One of the most visible effects of the end of the confinement and of spending weeks without stepping on the streets was that of encountering a greener and more exuberant city, in which the nature he had scattered and occupied corners that had traditionally been forbidden to him. The vegetation has grown with unusual force and spontaneously this spring and the Barcelona’s town hall has decided, after checking the results, modify the current green management. The intention is gain up to 385 hectares of biodiversity spaces more naturalized and diverse that favors fauna and the growth of other species.
At the moment, the mowing frequency has already been lowered to promote the birth of local plants and of spontaneous generation and the development of vegetation in the tree pits will be favored. Now 1,300 of them are planted with “friendly flora” – small herbaceous species that help control tree pests – and the naturalization plan plans to expand them to 2,300 in three years. Tree pits located in streets close to green areas will be prioritized so that they function as connectors, and in places with less intensity of users.
Councilor for Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition, Eloi Badia, explains that it is also planned to transform the current traditional grass flower beds that cover many gardens into urban meadows or herbaceous fields. These have a greater height, between 15 and 25 centimeters, and in addition to serving as a habitat for many species of insects, they help to recover native vegetation.
Paseo Sant Joan. The bet that was made for spontaneous vegetation in this artery is now more visible
(Àlex Garcia)
The most visible measures
The City Council will trim trees less and cut the frequency of mowing
Currently, Barcelona has 255 hectares of biodiverse green and now it wants to reach 385, which represents going from 25 to 38%. The gardeners have identified 17 green areas of the first order, such as parks and 60 urban green spaces, such as roundabouts or public roads, where they understand that there is a possibility of implementing this naturalization. These spaces add 130 hectares of extension of the natural areas. The technicians consider that future management will favor plant mosaics and allow different green environments, will improve soil drainage and coverage, will increase connectivity between gardens and will also make it possible to transform ponds so that aquatic fauna can live in them.
Marga Parés, the municipal technique that is facing the strategy of naturalizing the city, ensures that the most visible change in the coming months will be the increase in herbaceous species in parks and gardens. “This will not mean that they occupy all the space, there will be a selective mowing at the beginning of the flower beds so that they do not disturb”, he clarifies. He adds that it will also be noted that the trees will be less pruned and at other times. This will allow greater diversity of bushes in the streets and they will also be allowed to flourish to guarantee the feeding of the fauna.
In parallel, biodiversity shelters will be created in the Ciutadella park, in Diagonal Mar, in the Sagrada Família square and in the Gaudí square, which will join the five already existing in the city, in the Joan Miró park , in the Jardins de Valent Petit, in the Fàbrica de Ca l’Alier, in the Plaça de les Glòries and in the gardens of the Doctor Pla i Armengol. Another of the issues on which the City Council works is to enable a nesting architecture project to prevent interventions in buildings that may affect or destroy nests or refuges of protected species.
Vegetation on public roads
The tree pits of the low-traffic streets will be covered with “friendly flora”
These actions that have already begun to work do not imply that the historic gardens or green areas will from now on undergo less maintenance. This will continue, but it will change the way of managing other landscaped spaces in the city. From now on, ecological processes will be favored, the spontaneous entry of flora and fauna, without losing aesthetic quality. The City Council understands that the Covid-19 health emergency has shown a more lush biodiversity than ever seen after weeks of little or no use of Barcelona’s natural spaces. At the same time, what the gardens and green areas represent for the health of the people of Barcelona has gained special relevance.
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