Lisboa, Lisboa (FUA), Portugal
City population: 2679729
Duration: 2011 – 2012
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 1440 m2
Type of area: Residential, Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: October 2021

In 2011 the Municipality of Lisbon promoted a project for urban gardens in the Horticultural Park of Telheiras (Ref.4). The park is an allotment garden with the objective of supporting the urban agricultural practice for its own consumption. The residents of the locality had the possibility of renting at a symbolic price, one of the plots made available by the municipality (ref.5). Beyond the provision of plots, the Council also provides fences, shelters for storage, water irrigation, training and technical support (ref. 1).

Telheiras Horticultural park
Telheiras Horticultural park
Source: http://vivertelheiras.pt/parceiros/parque-horticola-de-telheiras/

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Allotments
  • Community gardens

Key challenges

  • Water management (SDG 6)
  • Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Soil quality improvement
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Inclusive governance
  • Effective management
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Economic development: agriculture
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  • Sustainable consumption
  • Sustainable production

Focus

Creation of new green areas

Project objectives

1)Encourage recreation and a healthy lifestyle, outdoors, assuming itself as an alternative of occupying leisure time and an opportunity for the young to acquire new skills. 2)allow the development of environmental awareness through the learning and application of good agricultural practices. 3)the interaction and sharing of knowledge in the cultivation of the gardens reinforce the social relations of neighbourhood among the users. 4)promote the ecological balance of the territory, where, as is the case, good agricultural practices apply to them. 5)protect biodiversity and ecosystems, increase soil fertility and drainage. 6)contribute to the maintenance of humidity, the reduction of temperature and the release of oxygen, thus reducing the environmental impact of excessive population pressure. (ref.3) 7)added value of being cultivated and shared by several people, they will become green spaces, within the city, capable of promoting greater local social cohesion (ref.6)

Implementation activities

The municipality in 2012 opened a public bidding for the plots. Beyond the provision of plots, the Council also provided the seals, shelters for storage, water irrigation, training and technical support. (1)

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
  • Other

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The initiative is of the City Council of Lisbon and the company Vitacress and aims to boost the urban agricultural practice for its own consumption. Vitacress, a company linked to the production and marketing of fresh vegetables, has joined this initiative, with the aim of reinforcing the commitment to promote a healthy and nutritious diet Residents of the locality now have the possibility of renting, at a symbolic price, one of the plots made available by the Chamber (ref.5) The fields are allocated through Public Tender (ref.3)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (The NBS is part of EU's COST Action TU1201 (Urban Allotment Gardens in EU) (9))
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (The horticultural plots are present in the Lisboa New Master Development Plan (ref.7) Local Action Plan for Biodiversity in Lisbon (ref.8))

Financing

Total cost

Not applicable

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution
  • Provision of land
  • Provision of goods
  • Provision of labour
  • Provision of expertise
  • Other
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
  • Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
  • Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Environmental quality
  • Improved soil quality
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
  • Improved liveability
  • Increased access to healthy/affordable food
  • Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

(1) ConnectingNature (no date), Lisbon: Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Enhancing Resilience through Urban Regeneration, Available at Source link (Accessed 21-6-2020).

(2) Sítio da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa: Municipal Horticulture Parks (Website not available in 2020)

(3)Viver Telheiras (no date), Parque Hortícola de Telheiras, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020).

(4) Viver Telheiras (no date), Parque Hortícola de Telheiras, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020).

(5) Vida Rural (2012), Lisboa tem nova horta urbana, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

(6) Pravda (2013), Parque Hortícola de Telheiras, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

(7) ConnectingNature (no date), Lisbon: Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Enhancing Resilience through Urban Regeneration, Available at Source link (Accessed 21-6-2020).

(8) Camara Municipal de Lisboa (2015), Plano de Ação Local para a Biodiversidade em Lisboa , Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

(9) Mata, D. (2014) Lisbon´s Green Plan Actions: Towards a Green City. Abstract of the presentation on ‘Cost Action 1201 ‘Urban Allotment Gardens in European Cities - Future, Challenges and Lessons Learned’ at LNEC – 20th March 2014. Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, Portugal. Available at: Source link 21-6-2020)
10. Leitao, T., Henriques, M., Cameira, M. Morato, M., Rodrigo, I., Martins, M., Costa, H., Pacheco, J. (2016).AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE DOS SOLOS, DAS ÁGUAS SUBTERRÂNEAS E DAS ESPÉCIES HORTÍCOLAS EM HORTAS URBANAS DE LISBOA: Identificação de medidas de mitigação visando a proteção da saúde pública Relatório final. Available at:Source link (Accessed 21-6-2020)