The Councilor for Health of L'Alfàs del Pi, Marisa Cortés, participated in the VII XarxaSalut Conference: Municipalities for Health of the Valencian Community, held in Buñol. There, she presented the ‘Respira l’Alfàs’ project, a municipal initiative born from citizen contributions with the goal of improving environmental maintenance, fostering participation, and strengthening the sense of community belonging.
Cortés, also Councilor for Social Welfare, spoke at an experience exchange session, presenting the communication ‘From coordination to action to transform the environment’. She detailed the process initiated in the municipality, from citizen participation and intersectoral work to the launch of ‘Respira l’Alfàs’.
The XarxaSalut conference serves as a meeting point for Valencian municipalities, where experiences and best practices are shared with individuals, associations, companies, and other administrations. The aim is to learn about successful actions and propose initiatives to improve quality of life.
“"For L'Alfàs del Pi, it is very important to present ‘Respira l’Alfàs’ on a platform like XarxaSalut, because it is a project that precisely stems from listening to our residents, and which we want to develop with their participation."
The project originated from a participatory survey on living environments, which received over 600 responses. The main citizen concerns were environmental maintenance (46.1%), public transport (39.7%), and traffic and parking (37.2%). Based on these results, the Intersectoral Table prioritized environmental care as a community action.
‘Respira l’Alfàs’ goes beyond the physical improvement of spaces, seeking to strengthen the relationship between citizens and their municipality through a shared culture of care and co-responsibility. It includes awareness campaigns, the involvement of local businesses, educational interventions in schools, and training workshops.
“"‘Respira l’Alfàs’ demonstrates that health promotion also involves how we care for our daily spaces and the capacity of citizens to participate in transforming their municipality."
Cortés emphasized the importance of listening to citizens, making joint decisions, and acting on the environment to move towards a healthier and more sustainable municipality. The project's motto, 'What is felt as one's own, is better cared for,' summarizes its philosophy.
L'Alfàs del Pi, a member of XarxaSalut since 2017, is committed to integrating health as a transversal subject in municipal policies, anticipating an inverted population pyramid projected for 2030. Xarxa Salut is a local network action strategy of the Valencian Community to optimize health and well-being from an equity perspective.
