Last updated: September 2024
Historically, the area of San Paolo in Cagliari has suffered from environmental degradation and illegal dumping, making it an unsightly entrance to the city. In 2022, the Città Metropolitana di Cagliari, initiated a project to transform this degraded area into a urban park featuring 7,000 new plants, including olive trees, junipers, lentisks, myrtle, rosemary, tamarisks, and Aleppo pines. Managed by the municiplaity of Cagliari, and funded by a €500,000 grant from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, this initiative will cover 4.7 hectares between Via San Paolo and the Santa Gilla Lagoon, creating a natural corridor connecting the city to the lagoon. The project aims not only to restore the land but also to enhance both metropolitan and municipal environmental requalification plans. A multidisciplinary team, including a forestry technician, agronomist, and biologist, developed the project to ensure it is environmentally sustainable and suited to the local ecosystem. The work on the project began in June of 2022 with land preparation, removal of invasive species, and waste collection, resulting in the clearing of over 5 tons of rubbish. By December, around 3,000 plants had already been planted, with the remaining work, including the installation of an irrigation system, scheduled for completion by January 2023. The selected plant species are fast-growing, and within two years, the shrubs are expected to reach a height of about two meters. The park is planned to open to the public in 2024, providing a new green space for walking and outdoor activities. The San Paolo urban park project has encountered obstacles, mainly due to the expropriation of buildings, leading to legal disputes, permit delays, and a temporary halt caused by a tender-related issue. The site is currently overgrown and unused, showing clear signs of neglect. (Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
New trees planted in the San Paolo area.
Neri, Ennio. 2022. “Svolta Green a Cagliari, Foresta Urbana E Nuovo Ponte Tra via San Paolo E La Laguna Di Santa Gilla - Casteddu on Line.” Casteddu on Line. December 28, 2022. https://www.castedduonline.it/svolta-green-a-cagliari-foresta-urbana-e-nuovo-ponte-tra-via-san-paolo-e-la-laguna-di-santa-gilla/.
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Green corridors and green belts
Key challenges
- Environmental quality
- Waste management
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Sense of community and community engagement
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Environmental Degradation
- Invasive alien species
- Deforestation and forest degradation
- Soil degradation and loss
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Limited economic opportunities and local livelihoods
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
Key priorities
Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of green corridors (including connectivity between urban and rural ecosystems), Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Remediation activities of sites with very poor environmental quality, Protection of natural ecosystems, Habitat restoration, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Transformation of vacant land into green spaces
Project objectives
1. To transform a neglected, degraded space into an urban park and a valuable community and environmental asset
2. By planting native trees and shrubs, the project seeks to create a green corridor connecting the city to the Santa Gilla Lagoon, enhancing the area's ecological health and aesthetic appeal. Fast-growing native species have been chosen to ensure that the park becomes a green oasis quickly, benefiting residents sooner.
3. To make the park accessible to the community, providing a space for walking and outdoor activities.
4. To improve the area's environmental quality and address waste management challenges by removing invasive species and over 5 tons of waste (Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Implementation activities
The "Green Promenade for Cagliari’s Seafront" project began with the involvement of a multidisciplinary team that included a forestry technician, agronomist, and biologist to guide the development process. Initiated in June 2022, the first steps involved preparing the land through the removal of invasive species and waste. By early December, the planting phase was underway, with approximately 3,000 plants already in place.
A total of 581 plants, including wild olive, Phoenician juniper, mastic, yarrow, broom, myrtle, and rosemary, were planted. In addition, 819 fast-growing Aleppo pines were introduced to provide shade, while areas near roads with higher pollutant levels were reforested with 2,114 tamarisk trees. The installation of an irrigation system, essential for sustaining the greenery, was completed by January 2023.
The final phase of the project will see the development of an accessible urban park with walkways and spaces for outdoor activities, making it a valuable green space for the community. Over 16 workers are expected to maintain the park's efficiency and long-term sustainability (Refs. 1, 2, 3 & 4).
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore native species
- Clear and control invasive alien species
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
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)
- Taskforce groups
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The main actors of the San Paolo area project in Cagliari include:
1. Città Metropolitana di Cagliari: The metropolitan city government, responsible for overseeing the project's implementation and ensuring its alignment with broader urban planning and environmental goals.
2. Ministero della Transizione Ecologica: The Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition, which provided a significant portion of the funding for the project, ensuring its focus on environmental sustainability.
3. Multidisciplinary Team of Professionals working on behalf of the municipality: This team includes a forest technician, an agronomist, and a biologist, who collectively provided the expertise needed to design and implement the project's various environmental and ecological aspects (Refs. 1, 2 & 4).
Funding: the project was co-funded by the Italian government (13)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Public national budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Achieved improved waste management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
- Improved prevention or control of invasive alien species
- Expected improved prevention or control of invasive alien species
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Achieved increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Expected increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Attraction of business and investment
- Expected attraction of business and investment
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Expected improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Expected improved access to urban green space
- Safety
- Increased perception of safety
- Expected increased perception of safety
Type of reported 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
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Other
References
1.
Città Metropolitana di Cagliari (2022). Cagliari, al via la forestazione dell’area San Paolo: in arrivo 7 mila nuove piante. Cagliari: Città Metropolitana di Cagliari, Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Agenzia Nova (2023). Sardegna: al via la forestazione dell’area San Paolo di Cagliari. Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Neri, E (2022). Svolta green a Cagliari, foresta urbana e nuovo ponte tra via San Paolo e la laguna di Santa Gilla. Casteddu Online, Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Norfo, J (2022). Cagliari, un grande parco urbano a San Paolo: in arrivo 7mila nuove piante nel nuovo polmone verde della città. Casteddu Online, Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Cagliaripad (2022). Cagliari, l’area di San Paolo diventerà il “polmone verde” della città. Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Sardegna Live (2023). Cagliari, con il vincolo espropriativo il nuovo parco di via San Paolo sarà più grande. Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Neri, E (2020). Cagliari, via al “Parco San Paolo” a Sant’Avendrace: orti, giardini e 16 posti di lavoro. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Tutela Espropri (n.d.). Espropri area San Paolo a Cagliari. Come difendersi?. Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Unione Sarda (2024). Cagliari, via San Paolo: la storia (e la vergogna) del parco mai nato. Accessed on August 22, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Rapeanu, P (n.d.). Cagliari, le ruspe abbattono la baraccopoli di via San Paolo: sgomberato dopo anni il campo nomadi abusivo. Casteddu Online, Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
11.
Neri, E (2023). Cagliari, addio a discariche e abitazioni abusive in via San Paolo: ruspe in arrivo al campo nomadi. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
12.
Comune di Cagliari (2022). Atlante Demografico di Cagliarari 2022. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
13.
Italian Government (n.d.). PNRR: rivoluzione verde e transizione ecologica. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
Workers planting the new plants needed to restore the degradedarea of Via San Paolo
Jacopo Norfo. 2022. “Cagliari, Un Grande Parco Urbano a San Paolo: In Arrivo 7mila Nuove Piante Nel Nuovo Polmone Verde Della Città - Casteddu on Line.” Casteddu on Line. December 28, 2022. https://www.castedduonline.it/cagliari-un-grande-parco-urbano-a-san-paolo-in-arrivo-7mila-nuove-piante-nel-nuovo-polmone-verde-della-citta/.
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.