Born and raised in A Coruña, Inés Rey García became the first democratically elected female Mayor of the city, following her election in 2019. With a focus on social justice, sustainability, and the creation of quality employment, Mayor Rey García works to make A Coruña a leading city in terms of political leadership and management. Prior to her political career, she practiced as a lawyer, specialising in criminal and family law, having obtained a law degree from the University of A Coruña.
A Coruña is committed to a sustainable future and is supporting the objectives of the 2030 Agenda through various initiatives. During 2020, the city pedestrianised 29 streets and squares, an area of 27,000 square metres. The increase in pedestrianised zones has been accompanied by the installation of street furniture and the planting of trees and development of green spaces.
A green corridor is being developed near the city, and work has been done to increase the safety of school communities, and improve accessibility through improvements made to public transport, including the introduction of new bus stops and pedestrian crossing facilities, and the planned extension of bus lines.
A Coruña plans a complete renovation of all the city’s outdoor public lighting, replacing existing lights with LEDs, and updating control units, in order to save more than 60% of the current annual lighting energy use and significantly reduce expenditure. The project will receive 12.6 million euros in funding from the European Union.
The city also participates in both international and local sustainability initiatives, including the Connecting Nature Business Platform that connects global market demand for nature-based solutions with supply,and the Local Action Group of the RU: rban project, which, among other initiatives, encourages the development of urban gardens, which A Coruña has also started to introduce in schools.
A Coruña invested more than 10 million euros in the Economic and Social Reactivation Plan of La Coruña (PRESCO) to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan provided 5.1 million euros of financial assistance to SMEs and the self-employed, in addition to the city’s cancellation of waste disposal and water fees. The plan also supported the culture industry, working parents and the homeless, benefitting more than 57,200 residents. It also facilitated training for employment in 50 different types of courses, in which more than 3,600 people participated. The city also extended hospitality industry support by permitting businesses to continue to operate on terraces, pavements and to occupy parking spaces in front of their premises, to alleviate the financial burden posed by the pandemic. The council provided an at-home babysitting service for children needing to confine following possible exposure to COVID-19, and for others whose regular childcare facilities had to close. The program aimed to enable the continuation of educational support for children while also permitting parents to continue to work, and helped almost 400 families. A Coruña also committed 50 000 euros per month to support the city’s most vulnerable residents during the pandemic, by providing accommodation for the homeless in hostels during the COVID-19 curfew. The council also provided meals and bathroom facilities.
A Coruña council is boosting its social housing provision through the construction of 50 accommodation units in Xuxán Rey. The project aims to offer public housing to working people severely affected by the limited availability of affordable housing. The residences will be built to environmental sustainability standards, feature rooftop urban gardens, bicycle parking spaces, a communal garden area, and two apartments adapted for people with reduced mobility.