Natural growth in the city’s green spaces to favour biodiversity

A total of 130 hectares of urban greenery is to be made more natural to foster a model which is healthier and more respectful towards biodiversity. The intention is to let vegetation grow naturally, to prioritise leafy species with more social and environmental value and to protect urban flora and fauna.

05/06/2020 16:47 h

Ajuntament de Barcelona

The idea behind making the city’s green spaces more natural is to create the conditions for vegetation to spread spontaneously, as has been the case during lockdown, and to move forward in the fight against the effects of the climate emergency.

Environmental and health benefits

  • Greater physical and emotional well-being for people.
  • Improved air quality.
  • Regulation of environmental temperatures.
  • More areas with shade.
  • More pleasant space for socialising in.
  • More attractive landscapes.

What action is planned?

  • A total of 17 parks and important green spaces to boost the growth of vegetation and protection of biodiversity. Work also to be done at sixty road spaces with low pedestrian use, such as roundabouts.
  • Listing and regulation of areas of natural interest, where the Mediterranean ecosystem predominates, to care for them and give them special protection. These include areas in Montjuïc, Tres Turons and the sun-facing side of Collserola.
  • Less frequent mowing, to transform traditional lawns and grass in parks and urban meadows into grasslands or flower meadows with a greater environmental and visual impact.
  • A thousand more tree beds, to reach 2,300 in two years, helping with the spread of wild flowers which have pollinating effects and attract fauna which is beneficial for the control of pest infestations in trees.
  • New biodiversity shelters to be created in the parks of Ciutadella and Diagonal Mar, in Plaça de la Sagrada Família and at the pond in Plaça de Gaudí to protect the flora of ponds, essential for the fauna that lives there.
  • Guide with recommendations to integrate nesting spaces and shelter for birds in renovation and new-build projects. Birds need to be protected as part of the city’s natural heritage and they play a key role in controlling insect populations.

The process to make the city more natural will get a boost with the creation of a further 40 hectares of greenery, with improved quality and the promotion of co-managed spaces.

 

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