Last updated: October 2021
Parque Central da Asprela is being designed by a team of specialists who see the great challenge of hydrographic control of Ribeira da Asprela and all other surrounding streams as an opportunity to create a unique landscape space in Porto, pleasant not only for the enjoyment of population but also as a crossing solution (pedestrian or cycling) for the academic community that daily studies and works in this area of the city. The park is part of the green lung of the city. This NBS is a continuation of an action implemented in 2015 by the Municipality of Porto that had in mind the creation of a park which eventually had to be renovated and integrated and this is how this new NBS came to be implemented. (1)
Derelict area at the Asprela park
http://www.porto.pt/noticias/inicio-das-obras-no-futuro-parque-da-asprela-tornam-um-sonho-em-realidade
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
- Green corridors and green belts
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
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Regulation of built environment
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas
Project objectives
1. To solve the lack of outdoor recreational areas and the low environmental and landscape quality;
2. Maximization of the permeable area covered with vegetation, making it suitable for public use;
3. "Naturalization" of the existing water line;
4. Implementation of a clean design for the outdoor spaces protruded by a green forest structure;
5. Selection of design solutions and materials, optimized at the highest level under functional, ecological, economic and aesthetical perspectives.
6. Design of new parking and street areas;
7. Development of outdoor recreational opportunities in green spaces (2)
8. Modelling the terrain to retain water - the creation of water mirrors (7)
Implementation activities
In the first phase of the project: The urban redevelopment project of Quinta de Lamas Park, coordinated by the landscape architect and associate professor of the FCUP Paulo Farinha Marques, stands out for the wide mall - rehearsed and flanked by two parallel alignments of trees - that makes the visual and physical connection of the FEUP and the FEP, but also by the large grassy clearing, surrounded by a tree-lined avenue, and by the "discovery" of the Ribeira da Asprela, which was "piped" there and now runs in the open, with naturalized beds and shores.(3)
Phase 2 of the project was started with a contract that has an expected duration of 570 days. The implementation of the NBS started in July 2020 (8)
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Public sector institution
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
- Researchers/university
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
In the first phase of the project : The Quinta de Lamas Park is a project of the University of Porto and represented an investment co-financed by Banco Santander Totta, under the Cooperation Agreement between the University and that bank. (4)
The second phase of the project the University of Porto (owner of the land) and the Polytechnic of Porto join the Municipality in implementing the NBS (7)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(This NBS is in connection with the 2006 Municipal Plan (PDM) that includes the area for redevelopment (6). In the second phase the NBS is included in the PDM - Municipal Master Plan of 2020(7).)
Financing
Total cost
€500,000 - €2,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
- Public local authority budget
- Corporate investment
- Other
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
- Restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, No impacts reported
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. Municipality of Porto (2015), Novo parque verde na Asprela, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
2. CIBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Projects (2012), Landscape Architecture Project for the Park of Asprela, Porto, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
3. Universidade do Porto - Noticia (2015), U.Porto cria um novo parque verde na Asprela, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
4. Source link (2015), Parque da Quinta de Lamas é o novo espaço verde da cidade do Porto, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
5. Santander Bank Website, Novo espaço verde no Porto com apoio do Santander Totta, (Website not available in 2020)
6.University of Porto (no date), Relatório de Estágio. Gestão de Espaços Verdes, Document attached (Accessed 31-7-2020)
7. Municipality of Porto (2018), Apresentado o projeto do novo pulmão verde que vai nascer no Parque da Asprela, Available at Source link (Accessed 29-8-2020)
8. Municipality of Porto (2020), Início das obras para futuro Parque da Asprela tornam um sonho em realidade, Available at Source link (Accessed 29-8-2020)
2. CIBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Projects (2012), Landscape Architecture Project for the Park of Asprela, Porto, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
3. Universidade do Porto - Noticia (2015), U.Porto cria um novo parque verde na Asprela, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
4. Source link (2015), Parque da Quinta de Lamas é o novo espaço verde da cidade do Porto, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
5. Santander Bank Website, Novo espaço verde no Porto com apoio do Santander Totta, (Website not available in 2020)
6.University of Porto (no date), Relatório de Estágio. Gestão de Espaços Verdes, Document attached (Accessed 31-7-2020)
7. Municipality of Porto (2018), Apresentado o projeto do novo pulmão verde que vai nascer no Parque da Asprela, Available at Source link (Accessed 29-8-2020)
8. Municipality of Porto (2020), Início das obras para futuro Parque da Asprela tornam um sonho em realidade, Available at Source link (Accessed 29-8-2020)