Valletta Notes

Short reflections from ResidentiBeltin, rooted in the correspondence, questions and everyday realities of people who call Valletta home. Open any note to read and share the full article.

You cannot cull away the cause

Culling does not fix the food, waste and nesting conditions that create an urban pigeon problem. Fertility control can reduce numbers without repeating an expensive cycle of killing.

A building is not just a return on investment

Public buildings should first be judged by what they can give to their community, not merely by their commercial return.

A street must remain a street

Valletta’s streets are not spare floor space. They must remain usable for the people who live in the city and move through it every day.

The harbour belongs to the people who live beside it

Regeneration should mean a greener, open and publicly accessible harbour, not another space shaped only by commercial control.

The Grand Harbour is not scenery for a brochure. It is part of our memory, our work, our view from the window and our connection to the rest of Malta.

Renewal can be good. Restored buildings, greener routes, safer walking and open public spaces would make the harbour stronger. But renewal loses its meaning when access becomes conditional, when the waterfront is shaped only for private return, and when the communities around it are treated as an inconvenience.

We do not need to choose between neglect and commercial control. We can ask for a harbour that is cared for, open, green and recognisably ours.