The Phrase ‘ODZ’ Has Officially Lost All Of Its Meaning
Lately it feels like every single day has brought with it a new wave of bombastic headlines and social-media anger against an ODZ project. And it feels that way because it’s exactly what’s happening.
Last year saw 745 approved applications for construction projects on ODZ land, which is almost 250 more than the yearly average from 2006-2015. And by the looks of it, this year’s numbers are gonna be even worse.
But how many status updates are we going to have to post before we realise we’ve failed ourselves just as much as the system has failed us?
The word ODZ has become white noise and the fact that it’s an acronym is not helping. A random string of letters is too easy to dismiss; ODZ stands for Outside Development Zones, and that name is pretty self-explanatory.
This doesn’t mean there should be no construction whatsoever (although on an island so overcrowded with monstrous blocks of flats, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea), however the projects must be ‘legitimate inclusions in the non-urban scene’.
Some common examples of this include genuine agricultural buildings like reservoirs, walls, fences and control buildings at archaeological or ecological sites. Even someone who is not an expert on agriculture knows a shopping mall doesn’t really fit into any of those descriptions.
“The word ODZ has become white noise, and the fact that it’s an acronym is not helping”
The people’s trust in the Planning Authority’s capability to regulate Malta’s endless and unsustainable urbanisation has been dwindling for years, and with so many approved applications this year alone, it’s easy to see why. But it’s just as easy to forget that we are a big part of the problem.
How many of you can genuinely say they would stick with their empty green field for the occasional picnic or romp in the grass instead of developing the land for millions?
We’re quite sure we already know the answer, and that just highlights how badly we need to reform the system, to avoid this temptation even existing in the first place.
Since nobody can deny a cheque that would secure their family’s future, the rules surrounding ODZ projects should be tightened and strictly enforced.
If you take the above-mentioned description for inclusions allowed on ODZ land, an application with the word ‘shopping mall’ on it should instantly be thrown out, with the applicant fined for even trying.
This may seem a little extreme, but with the situation we’re currently facing, extreme is the only solution that will get us back on track. Other extreme solutions could include re-greening built up areas to create new ODZ land (which we’re ambitiously hoping to do with our crowdfunding campaign) and forcing those who build on ODZ land to re-green other areas three times larger than the land they’re building on.
“[Looking at what’s] allowed on ODZ land, an application with the word ‘shopping mall’ on it should instantly be thrown out”
