Perched on a peninsula, the pale stone of a walled city glows in the late afternoon sunshine. The population here is relatively few in number but visitors come and go in their droves, attracted by the warm climate and the chance to wander through its chequered past, tangible through grand palaces and the patina of well worn streets. Although the skyline has remained remarkably unchanged for centuries, the Southern Spanish city of Cadiz currently faces challenges that are intrinsically linked to the demands of modern living and the consequent strain on the historic fabric.

As the most ancient city still standing in Western Europe, believed to have been founded in around 1100 BC by the Phoenicians, This pretty little capital of the province of Cadiz in Andalusia carries it's densely layered history alongside more recently acquired burdens. Today it is a peripheral port city with a depressed economy and whilst tourism provides a welcome income, the resident population is decreasing. Historically, the harbour, and the trade it brought through Cadiz were the foundations of the town's prosperity, but with this dwindling, the young move abroad or head off to larger Spanish cities seeking employment. Hence, Cadiz is ageing - the population younger than twenty years old is only 20.58% of the total, and the population older than sixty-five is 21.67%, making it one of the most aged cities in all of Spain.

Cadiz suffers from a relatively high rate of unemployment in two specific neighbourhoods, those of Papulo and Santa Maria. Here, many residents possess low professional qualification levels and live in physical and infrastructural conditions that fall short of European standards. Additionally, whilst areas of the city could be said to be thriving, a palpable shift from residential to commercial use for the city is being felt. Although thanks to an improved transport network, other towns and cities surrounding the Bay of Cadiz are growing, this historic peninsula town has in recent years, become more of a place to work than to live.

Sound a little familiar? Naturally, the case of Cadiz is not identical to the situation our own capital faces, but there are a remarkable number of similarities between Valletta and Cadiz which provide food for thought. In terms of urban regeneration, the city of Valletta is a problem so complex that the cavalcade of opinion, conjecture and debate over the best course of action often hinders actual progress, so it is perhaps a worthwhile exercise to look outside our own backyard to evaluate the successful, and also not so successful, tactics for improvements already in motion. Not quite like looking in a crystal ball, but a good foundation for strategic planning nonetheless.

The issue of protecting a unique historic built fabric inescapably encompasses the wider issues of management in terms of economic development and the communities that inhabit it. As in Valletta's Biccerija district, certain neighbourhoods of Cadiz suffer more than others from the dilapidation of antique architecture although it must be noted that in these areas Cadiz suffers from overcrowding rather than abandonment. Still, it is the issue of the social impact of low incomes on communities combined with a concern for structures of historic significance that is the key area of interest. Cadiz has tackled the problems head on, developing a concrete plan to rehabilitate the area that aims at improving the quality of life for residents of old buildings with few financial options and maintaining the character of the city by avoiding the uprooting of families. The plan involved three actions targeting physical renovation of property (including streets and public monuments), the creation of socio-economic spaces and encouraging public participation. By establishing a framework for co-operation in which local, regional and national governments participated with professional associations and private initiative, a great deal of progress has been made. So far, over a thousand homes have been improved, a significant amount of work has been completed in terms of infrastructure improvement, an open air crafts market has been instigated, adaptive reuse of two derelict buildings for socio-cultural activities has been implemented (with nine more properties acquired for similar use in the future) and offices for a number of entrepreneurial companies have been established as well as an extremely visible improvement in the state of urban streetscapes.

Although the Cadiz project openly acknowledged the difficulties of coordinating a group of associations in a recent report (an issue extremely relevant to Valletta), the benefit of bringing everyone together is clear. AVEC, the Alliance of European Cultural Cities is a network that exists entirely to bring everybody together. This September, AVEC held a conference in Arles, a historic town in southern France, focused on urban heritage enhancement in the Mediterranean. By recognising that Mediterranean cities, despite the great diversity of urban shapes in the region, are historically territories of encounters and therefore have a particular atmosphere, the common identity of these locations are an ideal starting point to discuss tried and tested solutions to problems shared. The number of archaeological sites, important monuments and historic buildings to maintain and integrate into modern life is considerable here and AVEC brought together studies of historic centres including Genoa, Perpignan, Tel Aviv, Tlemcen (Algeria) Valletta and Split (Croatia) to provoke exchange. M.E. spoke to Christian Mourisard, President of AVEC, about the outcomes and benefits of the event.

What will the follow up of the conference in Arles be? We asked, curious to hear whether the event stimulated any ongoing partnerships.

"We are currently planning a sequel to the conference that will be held in Evora or in Arles in 2009/2010." Replied M. Mourisard enthusiastically, suggesting that more issues arose than could be dealt with over the two days of meetings, although he also acknowledged that since it is little over a month since the event, "it is too early to understand whether the exchanges of experiences in the field of urban regeneration in Arles have had any real outcome yet".

So what about the question of the integration of the local inhabitants often forgotten by private investors? M.E. asked which projects at the conference were most successful from this point of view.

"In the case of the revision of the boundaries of the Urban Conservation Area of Arles (Secteur Sauvegarde), this aspect of preserving the authentic local population was given special attention, with a view to ensuring that the areas being tackled do not become another kind of museum". M. Mourisard answered, highlighting a danger that often befalls urban centres with a high concentration of historic monuments. He also pointed out that one of the major benefits of such conferences is the opportunity to present key issues and open dialogue but also to attract financial support. "One of the most positive outputs of the Arles conference was the engagement of the French Ministry for the Environment, who would like to [provide] finance over a number of years in collaboration with the network of the Alliance des Villes Europeennes de la Culture as well as with AFNOR, a study of natural risks and those of heritage in general". In terms of Valletta's future, these kinds of communication and support channels are an extremely useful tool. "The best way to adapt the methodologies presented at the conference to local issues is by the study of concrete examples of realized projects". Said M. Mourisard of his experience in adapting the methods and criteria proven successful in one project to another.

By exchanging ideas and evaluating successful approaches much can be learned. As individual and unique as the Biccerija, and indeed Valletta as a whole is, to go it alone is to limit resources on which we can draw to improve the fortunes of our capital.