The Mataró City Council (Maresme) has launched the Re-Natura project for the renaturalization and resilience of the city's peri-urban and urban spaces. With a global budget of 6,089,891 euros (VAT included), it is the most ambitious project to improve green infrastructure and biodiversity to be developed in Mataró since its expansion of the Central Park in 2000.
Of the six million euros that the Mataró City Council (Maresme) plans to invest, four will be financed by European Next Generation funds. Until December 2025, renaturalization actions will be carried out in the Sant Simó and Argentona streams, in the Central Park and Pollancreda Park, in 29 school playgrounds and in seven green areas, and the Green Infrastructure Master Plan of the city. All actions could begin in the second quarter of 2024.
Last June, the Biodiversity Foundation, of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, resolved the 2022 call for subsidies to promote actions aimed at the renaturalization and resilience of Spanish cities, granting the Mataró City Council project the maximum financial allocation among the 64 candidates presented. Thus, to implement the Re-Natura project, the City Council will receive aid worth 3,999,500 euros (without VAT) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed by Next GenerationEU European funds.
Actions of three types will be developed: type A consisting of the preparation of strategic documents; type B, which are actions on the ground; and type C, of a more transversal nature linked to participation, communication and the measurement and monitoring of indicators.
Thus, first of all, it is planned to draft the Mataró Green Infrastructure Master Plan, a strategic instrument that will give coherence to the initiatives that the city has been promoting to improve ecosystems and achieve healthier environments that respond to the impacts of the climate change. Furthermore, this Plan will be the roadmap for the actions proposed in this area for the coming years, being a fundamental instrument in the review of the General Planning Plan.
Six specific actions are proposed to strengthen the green infrastructure and improve biodiversity, the improvement and naturalization of the Sant Simó stream: among others, the removal of breakwaters and reeds, revegetation with native species and the improvement of connectivity are planned. with the urban plot.
The socio-environmental recovery of the Argentona stream will also be carried out, with the elimination of invasive species and the planting of trees and shrubs, ecological management and restoration of the road on the side for recreational uses, partial elimination of pavement on the shoulder of the Vía Sergia and implementation of natural filtering systems, incorporation of wildlife refuges and creation of an area of urban gardens near the Josep Tarradellas ring road.
Along the same lines, biodiversity and resilience will be improved in the Parc Central. In the area of the old enclosure, the most problematic tree species will be renewed, the soil will be renewed and the drainage of the complex will be improved, a naturalized pond is planned and wildlife refuges will be incorporated. In the new park, the poplar plantation will be replaced, a water garden will be created to manage runoff water, the grass will be replaced with natural grassland and new trees will be planted to create more shade and accompany the existing paths. The new tree and shrub plantations will be located at different points to increase density and also to improve children's play areas.
The restoration of the Pollancreda park and naturalization of the surroundings of the Roman Vil·la of Torre Llauder will also be carried out: planting of new trees and shrubs, incorporation of a biodiversity pond, incorporation of fauna refuges and improvement of permeability of the soil and the drainage of the adjacent parking lot with the partial removal of the asphalt.
Along the same lines, school playgrounds will be adapted as climate shelters and biodiversity educational spaces: action will be taken in 29 schools and institutes, making a participatory diagnosis of the needs for adaptation to climate change and the potential of each playground. With this part of the project, the City Council will comply with one of the proposals selected by citizens in the Participatory Budgets to be executed in the years 2023 and 2024. The incorporation of new trees and shrubs to generate shade, the improvement of drainage, the creation of school gardens and installation of composting machines and the incorporation of wildlife refuges.
The urban green areas will also adapt to the new parameters of biodiversity and climate change and improve the connecting function of the linear green: action will be taken in seven parks and squares, reinforcing the vegetation, improving the permeability and drainage of the soil and incorporating wildlife refuges. The actions are planned in the Cerdanyola park, the Catalunya square, the Occitània square, the Antonio Machado square, the Camí de la Serra park, the Palau park and the Llibertat park. It is also planned to replant 600 trees in different parts of the municipality.
The objectives of the Re-Natura project are in line with the Mataró Action Plan Urban Agenda 2030, which identified the renaturalization of the city as one of the strategic future projects to advance towards a more resilient and ecological city, also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. In this sense, Re-Natura's actions are also in accordance with the Mataró Climate Strategy and the Action Plan for Sustainable Energy and Climate.
