transportation”. Recently, with shame, it has been determined that the tunnel will have a Metro connection. The metro -- all right, surely that matches the SDG goals. But then -- the highway for what?

The Biscayan do not have pleasure in the tunnel intended to unite Ezkerraldea and Uribe Kosta, but increases the private transport model. Because we have climate change with us. Because it's about deepening absurd developmentalism. Because our regions are constantly losing population. Because young people use less and less private cars.

Of course, the wet dream of oligarchy is to continuously mobilise macroeconomics. On the contrary, three decades after the launch of the Technological Park (and the airport)… they are not yet accessible by metro. It's not a negligible fact, because it's point D.

Progress

A love: P.G.O.U. de Getxo needs a tunnel under the river, as it looks for the ghost neighborhoods that promote the car. Need for housing to justify the construction of highways. More vehicles are needed to fill the urbanizations of the American model with second housing and Airbnb.

It is intended to establish a city model of the sleeping neighborhoods, from where to drive to the center, sports center, shopping center, beach or workplace. In this scheme, the Getxo PGOU and the subfluvial tunnel are absolutely necessary. And fill with chalets the lantzarrak of Otxantegi (Berango). And build the macrogym Kurkudin (in Leioa). And many more barbarities.

They will tell us: it's progress, it's investments. In short, if we do not extend the cities, we multiply the infrastructures and are condemned to return to the times of Cro-Magnon.

We are in favour of another model of urban development. We want to use everyone’s money to develop PGOU for sustainable and reasonable mobility. How many kilometres of cycle rail or frequencies of public transport can be increased, for example, with the money provided for the construction of the tunnel under the river? How much can we promote our culture, education, health, language… with EUR 415,000,000?

Obviously, if we do not stop the pharaohs, their progress will not cease. To the east of Uribe Kosta is Mungialdea. Beyond? A slender museum in Urdaibai.

PGOU Adi de Getxo! Platform