Last week we attended the Forum of Cities with Sustainable Environmental Solutions as an emblem that was held at IFEMA. During the three days we had the opportunity to soak up the latest trends, the progress of very interesting projects and listen to how the citizen’s will can transform our realities.
The forum helped us to reaffirm and consolidate the paths of development that we propose, endorsed by personalities such as Joan Clos, who is clear that investment must be made in public space since “it has a positive impact on private value”. The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), for its part, emphasized that “sustainability policies have to reach the small municipalities”, while the non-profit Sustainability and Architecture Association (ASA) assured that “multilevel governance must be exploited in this whirlwind ordered that we call a city.
Other points of view also emerged, such as the one presented by Climate KIC “we must see Climate Change as an opportunity to innovate and undertake ”; from the Spanish Green Growth Forum they highlighted the needs and opportunities that are needed: “clear and long-term laws to attract investors. Billions are needed for a change of model. Europe can be a green financial hub and take advantage of the opportunities”.
From this vision, a conclusion can be drawn that was summarized by Paco Las Heras from the Spanish Office for Climate Change when he said that: “Green infrastructure is not a cost, it is an investment”, a thought that was also joined by the rest of the speakers such as the representatives of the Madrid City Council “we must stop thinking about equipment (trees as street furniture) and think about infrastructure”.
Interesting projects like the one in Vienna where 50% of the city is a green space; the example of Philadelphia, which has made an effort to transform 34% of the impermeable surface into permeable; the Plan A for Madrid with its firm commitment to green infrastructure; the naturalization of the Lugo Business Park; or Zaragoza’s commitment to protect its natural spaces overwhelmed us with the vivacity of these new cities that are beginning to be glimpsed on a not-so-distant horizon.
We are becoming more and more demanding with our city and we understand that the entire urban fabric is capable of being transformed. Transformation that must be undertaken with a view to building a city, with the common good as the starting point for democracy, nature as a structural element and decarbonisation as one of the most immediate objectives to be achieved.