Project type              Mobility and Transport

Partnership 

Lead partner: Barcelona Metropolitan Area

Thessaloniki – Greece

Métropole du Grand Paris – France

Kraków Metropolis Association – Poland

Amsterdam Region – Netherlands

Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area – Poland

Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP) – Portugal

Greater Manchester

Funding                     EU URBACT program

Start date                  2019- 2022 (closed)

Website 

Urbact-Riconnect

AMB international-projects-Riconnect

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The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) lead the RiConnect project, an URBACT programme Action Planning Network co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

The URBACT Action Planning Networks are aimed at helping Europe’s cities and metropolises find solutions to their common urban challenges by improving local policies and capacities to design integrated action plans for sustainable urban development.

RiConnect is a network of 8 metropolises led by the AMB to rethink, transform, and integrate mobility infrastructures to reconnect people, neighborhoods, cities, and natural areas. We will develop urban strategies and planning processes, instruments, and partnerships to foster public transport and active mobility, reduce externalities and social segregation and unblock opportunities for urban regeneration. Our long-term vision is a more sustainable, equitable, and attractive metropolis.

Locally this methodology has been applied to the IAP Avinguda del Vallès, it is aimed at transforming a 6.5-kilometer stretch of the N-150 trunk road into a new civic, green and commercial corridor, with strong public transport links. This road is part of the new metropolitan avenues network established by the new Metropolitan Urban Master Plan initially approved in March 2023

The Action Planning Network is being developed in two phases:

PHASE 1: 6 months. 2 September 2019 – 2 March 2020.

PHASE 2: 27 months (currently underway) May 2020 – August 2022.

As part of the project, the 8 metropolises have developed different action plans to transform specific challenging urban areas in their territories. The AMB case has focused on Vallès Avenue. This project aims to redesign a 6.5-kilometer stretch of the N-150 trunk road between Montcada i Reixac, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Ripollet and Barberà del Vallès as a new civic, green and commercial corridor, with strong public transport links. The project has therefore undertaken an exhaustive participation process, in which citizens and institutions have co-created both the diagnosis of the site and the proposal of the actions to be carried out.

The Avinguda del Vallès project has been drawn up with the participation of the general public, institutions and stakeholders in the territory. During the process, eight co-creation sessions were held along with another three sessions with elected representatives from all the municipalities. Two festive public events also took place to make the proposed change visible and gather opinions.

This process has enabled a rethinking of a better future for this section of the N-150 road, as well as the development of a test bed for future “metropolitan avenues” – a key concept in the future Metropolitan Urban Master Plan for Barcelona.

The URBACT methodology has established successful dynamics for citizens’ participation and institutional collaboration, which are all key to implementing the Metropolitan Urban Master Plan and achieving a more connected and liveable metropolis.

Following this methodology, the Avinguda del Vallès project has been drawn up with the participation of the general public, institutions, and stakeholders in the territory. The process was managed by two main groups: the core group, the co-creation group, and the commitment group. Each one has different responsibilities and degrees of involvement in the development of the IAP.

The core group was made up of the ULG coordinators (the AMB team) and a representative of each authority involved (5 specialists). This group defined the guidelines for the co-creation process, designed the participation sessions, provided technical support and information, and worked on the communication project. This group attended all the ULG meetings.

Finally, the commitment group was responsible for making the implementation of the IAP feasible. It was made up of the heads of department of the government bodies involved and/or the political representatives, as they are those responsible for making the proposals possible.

During the process has been organised an online survey with 1500 responses, eight co-creation sessions were held along with another three sessions with elected representatives from all the municipalities. Two festive public events also took place to make the proposed change visible and gather opinions. The objective was to involve the maximum spectrum of stakeholders. At the end, more than 2000 interventions have been taken into consideration.

8 integrated action plans were generated:

• Avinguda del Vallès Humanizing the N150 road in Barberà del Vallès, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Montcada i Reixac and Ripollet
• INTEGRATED MOBILITY SOLUTIONS FOR HEL PENINSULA
• Skawina, Poland
• STATION LELYLAAN: FROM TRAVELLING POINT TO VIBRANT PUBLIC SPACE
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• ENHANCING THE ENTRANCE TO THE METROPOLITAN AREA, Livry-Gargan, France
• ARRANHA: Areosa and Ranha, municipalities of Porto, Gondomar and Maia, Portugal, Porto Metropolitan Area
• FROM CAMP TO PARK, Thessaloniki, Greece