Alberto Ferreras | Segovia Jun (EFE).- In the small Segovian towns of Castrojimeno and Cedillo de la Torre, two pairs of mannequins with suitcases and backpacks are spending the night this weekend. They have aroused curiosity and are part of a campaign against depopulation.
The repopulation of the northeast of Segovia has run into the stumbling block of the lack of housing for rent and for sale for new families who want to settle in that territory, which is why a campaign of traveling mannequins with QR codes tries to raise awareness about the problem .
Its objective is precisely to draw attention to the lack of housing in the real estate market for new settlers in rural areas and for this, through QR codes, awareness is raised about this ballast to demographic progress and access to a form is facilitated. for those who have a home to offer.
The campaign is not part of any real estate agency or private initiative, but rather the municipalities of the area have launched it together with local associations and the business fabric integrated into the Coordinator for the Comprehensive Development of the Northeast of Segovia (Codinse).
Give value to the people
The manager of Codinse, María del Mar Martín, explained in an interview with EFE that they started the initiative anonymously at the beginning of the month, without disclosing who was behind it to arouse curiosity, “touch a sensitive fiber” and raise awareness about a real estate problem that, although with different characteristics, is not only suffered in large cities.
“There is talk of the problem of housing in the cities and it seems that in the towns it does not exist because there are empty houses and it seems that there are too many, but the reality is not that, it is that there is difficulty in accessing housing” Martin explained.
In recent weeks they have publicized the campaign slogan, “Give value to your home, give value to your town”, and have added QR codes to the mannequins that explain the initiative and give access to a form with the idea of counting with a housing bag to facilitate people who want to settle in the area and can’t find a house.
The two pairs of inert beings will meet next Tuesday the 27th in Campo de San Pedro, where the promoters of the initiative hold an assembly in which, among other things, the effect of the campaign will be analyzed.
The repopulation of the northeast of Segovia has run into the stumbling block of the lack of housing for rent and for sale for new families who wish to settle in that territory, which is why the Coordinator for the Integral Development of the Northeast of Segovia (Codinse) has deployed a campaign of traveling mannequins (pictured) with QR codes to try to raise awareness about the problem. EFE / Pablo Martin
Strategic enclave for repopulation
Codinse, manager of European funds and development programs, has spent three decades fighting for the future of the 57 municipalities in the northeast of Segovia, a territory located between an hour and an hour and a half away from Madrid, Segovia, Burgos and Valladolid, making it which makes it a strategic place to attract teleworkers who want to move to live in rural areas.
After dragging continuous population losses since the 2008 crisis and falling below the symbolic figure of 10,000 residents, the Segovian Northeast saw a glimmer of hope after the pandemic and increased its population in the last year, minimally, but enough to return to reach five figures in the number of inhabitants.
teleworking centers
Codinse, which promotes the creation of teleworking centers in that territory that has opted for tourism and services as a new economic fabric compared to the traditional agrarian one, then detected a new challenge in the complex problem of the demographic challenge in rural areas: the lack of rental housing despite the fact that there are many empty houses.
A study of the situation revealed that 20% of the houses remain closed all year, with the consequent problem of deterioration and abandonment, and on the other hand, the new residents find themselves with a scarce real estate offer.
For this reason, Codinse’s initiative seeks to encourage the real estate offer so that one day the mannequins that travel with their suitcases through the towns of the area become real people who swell the census of northeast Segovia. EFE