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SECTOR - Transport COUNTRY - Spain

STATEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY
The historic cores of many European cities face serious problems of sustainability that are threatening their survival. Initiatives geared towards their preservation are usually focused exclusively on architectural and environmental aspects without considering social and economic factors that also characterise the notion of sustainability as defined in previous chapters.

The Special Plan for the Historic Centre of Toledo is a good example of initiatives that, to a lesser or greater extent, take into account of all the aspects that define sustainability. Although the scope of this plan covers different kinds of initiatives, we will focus our attention exclusively on aspects connected with transport infrastructures affecting citizens' mobility. More specifically, we will concentrate on the installation of escalators to gain access to the historic centre from outside.

BACKGROUND
The city of Toledo is located in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha in the centre of Spain, a short distance from Madrid, and currently has almost 60,000 inhabitants. The spatial structure of the city is dominated by the presence of an extensive historic city centre with an area of more than 100 Ha., strategically set next to the Tajo River. The centre, with it's rich sample of the architecture of the different cultures that have co-existed throughout it's history - Christian, Jewish and Muslim - has significant historic and cultural value and has been declared part of the World Heritage by the UNESCO.

It's extraordinary heritage gives the city an advantage in attracting tourism. Officials estimate that over one million tourists visit the Toledo's casco each year, but they add only marginally to Toledo's economy, because most visit for only a few hours, often on day trips from Madrid (the city is located only one hours drive South from Madrid), while only a relatively small number spend the night. Persons in organised tours rarely lodge or eat meals in the city and , except for the tourist shop, the general commerce of the casco receives little benefit.

Focusing exclusively on the urban aspects, the historic centre poses the following problems to urban development:

• almost exclusively dependant on tourism
• large crowds of visitors during the day
• difficulties to access the centre
• congested vehicular traffic
• insufficient insulations
• growing loss of residential population with a large number of occupied residences.

In order to confront these problems, the City Council of Toledo has prepared a Special Plan to revitalise the historic centre. This plan proposes a clear strategy of urban dynamics and recovery, ensuring the preservation of the monumental centre and establishing the bases for it's future development.

The Special Plan for the Historic Centre of Toledo covers more than 60 specific actions of many different types, these activities can be grouped under different headings: housing, public installations, infrastructures and open spaces.

The most important action connected with transport infrastructures is the installation of escalators to gain access to the casco from the outside.

INDICATORS
The escalators have a total length of 100 metres distributed along six sections that cover a height difference of 36 metres. They are distributed in a zig zag pattern that allows them to adapt to the terrain as well as a feeling of vertigo from affecting users.

An underground car park with 110 parking spaces was built at the foot of the escalators and an external space has been conditioned where tourist buses can stop and park.

The escalators are located in an area of the historical centre having the least environmental and architectural richness, therefore minimising the negative visual impact they could have.

Archaeologica work was carried out when they were built to avoid the destruction of historically valuable remains.

The escalators are constantly running throughout the day because in this way less power is consumed than if they were to be started up each time they are used.

Monitoring has shown that they are used not only by tourists but also by people living outside the historic centre that go to work in the centre on a daily basis. These are mainly civil servants of the various public bodies and, to a lesser extent, residents of the historic centre.

The total cost of the project (including escalators, car park and creating green spaces in the area) amounted to 9 million euros. Maintenance costs are estimated to be around 120,000 euros per year (only escalators).

EVALUATION
Citizens and experts in preserving artistic heritage were initially opposed to the construction of these escalators due to the possible negative visual impact they could have on the cityscape. Some retailers also complained because they feared a new entry point into the city would alter tourist routes through the centre and therefore be detrimental to shops located in the worst sites.

The entry into operation of these escalators in the middle of 2000 has dissipated these initial fears. The escalators have been used by almost 40,000 people on some weekends, while the daily average in the low season for tourism is above 5,000 people. Their impact on the city's retail trade has been minimal. There is now a consenus among both citizens and experts of the work's architectural quality and the way it respects its surroundings. This has merited several national and international awards.

In addition, this new entry point into the city has revitalised a part of the historical centre that was somewhat marginalised economically.

The experience has been so successful that the construction of a second escalator in another of the city's entrances is now being contemplated.

Nevertheless, the escalators' impact on the reduction of traffic within the city centre is considered to be neglible.

DRIVERS
The Toledo Town Hall, the Provincial Government, the Regional Government and the Central Government have all intervened in drawing up the Special Historical Centre Plan for Toledo, as have several non-profit institutions. Furthermore, the city's citizens have been given the chance to take part directly in the different phases of the design process in accordance to urban planning regulations.

The project was financed with funds from the European Investment Bank.

LESSONS LEARNT
An important lesson to be learned from this case is the necessity to include any infrastructure project into a global and most extensive plan, in order to insure it's sustainability. In the Special Plan of Toledo, other complementary actions to the escalators have been proposed to give priority to pedestrian traffic and to improve the environmental quality of the Historic Centre.

• improve public transportation as a system to access the centre
• avoid the use of automobiles in the Centre by building public parking lots outside of it, complemented by transport systems leading to it's centre
• establish new pedestrian routes, parking lots for use by residents and other measures that encourage the residential use of the Centre
• re-organisation of the supply areas and distribution of loading and unloading
• establishment of an emergency accessibility system

TRANSFERABILITY
The problem faced in this case study is common in many Spanish and European cities that have historic centres, and consists basically of finding the proper balance between preservation of the historic centre and the urban development needed by the city.

It is therefore especially interesting to compare the solutions adopted in Toledo with those in other European cities from the point of view of sustainable development in aspects such as systems to access the centre, vehicular traffic regulation, parking lot construction, implementation of pedestrian streets, and in general, economic and social revitalisation.

IMPACT ON SUSTAINABILITY

Ecology		Economy		Social Aspects
Emissions?		Cost effective?		Participation?
Use of natural resources?		Willing to pay?		Transparency?
Bio-diversity?		Effective organisation?		Safety?
Total		Total		Total

PROJECT CONTACT

Carlos Corroto

Ayuntamiento de Toledo

Tel: +34 925 229550

Email: oficina_prut@ticom.es

REFERENCES

Ayuntamiento de Toledo (1996):Plan Especial del Casco Historico.

Ayuntamiento de Toledo (2000): El Acceso al Casco Historico del Nuevo Milenio.

Gomez Ibanez, jose A y McCue, Gerald M (1995): Revitalising Toledo's Historic Core. Patronato Universitario de Toledo and the Real Colegio Complutense (Harvard).