Uploaded on 2016-12-07 by Olatz

1. MY TOP LIVABILITY CRITERIA 1-Housing 2-Environment 3-Culture 4-Education 5-Transportation 2. WHY DO WE LIVE WHERE WE LIVE I Live in Bilbao, a city in the north of Spain. I have always lived here, and so has my family, so I guess the reasons why I live where I live are mostly immeasurable. 1- Because it is my hometown and I feel well-established (personal significance, a safe and familiar environment) 2- Because of size and density of Bilbao, big enough to fulfil all the needs but not crowded and grown enough to be a big metropolis. 3 Leisure and cultural activities. Although it is a small city, Bilbao has a great cultural offer; it is really lively city, both by day and night. 4 Because of the public transportation and infrastructures that enable fast and multiple connections with the metropolitan area and surroundings. 5 Education and Health Care policies. Not only in Bilbao, but all Basque Country has a good education and health care system, and, specifically, Bilbao has got a good number of education and sanitary-equipments 3. TO WHAT EXTEND DOES YOUR OWN PLACE OF RESIDENCE FULFILL YOUR IDEAL LIVABILITY CRITERIA? 1-Housing: 50/100 Due to its orography, located in a hole surrounded by mountains, the city has taken up all the useful land and there is almost no space for the city to continue growing. Consequently, housing is the most challenging issue that urban plan has to face. Nowadays, both rental and buying prices are unaffordable for many people, especially the younger. 2-Environment: 65/100 Bilbao has suffered a drastic change in the last two decades, transforming from an industrial and polluted city to a green, clean city of services with lots of park and open spaces, and has taken advantage of the riverside, turning the old and dirty docks into long and nice promenades. 3-Culture: 85/100 The cultural network of Bilbao is really rich and strong, with both great equipment such as the Guggenheim museum, and lots of alternative and independent small galleries. 4-Education: 80/100 As I have already mentioned, education system is quite good, and there are plenty of schools, high-schools in every district, both public and private. 5-Transportation: 70/100 Public transportation is quite good in respect of mobility in the city centre and between the city and the metropolitan areas connected with the subway. But, in regards to the neighbourhoods that have no subway line, the bus is the only real choice, which is quite uncomfortable because of the traffic. Although we are far from the traffic congestions that happen in cities like Madrid or Barcelona, the number of private vehicles is still high. 4. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? If I were the mayor of the city, the most urgent issue to resolve would be housing. As I mentioned, it is a quite complex problem due to the lack of space. Nevertheless, recent reports showed that the number of empty properties is quite high (about 10,000), so it could be one option two get the owners to add those properties to the public rental network. In addition to that, it could be a good idea to transform the empty spaces spread through the city, remnants of the industrial past of the city, into housing buildings that run by public entities. 5. WHY DO WE MOVE? 1- Barcelona: - Climate - Job opportunities - Leisure and culture - Environment - Lifestyle, habits 2- Madrid: - Transportation (fast connections to Bilbao) - Job opportunities - Leisure and culture - Environment - Lifestyle, habits 3- Paris - Architecture, city network - Leisure and culture - Environment - Job opportunities - Economy