Sevilla, Green City (Spain)

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Reference Date: 26-07-1998

Experience selected in the 1998 Dubai Award for Best Practice, and catalogued as GOOD. ( Best Practices Database.)
País/Country: Spain

United Nations Region: Europe
Ecological region: Continental
Activity: City/Town
Partnerships: Local Authorities. European Commission. Academic/Research.

Themes = Civic Engagement and Cultural Vitality: civic education; community participation; social and cultural vitality. Environmental Management: ecological sustainability; environmental health; environmentally sound technologies; pollution reduction; resource management; urban greening. Infrastructure, Communications, Transportation: safe water provision; sanitation; transportation and mobility; waste-management and treatment.

Main contact:
Modesta Hoyuela Díaz
Asesora de Relaciones Internacionales del Ayuntamiento
Seville Town Hall (Local Authority)
Plaza Nueva, 1
Sevilla
Sevilla
SPAIN
41001
Tel: +34-95 459 01 45
Fax: +34-95 459 01 63
E-mail: svqayto@globalnet.es

Partner:
Eneko Landaburu
European Commission
Brussels
Brussels
Belgium
1049
Tel: +32-2 299 11 11

Partner One Support Type: Financial Support

Partner:
Miguel Florencio Lora
University of Seville (Academic/Research)
San Fernando, 1
Sevilla
Sevilla
SPAIN
41004
Tel: +34-95 455 10 00
Fax: +34-95-455 11 40

Partner Two Support Type: Technical Support

Organización nominadora
D. Marta García Nart
Spanish National Committee
Paseo de la Castellana 67
Ministry for Development
Madrid
Madrid
SPAIN
28071
Tel: +34-91 597 75 72
Fax: +34-91 597 86 04
E-mail: mgnart@mfom.es

Key Dates

S U M M A R Y

It started in 1995 and the interventions will be carried out until 1999, when the evaluation and review of the Integral Environmental Plan of Seville will take place.

In 1995 Seville had a population density of 5.003,3 inhabitants per square kilometre, 1,7 square metres of green areas per inhabitant, and suffered periodical draughts since the water supply was not guaranteed.

The intervention has entailed investments in rehabilitation, cleaning, gardening, reforestation and massive plantations accounting for 6.140.277.000 ptas, from which the City Government has contributed 2.114.813.000.- ptas and the Structural Funds 4.024.995.000.- ptas.

The total surface of green areas has increased from 1.680.332 squared metres in the beginning to 7.243.874 squared metres now, which means 9,70 squared metres per inhabitant. More than 6.000 trees have been planted.

After the reforestation interventions the image of the city has undergone a spectacular change. The great infrastructure works carried out on the ocassion of the 1992 Universal Exposition had caused large scars in the city's aesthetics and environment, leaving behind a bleak image of a naked, arid and deshumanized city.

The microclimate effects will be assessed only in the long term, since trees and plants will require some time to reach their full potential growth.

The most important lesson to be learned is the need of consensus and cooperation among all participating agents, as well as the essential citizen participation in all these interventions.

N A R R A T I V E

1. Situation prior to the initiative

Situation of the city in 1994:

• Population: 716.937 inhabitants (1,2 million in the metropolitan area).
  
• Surface: 142,44 square kilometres.
  
• Population density: 5.000,3 inhabitants per square kilometre.
  
• Park and garden surface per inhabitant: 1,7 square metres.

Water supply is not always guaranteed. The area suffers periodical draughts that require the establishment of water restrictions.

The "Sevilla Ciudad Verde" project is included in the Integral Environmental Plan of Seville, which focuses on improving citizens' life quality and providing public services.

Starting from a realistic approach, we think that Seville must concentrate all its efforts on its real potentials.

• Seville as a political and administrative capital.
  
• Seville as a tourist capital. Image, culture, art heritage, singularity and services are the potentials to be developed.

Our idea is to create a city that will live on its charm and appeal. We shall be able to declare that few cities provide a similar life quality. Our entire city must provide a pleasant environment so that anyone can relax and enjoy it.

Seville must become an environmental city model for the year 2000, the greenest city in southern Europe.

Priorities
Seville intends to become the Greenest city in southern Europe by the year 2000.

Our aim is to recover the old mastery of the city in the use of shades and cover the city's open areas with vegetation.

