Last updated: September 2024
The Parque Lineal de Crespo in Cartagena, Colombia, is an urban green space built in 2016-2017 that had fallen into neglect (ref 4) and recently has undergone revitalization initiatives (ref 2). Announced in January 2024 by the Mayor of Cartagena, Dumek Turbay Paz, the project aims to reclaim and enhance this public park as a hub for recreation and community activities, fostering urban well-being and environmental stewardship (ref 2 and 3). The local government spearheads the intervention, and the Instituto Distrital de Deporte y Recreación (IDER) has been tasked with the park's management, ensuring its upkeep and the development of activities. The project was launched following an inspection by the Mayor and other local officials, who underscored the need for better infrastructure, safety, lighting, and green coverage through tree planting (ref 2 and 3). The primary objectives of the Parque Lineal de Crespo project include revitalising the park through enhanced maintenance, security, and the introduction of recreational and sports facilities. The project also aims to relocate weekend recreational activities, such as a popular bike path (ciclovía), from the congested Avenida Santander to the park, thereby reducing traffic disruptions and enhancing safety (ref 2 and 3). The park is relevant for the city because it combats coastal erosion caused by the rising Caribbean waters (Ref 1). The Park aims to be an icon of culture and recreation (ref 1). The project inspired a neighbours initiative, the Friends of the Crespo Linear Park, are a non-profit organization whose objective is to collaborate in the conservation of the Park by contributing awareness initiatives to the population, alerting authorities, and developing new ways to interact with the environment, such as guided bird watching activities and sports (ref 1).
Picture of a green area in the park
https://grupoverdeltda.com/portfolio/parque-lineal-malecon-de-crespo/#iLightbox[gallery1822]/19
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastlines
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Environmental education
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Coastal hazards (e.g. erosion, flooding)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community
Focus
Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks)
Project objectives
- Green space availability: Revitalize and maintain the park as a sustainable and vibrant urban green space (ref 1 and 2)
- Combat Coastal Erosion: The park was constructed to help mitigate the effects of climate change and to curb coastal erosion caused by the rising waters of the Caribbean Sea (ref 1)
- Promoting Recreation and Public Health: By offering a safe and well-maintained area for recreational activities, such as sports and weekend events, the park aims to improve public health and provide a space for community engagement( ref 2 and 3)
- Enhancing Environmental Awareness and Education: The park is intended to serve as an educational center where the community can learn about protecting the coastal ecosystem and the importance of environmental stewardship (ref 1).
- Fostering Social Cohesion and Cultural Identity: By integrating social and cultural activities, the park aims to become a hub for cultural expression and social interaction (ref 1 and 2).
Implementation activities
- provide maintenance by the program Cartagena "pulmon verde": The daily maintenance is carried out by two gardeners who perform tasks such as scything, watering, weeding, applying phytosanitary treatments, fertilizing, sweeping both hard and green areas, as well as planting ornamental species (ref 6).
- the City Administration is starting to restore it, providing the best conditions in terms of security, cleanliness, lighting, and planting (trees and vegetation) (ref 2).
- relocating activities such as the ciclovía (on Sundays in Colombia, some of the main streets get closed so they can be used by bicycles, people running, walking, and other recreational activities) from congested roads to the park, the project seeks to enhance traffic safety (ref 3 and 5).
- The Mayor's Office of Cartagena and IDER are developing their strategies, Actívate en el Parque and Actívate Rodando, Actívate en el Parque is a strategy that aims to create spaces for children and adolescents with recreational activities, games, face painting, and crafts, and many more activities for the enjoyment and fun of family leisure time, for skating enthusiasts in Cartagena, Actívate Rodando is a strategy that seeks to promote healthy lifestyle habits in a fun way for adults, youth, boys, and girls.
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Managed retreat / realignment: allowing landward migration of coastal habitats
- Protect and restore coastal ecosystems, to address loss of land and livelihoods, due to rising sea levels
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Public sector institution
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Cartagena's mayor, Dumek Turbay Paz, announced this Thursday that the District Administration, as a demonstration of a new commitment fulfilled by the ‘United to Advance’ government, will now take on the recovery, cleaning, surveillance, and necessary maintenance of the Crespo Linear Park, which will be under the responsibility of the District Institute of Sports and Recreation (IDER) (ref 2).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The Cartagena Green Lung Program: an initiative by Acuacar to support the enhancement of the city's landscape and improve the overall environmental quality. This initiative is supported by the production of seedlings from the forest nursery located at the ETAP El Bosque, which was originally created to meet the company's own needs for improving its facilities (pumping stations, EBAC, treatment plant, and offices). Once this phase was completed, the forest nursery continued its production to support the recovery activities of parks and green areas in the city, led by community groups and educational institutions. Acuacar is Aguas de Cartagena S.A. E.S.P., a mixed public services company that provides water and sewerage services to the city (ref 9).)
Type of enablers
City network or regional partnerships focused on climate change, sustainability, GI or NBS in the city
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
- Achieved storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
- Water management and blue areas
- Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Achieved enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Achieved reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Achieved increased knowledge of locals about local nature
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
Unknown
References
1.
ASOPARCRESPO (2022). PARQUE LINEAL DE CRESPO. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Cartagena Mayor's Office (2024). Terminó el abandono del Parque Lineal de Crespo: alcalde Dumek Turbay anuncia que su gobierno asume su recuperación y mantenimiento. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
3.
El Universal (2024). El nuevo escenario recreativo: Distrito anuncia mejoras en Parque Lineal de Crespo. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Grupo Verde (n.d.). Parque Lineal de Crespo. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Cartagena Mayor's Office (2023). Ciclovía de Cartagena se traslada al Parque Lineal de Crespo. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Acuacar (n.d.). Parque Lineal de Crespo. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
7.
IDER – Instituto Distrital de Deporte y Recreación Cartagena (2024). Parque Lineal de Crespo: punto de encuentro para la recreación. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
8.
https://cartagenadeindias.online/ (n.d.). Crespo. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Acuacar (n.d.). Cartagena pulmón verde. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Caracol Radio (2023). Parque Lineal de Crespo sigue esperando un doliente de “tiempo completo”. Accessed on August 23, 2024, [Source link];
aerial picture of the park
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=830585438521698&set=a.756489899264586&locale=es_LA
bicycle activity in the park
https://grupoverdeltda.com/portfolio/parque-lineal-malecon-de-crespo/#iLightbox[gallery1822]/11
picture of the park
https://grupoverdeltda.com/portfolio/parque-lineal-malecon-de-crespo/#iLightbox[gallery1822]/10
picture of the park
https://grupoverdeltda.com/portfolio/parque-lineal-malecon-de-crespo/#iLightbox[gallery1822]/3
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.