Last updated: October 2021
The Foz do Douro Urban Park located in the west of Porto city is a green area for public use inserted into a recently developed urban area, which has been progressively been built along the Atlantic seafront since the nineteenth century and the Park is part of an overall project submitted in the competition Nuno Álvares Avenue Plan promoted by the Porto Municipality. With approximately 5ha, Foz do Douro Urban Park clearly contributes to increasing the rates of existing green areas for public use, increasing the availability of open spaces for the local and regional level. (1)
Site of the Foz do Douro Urban Park
Laura Roldão Costa – Arquitetura Paisagista in collaboration with Sérgio Pinto – Arquiteto Paisagista, retrieved 08/10/2018
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems
Project objectives
1. To establish a high scenic value area, taking into account different views and perspectives of movement and use;
2. To use vegetation as a recovery and implementation element of the park;
3. To preserve and enhance specific systems and habitats able to create their own identity in the space;
4. To define a green area that falls within the ecological structure of the Porto Metropolitan Area. (2)
5. To optimize the actions of construction, management and maintenance of green spaces, so that these respond to the needs of multiple use, framing and aesthetic and ecological qualification of the new space and its surroundings. (1)
Implementation activities
Conservation areas include - pre-existing forest will be preserved (Pines, oaks and oaks) and forest areas along water lines were totally preserved – these areas include the Ervilha River and its flood zone;
Recreation areas include – the whole new area, recovered out of the old landfills and old gardens is now dedicated for active recreation;
Production Systems - There is not a specific area devoted to production systems, though former productive areas were integrated into the design proposal as memory. (2)
Approximately 30% of the area is occupied with native tree flora, mainly willows, pines, oaks and cork oaks, resulting from maintenance actions and recovery, by taking advantage of its scenic, ecological and bioclimatic comfort, integrating these elements in spaces of passage and staying. (3)
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore ecological connectivity
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- 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)
- Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
This NBS was implemented as an environmental measure that the Municipality of Porto took in 2011 in order to create a green area in the quarter of Foz do Douro. The municipality had a competitions and the architect of the current NBS was the winner. (1)
The opportunity to realize the project of the Urban Park of Foz do Douro happened when the Municipality of Porto launched the design contest for the Elaboration of the Urban Loteamento Project and the Urbanization Projects in the scope of the Execution Unit of the UOPG 1 - Nun'Álvares Avenue (ref.5).
The Unit of Execution of UOPG 1 - Nun'Álvares Avenue is understood as a condition for the project of the Urban Park of Foz do Douro summarily as it constitutes a structuring axis of intermunicipal articulation, both in terms of road circulation and built construction.
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(This NBS was a result of a public contest for the elaboration of the urban urbanization project in the framework of the UOPG 1 Execution Unit - Nun'Álvares Avenue (ref.5).)
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
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Unknown
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. Laura Roldao Costa, Arquitetura Peisagista (2011), FOZ DO DOURO URBAN PARK, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
2. Loures, L., Costa, L. (2012), The role of urban parks to enhance metropolitan sustainability: the case of Oporto, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
3. WLA (2014), Foz do Douro Urban Park | Porto, Portugal | Laura Roldão e Costa – Landscape Architecture, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
4.Pereira Pinto, S., (2013), Parque Urbano da Foz do Douro. Um Modelo de Abordagem para o Desenho de Parques Urbanos, (Website not available in 2020)
5. Arquiteturapaisagista (2017), Parque urbano da Foz do Douro: um modelo de abordagem para o desenho de parques urbanos, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
2. Loures, L., Costa, L. (2012), The role of urban parks to enhance metropolitan sustainability: the case of Oporto, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
3. WLA (2014), Foz do Douro Urban Park | Porto, Portugal | Laura Roldão e Costa – Landscape Architecture, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
4.Pereira Pinto, S., (2013), Parque Urbano da Foz do Douro. Um Modelo de Abordagem para o Desenho de Parques Urbanos, (Website not available in 2020)
5. Arquiteturapaisagista (2017), Parque urbano da Foz do Douro: um modelo de abordagem para o desenho de parques urbanos, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)
Plan Drawing of the Foz do Douro Urban Park
Laura Roldão Costa – Arquitetura Paisagista in collaboration with Sérgio Pinto – Arquiteto Paisagista, retrieved 08/10/2018
Visualization of Foz do Douro Urban Park
Laura Roldão Costa – Arquitetura Paisagista in collaboration with Sérgio Pinto – Arquiteto Paisagista, retrieved 08/10/2018