Parks and gardens: green lungs in the city
Madrid will delight visitors in search of nature. The city, which is easily accessible on foot, boasts parks and gardens in a variety of atmospheres, and is a popular place to relax for many Madrilenians. First and foremost is Retiro Park, a vast 125-hectare oasis with sculptures, flowerbeds and water features, created in the 17th century. Strollers can enjoy the sunset from the more intimate Sabatini gardens, built in the 1930s along the north façade of the Royal Palace. Nearby, the Campo del Moro gardens, inspired by 18th-century English gardens, exude a unique charm, with their neoclassical sculptures and view of the Royal Palace. Opposite the entrance to these gardens, visitors will discover the Oriente gardens, parterres designed around the statue of Philip V. The Casa de campo is a vast 17 km² urban park. Formerly a royal hunting reserve, it includes an amusement park, as well as green and wooded areas ideal for strolling. Enthusiasts and the curious won't want to miss the Royal Botanical Gardens. Dating back to the 18thcentury , it boasts over 5,000 local and exotic species in its flowerbeds and greenhouses, including a collection of palms and bonsai trees. The Parque del Oeste (Western Park) is a unique place of relaxation and history. A veritable urban forest, it is home to exceptional biodiversity. Formerly a landfill site converted into a garden at the beginning of the 20th century, then a battlefield during the Civil War - there are still casemates in the wooded areas - it is also known for its rose garden and the Egyptian temple of Debod, saved from being submerged by the waters when the Aswan dam was built. Finally, some thirty kilometers from Madrid, the Strawberry tourist train will take you on a tour of the gardens of Aranjuez, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural landscape.
Green capital ? Between progress and backtracking
The health and environmental impact of atmospheric pollutant emissions is now well documented. In the Spanish capital, these are mainly due to road traffic. To combat this pollution and enable residents to breathe easier, the municipality led by Manuela Carmena between 2015 and 2019 has implemented strong actions. The zero-emission zone, introduced in 2018 as part of the "Madrid Central" project, extends across the entire city center, covering an area of 472 hectares. In concrete terms, the most emissive vehicles are banned from the zone, with the exception of those belonging to residents, cabs and delivery trucks. At the same time, the city is rolling out a wider range of services to encourage "soft" alternative modes of transport, developing cycle paths, self-service bicycles and electric vehicle rental. The "Muévete en Verde" ("move around in green") project launched in 2017 is leading to the greening of the roofs... of 130 city buses (lines 27 and 30 initially). The idea came from a Spanish landscape architect, Marc Grañen, and was subsequently developed as part of the call for projects. These green roofs aim to reduce noise and temperature, filter pollution, host biodiversity and storeCO2, not to mention their aesthetic appeal and impact on the well-being of residents. It is estimated, for example, that these walking roofs could reduce the interior temperature of buses by 3 to 4 degrees during the summer period, and that 1 m² of landscaped roof could absorb 20 kg ofCO2 per year. Calculate this for a total network of 1,900 buses, i.e. around 20,000 m² of roof space: this would represent a storage capacity of 400 tonnes ofCO2. Other initiatives implemented in the capital over the past decade include the pedestrianization of certain streets (around Puerta del Sol, the Opera House) and pedestrian experiments on the Gran Via, as well as the covering of Madrid's ring road (M30) with a garden along the Manzanares river. The energy efficiency of new buildings and the creation of urban vegetable gardens and community gardens are also key areas of development. At the end of 2017, the City began rolling out organic waste sorting within its territory, as part of the "Acierta con la organica" program. In 2018, Madrid was named Spain's greenest city, alongside Vitoria-Gasteiz. According to the NGO Greenpeace, the "Madrid Central " plan has led to a 20.4% reduction in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations at 21 of the 24 measuring stations in just one year. A "snowball effect" that would have prompted other major cities in the country, such as Barcelona, to take action. However, the new municipality brought the program to a halt. Conservative José Luis Martínez-Almeida, elected to head the capital in June 2019, is gradually unravelling the actions put in place, despite "green" communication. We're witnessing a veritable retro-pedal, with the zero-emission zone being relaxed, bike lanes being abolished, the number of public parking lots being increased and parking prices lowered, pedestrianization projects being called into question... The sustainability of the city, which hosted COP 25 in December 2019, is suffering a real setback, much to the dismay of environmental protection associations. The city's environmental problems continue to mount: heat islands, waste management (insufficient recycling rate, sulfur dioxide and furan emissions from the Valdemingómez incinerator), air pollution. The car-only mentality is still very much alive and well, and a certain amount of reluctance accompanied the implementation of the Madrid Central project. However, citizen consultations have also highlighted solutions such as pedestrianization, improved urban waste sorting and the development of urban agriculture. The future will tell how the city will overcome its ambivalence to succeed in implementing effective, long-term actions. In 2021, a "green belt" project was launched, growing thousands of trees all around the city (and building on existing green spaces), to combat global warming.
