Valladolid is a Spanish city with roughly 300 000 inhabitants. It is located in the Northwest part of Spain and is the capital of the autonomous region of Castilla and Leon, the biggest region in Europe. The city has a continental Mediterranean climate and is situated in a valley crossed by the Pisuerga and Esgueva Rivers.
Valladolid is home to several museums, historic palaces and churches and to one of the oldest universities in the world. The city is well connected to the rest of the country through high-speed trains and a number of highways. The local economy is mainly based on the tertiary and industrial sectors.
Valladolid started developing green infrastructures to tackle problems such as high levels of disconnection among green areas, heat island effect, poor air quality and flooding caused by the Esgueva River. The ultimate goal is to mitigate the impact of environmental changes on the city. In the framework of URBAN GreenUP, Valladolid will adopt the “Sustainable Urban Development Strategy” by augmenting the connections between the city’s green areas. More specifically, the interventions are grouped according to four classes:
- Re-naturing urbanization
- New green cycle lane and re-naturing existing bike lanes.
- Planting of trees and creation of shady and cooling places
- Installation of three green resting areas
- Carbon sink via the installation of urban woodland
- Water interventions
- Installation of sustainable drainage systems to treat and manage water runoff affecting green bike lanes, re-naturing parking and rain gardens
- Installation of a floodable park to absorb flooding waters from the Esgueva River
- Water treatment and irrigation via the installation of green filter areas and a natural treatment plant
- Replacement of asphalt parking pavements with green ones
- Singular green infrastructure
- Installation of threecycle-pedestrian green paths areas
- Design and installation of various kinds of pollinators
- Smart soils for various interventions, such as cycle-pedestrian green paths, pollinators and green shady structures
- Vertical and horizontal green infrastructures, such as noise barriers, green facades and roofs
- Pollutants filter
- Urban farming
- Non technical interventions
- Educational, engagement and awarenessactivities for citizens
- Support to the management of re-naturing processes and to green projects developed by citizens