EDUSI is the Spanish acronym for the Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategy. Its implementation should serve to define a city model shared by the administration, citizens and agents of the local socioeconomic system. The EDUSIs identify the challenges that each city must face in the coming years to move towards a responsible, sustainable and environmentally-friendly urban and productive model. It is, therefore, a document that identifies the challenges and plans different actions in the medium/long term.
The EDUSI is a requirement for financing actions and projects within the European framework of integrated and sustainable development. Through this strategy, the aid allocated by the European Union to promote a new urban concept that prioritises social cohesion, the fight against poverty, the low-carbon economy, the environmental sustainability and resource optimisation. In order to be eligible for calls of European funding programmes, the EDUSI design must include the Thematic Objectives (OT in its Spanish acronym), selected by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).
In the case of Castelló, the EDUSI has been conceived, designed and finally approved through empathy, a key factor in identifying the concerns and needs of citizens, as well as in establishing, in a participatory way, lines of action aimed at facing these challenges.