Last updated: October 2021
The Gran Recorrido de Bilbao (GR), known as the Green Ring or Great Route of Bilbao, is a part of Bilbao’s Green Belt, a municipal initiative that encompasses forest and urban parks surrounding the city. The Green Route aims to skirt the City passing through the forest parks of Artxanda, the mountain of Avril, Arnotegi, Pagasarri, and Arraiz. It completes a route of 99.3 kilometers in a closed belt of trails, paths, roads and streets signposted with references to routes, interesting places, and general information. The Green Route is reachable from the center of Bilbao through eleven additional routes that all lead to a central point. [3][4]
Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fes.wikiloc.com%2Frutas-senderismo%2Fanillo-verde-de-bilbao-zona-de-artxanda-2385942%2Fphoto-917143&psig=AOvVaw3S-8WJYH8tX1j2e78gwBf-&ust=1602882058522000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOD294-_t-wCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Green corridors and green belts
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate change mitigation
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Regulation of built environment
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature
Project objectives
The Great Route (GR) links the municipal forest parks with the urban parks in Bilbao. The path of the GR of Bilbao circles the urban nucleus and the five forest parks, and completes a 74 kilometer closed ring between paths, roads and streets marked with references routes, places of interest and general information. The GR provides access to a total green area of 1,225 hectares. 200 hectares of park area are distributed among 21 urban parks, and 1,025 hectares of forest areas are divided into 5 forested areas (Artxanda, Monte Avril, Arnotegi, Pagasarri and Arraiz). [2][4]
According to the Municipality of Bilbao, their goals for Great Route are:
- to expand and connect the city's green areas [1]
- to group together existing municipal forest parks on both sides of Bilbao with urban parks [2]
- to create a network linking the peripheral green belt with urban parks and other green areas inside the city [1]
- to improve resilience to climate change through carbon sequestration and local climate regulation [1]
- to increase water infiltration and reduce run-off [1]
- to provide space for recreation [3,4]
- to increase citizen well-being with accessibility to green space [1,3,4]
Implementation activities
The City has planted 18,500 trees, mostly native, such as birch trees, oak trees, beech and ash, and also some foreign species such as lime trees or American oak. It has already led to 1 million extra square metres of green areas in Bilbao in the past decade. [1]
In order to enhance the leisure aspect of these areas, the City Council of Bilbao has created new areas of recreation and play, from having 27 hectares in 2006 to the 134 hectares that are maintained, distributed in 18 spaces. The City Council has also promoted the GR as a venue to host outdoor sports events, such as mountain marathons [3]
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Great Route (GR) is a City Council initiative. The local government has been gradually increasing the green areas of Bilbao, an especially significant effort, where, in 1999, it had been 6 square meters person to 24 square meters per person in 2011. [4]
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The Bilbao green belt is a city council led project. It is mentioned in their Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for 2020. Within the SEAP, Bilbao developed measures in the following six areas: energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, waste, water, and green zones. The document emphasizes mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving the level of efficacy of technical networks and construction systems, this included the improvement of green infrastructure i.e. the green belt. The city's Master Plan, expected to be approved in 2018, also included priorities related to smart and creative urban planning and climate change. The green belt has a role in both of these priorities. [1][5][6] )
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- EU funds
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Water management and blue areas
- Increased protection against flooding
- Improved stormwater management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
Economic impacts
- More sustainable tourism
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
[1] OPPLA. (n.d.). Bilbao - NBS for dealing with extreme temperature and rainfall events. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 11 October 2020].
[2] Bilbao City Council. (n.d.). Green Ring of Bilbao - The Great Tour of Bilbao (GR 228). Bilbao Council's Website. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 11 October 2020].
[3] InfoBilbao. (2010). Number LXII (August 2010) [Document provided].
[4] InfoBilbao. (2011). Número LXIX (Agosto 2011) [Document provided].
[5] Cascade: Cities Exchanging on Local Energy Leadership. (2012). City Profile of Bilbao. [Document provided].
[6] RAMSES. (2015). WP 2: Taxonomy of architecture and infrastructure indicators. RAMSES Project. [Document provided].
[7] Elmqvist, T., Setälä, H., Handel, S.N., Van Der Ploeg, S., Aronson, J., Blignaut, J.N., Gomez-Baggethun, E., Nowak, D.J., Kronenberg, J. and De Groot, R. (2015). Benefits of restoring ecosystem services in urban areas. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 14, Source link.
[8] Wikineos. (2020). Anillo Verde de Bilbao. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[9] Mejias, N. (2020). ¿Dónde hacer turismo en Bilbao?: las propuestas de ocio del Ayuntamiento para toda la familia Eldesmarque. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[10] Europa Press. (2020). El Ayuntamiento propone rutas por el Anillo Verde de Bilbao y pide "responsabilidad" para evitar aglomeraciones. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[11] Bilbao Turismo. (2020). ANILLO VERDE DE BILBAO. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[2] Bilbao City Council. (n.d.). Green Ring of Bilbao - The Great Tour of Bilbao (GR 228). Bilbao Council's Website. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 11 October 2020].
[3] InfoBilbao. (2010). Number LXII (August 2010) [Document provided].
[4] InfoBilbao. (2011). Número LXIX (Agosto 2011) [Document provided].
[5] Cascade: Cities Exchanging on Local Energy Leadership. (2012). City Profile of Bilbao. [Document provided].
[6] RAMSES. (2015). WP 2: Taxonomy of architecture and infrastructure indicators. RAMSES Project. [Document provided].
[7] Elmqvist, T., Setälä, H., Handel, S.N., Van Der Ploeg, S., Aronson, J., Blignaut, J.N., Gomez-Baggethun, E., Nowak, D.J., Kronenberg, J. and De Groot, R. (2015). Benefits of restoring ecosystem services in urban areas. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 14, Source link.
[8] Wikineos. (2020). Anillo Verde de Bilbao. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[9] Mejias, N. (2020). ¿Dónde hacer turismo en Bilbao?: las propuestas de ocio del Ayuntamiento para toda la familia Eldesmarque. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[10] Europa Press. (2020). El Ayuntamiento propone rutas por el Anillo Verde de Bilbao y pide "responsabilidad" para evitar aglomeraciones. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
[11] Bilbao Turismo. (2020). ANILLO VERDE DE BILBAO. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 15 October 2020].
Source: Ref. 8
Source: Ref. 11