The URBAN GreenUP renaturalisation project, of which Valladolid City Council is partner, and is coordinated by CARTIF, is coming to an end after six years of work, and has celebrated this week in Valladolid a triple event with an international conference, the 12th meeting of the consortium made up of 25 partners from 9 countries; and the fourth and last meeting with the European Commission to verify the achievements and final results of this initiative. The Commission congratulated the consortium and praised the achievement of the implementation of a large number of actions.
This is a project financed with European funds from Horizon 2020, managed by the Department of Innovation, Economic Development, Employment and Trade, through its Innovation and Economic Development Agency, with the collaboration of the departments of Mobility and Urban Space, Environment, Urban Planning and Citizen Participation, among others, demonstrating that solutions based on nature require multidisciplinary teams.
The URBAN GreenUP project is a pioneer in urban sustainability as it aims to increase the renaturalization of cities to make them more resilient and stronger in the face of climate change, through the implementation of both green infrastructure for renaturalisation, and blue infrastructure for the natural management of the urban water cycle.
“The city is now greener, healthier and more attractive, better prepared to face climate change and use green and blue infrastructure as a natural way to improve urban spaces,” said Charo Chávez, Councillor for Innovation, Economic Development, Employment and Trade.
European funding
The investment made in Valladolid stemming from this initiative amounts to €2,314,339, with which 28 technical actions in green infrastructure, urban renaturalisation and sustainable water management have been carried out.
New trees and green space
This project leaves 4,400 trees of more than 40 species in the urban space of Valladolid to enrich the city's biodiversity, both in the city centre and in parks, squares, the area around the football stadium, and the green corridor that crosses the city from the Zorrilla stadium to the Santos-Pilarica area, and ends in an urban forest of over five hectares where almost 2,000 new trees have been planted, and which will work as a carbon sink for at least 30 years.
The city has gained more than 2,500 square metres in green space with the new natural and green solutions. It has also gained ground in smart and sustainable water management demonstration pilot projects such as electrowetland, the pollution management in the Portugalete underground car park, and the sustainable drainage systems installed in the area around the football stadium to channel rainwater in especially in stormy weather.
Employment and business opportunities for companies in Valladolid
Apart from the technical and scientific studies of the project, the objective of URBAN Green Up was also to provide practical knowledge in the implementation of these solutions, designing a specific method to renaturalise cities. This know-how has benefited not only the municipal technicians but also the city's business fabric. More than 90% of the companies that have implemented and executed solutions through the corresponding public tender processes (53 public contracts for works, services and supplies) are based in Valladolid, and a total of 90 direct jobs are estimated to have been created thanks to the implementation of the European project in the city.
Citizen participation and positioning
In addition to the technical interventions, 8 non-technical actions have been carried out, involving dissemination, publicity of the project and citizen participation actions.
Almost 4,000 people have taken part in the project's varied information dissemination, training and communication activities, including guided walks and routes that have provided citizens with an innovative vision of the commitment to urban transformation and sustainability in Valladolid.
URBAN Green Up has also put Valladolid on the map of cutting-edge solutions for urban renaturalization. Representatives from several cities, both in Spain and abroad, have visited its actions and received information and advice on its replication. Presentation of the city's experience has been requested at numerous national and international events and congresses. It has also been the subject of numerous studies, final degree and master's degree projects, etc.