Porto, Portugal
City population: 981829
Duration: 2009 – 2010
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Project area: 180000 m2
Type of area: Previous derelict area, Natural Heritage Area/Untouched nature, Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: October 2021

The Oriental Park of the City of Porto is an urban natural park designed by the landscape architect Sidónio Pardal. It will be one of the largest urban parks in the country and the second-largest in the city of Porto. This NBS focused on the transformation of a derelict, depressed urban area into a green space. The first part of the park was inaugurated in July 2010 and the municipality has plans to build it through several phases over the next decade until it reaches its project area. (1)

Parque Oriental
Parque Oriental
Source: https://www.cm-porto.pt/jardins-e-parques/parque-oriental-da-cidade

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity conservation
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social cohesion
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Real estate development

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas

Project objectives

1. Social cohesion/identity: the role of urban parks in strengthening social ties, relations and cohesion. 2. House prices: the value of urban parks as part of the living environment as reflected in higher real estate prices (for both houses and apartments). 3. Biodiversity: the role of parks in harbouring and promoting biodiversity, and species diversity in particular. 4. Air quality and carbon sequestration: positive impacts of urban parks in terms of reducing air pollutant levels and carbon sequestration. 5. Cooling: the role of parks in the cooling of urban areas(2).

Implementation activities

A showcase of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas was reclassified. The future of the Park is centred on an essential object, the fluvial course (Rio Tinto, which is nearby), whose process of depollution is fundamental to the continuity of the park. The area offers a variety of vegetation from oaks and cork oaks, which has been cleaned, requalified and integrated into the park, to countless species of wildflowers which extend, alongside grass, to the valley of the Rio Tinto. (3)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature

Climate change mitigation:

  • Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

  • Protect and enhance urban habitats
  • Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Marginalized groups: Elderly people, Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Unknown

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

This NBS has been initiated by the Municipality of Porto which confronted with the existence of a destitute area in a large neighborhood of Porto decided to transform it in a green space (1)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (This NBS is mentioned not in direct connection with a EU strategy but nevertheless a strategy adopted by other European countries. This strategy refers at the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), whose signatories approved an index of biodiversity to cities, City Biodiversity Index (CBI), which would act as an international indicator to measure urban biodiversity and to support national governments and local authorities creating “milestones” in order to conserve biodiversity; In Portugal it was used only in 2011 but nevertheless took into consideration the present NBS (4))
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (This NBS is mentioned in connection to Plano Diretor Municipal, (2006), a fundamental instrument in municipal management, which defines the development strategy and the territorial model, as well as the main options regarding the location of equipment and infrastructures. It is fundamental for the development of the new plan, the active participation of the different local actors and the population in general, as well as a close articulation with the neighboring municipalities . (5))

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

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

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Restoration of derelict areas

Economic impacts

  • Stimulate development in deprived areas
  • Attraction of business and investment

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Education
  • Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved 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

References

1. Porto Municipality (no date), Parque Oriental da Cidade, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

2. Konijnendijk, C. et al (2013), Benefits of Urban Parks A systematic review, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

3. Porto Municipality (no date), Parque Oriental da Cidade, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

4. Magalhães Carneiro de Sousa Machado, L. (2014), Aplicação do Índice de Biodiversidade Urbana na cidade do Porto , Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

5. Publico (2003), Rui Sá força Câmara do Porto a novo traçado para Alameda de Azevedo, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

6. Ferreira Pereira, A. , Talhadas dos Santos, J. (2011), A diversidade de vertebrados do Parque Oriental do Porto Conservação e Maximização da Biodiversidade, Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

7. Source link (2009), Parque Oriental abre em 2009. Primeira fase integra 10 hectares. Ainda não há prazo para restantes 71 hectares previstos , Available at Source link (Accessed 22-6-2020)

8. AmoPortugal (2016) - Mais que Limpar, fundamental Reduzir, Reutilizar e Reciclar!, (Website not availble in 2020) (Accessed 22-6-2020)

9.Municipality of Porto (2019), Exercise in nature took dozens to the Parque Oriental, Available at Source link, (Accessed 30-7-2020)

10.Municipality of Porto (2019), Tomorrowland is held in Porto in 2019 at Parque Oriental of Porto, Available at Source link, (Accessed 30-7-2020)