Last Wednesday, the Chamber of Architects made a statement on the occasion of Earth Day, saying that the government must become the champion for a better built environment. The Chamber also argued that climate change is the biggest challenge.

As the world struggles with the fight to contain and overcome the Coronavirus, Earth Day came and went with very little attention paid. While the virus is a temporary situation, pollution and climate change are very much dangers which will affect the current and future generations.

The way Malta has developed over the years is one which brings into question the logic employed by the various administrations. Should there have been such a focus on the car-driven mode of transport? Should the planning authorities have allowed the hotchpotch construction now synonymous with Sliema, St Julian’s and other localities? Should we have built roads with little to no greenery in the heart of our towns and cities? Could we have done things differently?

But things can still change. Planning rules can be strengthened, a focus can be made on different methods of transport. We could focus the growth of the Maltese economy on aspects which do not necessitate the need for more and more manpower which results in more high-rise construction.

Yes, the government does need to champion this, and must be the one to change the required planning regulation and laws, and layout what can and cannot be built and where. But this must also come from the architects and developers themselves. It is the developers who come up with grand schemes of building tiny apartments in a road trying to go just that bit much higher than the neighbours and the architects who design them. while the Chamber has been lobbying for significant changes in the building and construction industry, and environmentalists have long been calling for the reversal or revision of certain policies, perhaps now is the best time for the government to take a look around and listen.

The built environment, however, is just one part of the problem that needs to be addressed, and transport another. Fewer cars on the road mean less pollution, so that is the direction the government should push in. The government has long said that it is trying to push for the use of public transport, but let’s be realistic, have they really? Or has it just been talk and the introduction of just enough minor initiatives used for show?

Enforcement is a piece of the puzzle that also needs to be strengthened. How often is it that we hear of illegally-built buildings being sanctioned or receiving fines but being left there? How often do we hear of people dumping debris in the countryside? Stronger enforcement is needed.

The only way the government will change its ways is if the people make it do so, by making their voices heard louder than the developers’ and businesses’ voices whose interest is for things to remain the same.

Perhaps everyone should take the time they are spending indoors and reflect on the Malta they wish to see in the future, and work to make that a reality.