After two years of gestation, the project to create an urban observatory for the city of Salé will soon see the light of day. Initiated by the "Sala Moustaqbal" association, this new space, which will have an associative character, aims to be a new force for proposals.
It will be a new platform that will bring together, alongside associations, representatives of the commune, the prefecture, and citizens. The observatory will be responsible for examining the problems from which the city suffers, carrying out studies, and proposing recommendations to local authorities to support them in identifying long-term solutions. Indeed, the association formulated a proposal two years ago, which it submitted for examination to the mayor's office and the prefecture of Salé. "We have held several meetings since that time with high-ranking officials representing both authorities in order to examine the feasibility of this proposal and its added value for the city," emphasizes Moulay Ismaïl Alaoui, president of the Sala Moustaqbal association. According to this associative actor, the initiative was very well received by the local authorities who expressed their optimism regarding the success of the future actions of this new structure with an associative character.
The creation of this entity stems from the concern to harmonize the city and comes to implement the recommendation issued by the United Nations at the end of the last decade, which had proposed the establishment of laboratories to study the urban landscape and evaluate the environmental situation.
Other factors encouraged this association to reflect on the establishment of this observatory. These include, in particular, the urban planning situation of the city. According to our interlocutor, the city has undergone the arrival of a significant wave of population due to rural exodus, and this in a fairly short period of time. Thus, this rapid urbanization did not follow a policy thought out in advance and which respects urban unity. A situation that has meant that several neighborhoods were designed in an anarchic manner. This lack of reflection at the urban level gives rise to a good number of problems related to the structuring of the city, notably difficulties in accessing the administration, transport, and various public services.
"We felt that it was our duty as an association active at the level of this city to join in the reflection led by the local authorities and which focuses on improving the urban landscape and strengthening green spaces. We were touched by the availability and commitment of the actors, whether at the level of the communal council or the municipality and the prefecture, who very well welcomed the idea of this observatory," notes the president of the association.
This observatory will be responsible not only for conducting reflections on the problems from which the city suffers, but it will also have the mission of collecting all studies on this subject with the aim of establishing a prospective vision of the means that must be deployed to improve the situation of Salé and make it a city where it is good to live.
Ensuring urban integration and a unified city policy that takes into account the specificities of the large agglomeration of the city of Salé, which extends from the commune of Bouknadel to that of Allal Bahraoui, is one of the objectives of the future urban observatory that will soon be set up. To tackle different issues at once and without wasting time, the Sala Moustaqbal association has planned to set up sections that will be able to involve citizens in this reflection on a larger scale. Among the issues that will be addressed are also the problems of transport, roads, and housing.
