MADRID PLANS A GREENER CITY
16 Dec 2015
A series of new guidelines that address climate change in Madrid aim to redress the urban environment through nature-based solutions to improve urban living.
Arup’s Foresight + Research + Innovation, Madrid Sustainability and Master Planning, and Landscape Architecture teams have released Madrid + Natural, a series of guidelines to address climate change within the city.
The forward-thinking report seeks to provide “multiple nature-based solutions to regulate Madrid’s urban environment and respond to problems like pollution, increased heavy storm events, drought, periods of abnormally hot temperatures, and local biodiversity loss.”
Some highlights of the piece include a discussion of the importance of green urban infrastructure as a way to protect buildings from thermal fluctuations and extreme weather, as well as how the city can adapt existing infrastructure to reduce its carbon footprint, through green open areas and retrofitting unused social infrastructure.
The installation of such green spaces, according to the report, can also be linked to improved social cohesion, healthier lifestyles, and “an increased sense of community belonging.”
