Project type                             Climate shelter’s network project

Partners                                    Paisaje Transversal, Diputació de Barcelona

Beneficiaries                            Malgrat de Mar municipality

Dates                                          2024 – Ongoing

Website                                     Bioclimatic network project (in Spanish)

This project covers the idea of shelter in a scenario where not only the impact of temperatures on humans is resolved but also addresses this ecosystemic vision.

One of the first cases of its application and formulation has been established in Malgrat de Mar, a city that, in recent years, has made a strong effort through innovative interventions for adaptation to climate change, with naturalization and urban green projects, rain gardens or interventions to promote and care for the biodiversity of its territory, among others. There, Paisaje Transversal, and with the help of the Barcelona Provincial Council, we have had the opportunity to establish a study for the future creation of a network of bioclimatic shelters for the municipality.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the study does not stop at these but defines design criteria to improve the quality of urban green spaces and thermal regulation to combat the heat island effect, improve ecological connectivity and provide ecosystem value to the urban fabric. This work also serves to generate a conceptual and strategic framework to organize and prioritize interventions in the urban environment of the municipality.
Specifically, the project covers the following steps or objectives to follow to implement the shelter network:

1. Define a conceptual framework
2. Characterize bioclimatic shelters
3. Analyse urban vulnerabilities
4. Identify existing and potential bioclimatic shelters
5. Analyse accessibility to bioclimatic shelters
6. Establish a strategic vision at an environmental level for the municipality

• Reducing heat stress in urban areas: creating spaces that mitigate extreme heat, especially in vulnerable areas, and improving thermal comfort for the population, prioritizing the most sensitive groups (elderly people, children and groups with fewer resources).
• Increasing biodiversity and ecological connectivity: Promoting habitats for local flora and fauna and creating ecological corridors that connect existing natural spaces with urban areas, promoting the presence of native species.
• Adaptation to climate change: increasing urban resilience to high temperatures and extreme events, aligning with global environmental objectives and improving green infrastructure, such as the implementation of low-water consumption vegetation and draining pavements.
• Social cohesion and urban equity: creating accessible, inclusive and safe spaces for different social groups and reducing urban inequalities by prioritizing interventions in areas with greater socio-economic, environmental and spatial vulnerabilities.