This is part of a global reforestation plan affecting the entire city. Our objective is to increase the figures from 1,7 squared metres of green areas per inhabitant to 9.2, a figure well beyond the 5 squared metres per inhabitant required by Spanish Law.

The urban rings will loose their present hard image, thus becoming forested boulevards.

The purpose is to set up a continuous green belt that will surround the city thus favouring biodiversity and introducing nature into the most degraded urban environment. The green belt will be interconnected with all city parks by means of green corridors (forested avenues and streets) thus establishing a true vegetal network.

The reforestation process shall be carried out following criteria that favour biodiversity, enable an easy upkeeping and promote the use of autoctonal species requiring a low water supply.

Citizens will have to collaborate in the upkeeping of this areas. Therefore we will implement communication campaigns to raise citizens awareness on the benefits of this intervention.

We will work in order to integrate the Environment into the awareness and daily life of the citizens.

It is necessary to count on citizen participation and therefore to raise an environmental awareness in them, drafting and implementing aimed at awareness raising and promotion of adequate behaviours.

2. Objectives, strategies and mobilization of resources

Intervention objectives
Green city:

• Environmental adaptation project. Reforestation of the green belt surrounding the city.
  
• Massive reforestation of streets, avenues, plazas and small urban spaces.
  
• Setting up of larga urban and periurban parks.
  
• Youth volunteers and volunteer exchange projects. Participation of conscientious objectors in the preservation of the urban environment.
  
• Environmental routes in Seville's Parks and gardens. Seville's Green Guide.
  
• Forestal species inventory of Seville. Application of the "Norma Granada" ornamental trees assessment method and drafting of a catalogue of trees of interest.
  
• Setting up of solar energy powered drop-by-drop irrigation systems.
  
• Elimination of the environmental impact of uncontrolled waste dumps. Provide the city with an inert waste dump network able to meet the city's demands.
  
• Water saving in irrigation by means of use of adequate species, modern irrigation systems, reuse of recycled water and use of underground water.
  
• Promotion of pedestrian streets and bicycle lanes.
  
• Recycling and composting of vegetal waste.
  
• Integration of environmental Issues into citizens' awareness and daily life.

• Environmental quality standards dissemination campaigns.
  
• Citizen awareness raising campaigns.
  
• Proportion of citizen participation in other city instances. Setting up a permanent City Ecology Forum: "Casa Verde".
  
• Gardening workshop-school
  
• Citizen participation conferences

• Global roundabout and avenue reforestation project.
  
• Lanscape transformation of the areas around the SE-30 to set up Seville's green belt.
  
• "Urban Environment" Awards.
  
• Foundation of the Gardening School of Seville.
  
• Adherence to the "Declaration of the right to the Tree in the City".
  
• Conference "Seville's Urban Environment: A Future Strategy".
  
• Growing of arboretum in the water purification and treatment plant.
  
• Regeneration of degrade soils.
  
• Special waste recicling centre.
  
• Two centres of voluntary collection of special waste.
  
• Setting up of three new bus lines served by hybrid electric-diesel minibuses.
  
• "Prince Albert I" water ecology station.
  
• Signature of the Aalborg Chart.
  
• Participation in the II Conference of Sustainable Cities, celebrated in Lisbon in October 1996.
  
• Participation in the Sustainable Cities Network.
  
• The city of Seville is one of the four group leaders in the "Groupes d'echanges pour des partenariats durables" exchange networks, organised by the World Federation of United Cities and supported by the DG XI of the European Commission.
  
• Organisation of the Euromediterranean Conference of Sustainable Cities, to be held in Sevilla on January, 21st-23rd 1999.

After the 1st and 2nd Conferences of Sustainable Cities that took place in Aalborg and Lisbon respectively, it was decided in order to continue with the works the celebration of four regional conferences in the years 1998 and 1999 covering the following european areas: North, East, Central-West and Mediterranean Basin.

The results of these conferences will be presented and discussed during the 3rd Conference of Sustainable Cities to be held in the year 2000.Institutions responsible for implementing the interventions
The city's Environmental Programme is managed by the mayor's office in coordination with the Environmental Department. The implementation of each specific intervention will be in charge of the municipal company or department responsible for each issue, for example. Municipal Water Company of Sevilla (EMASESA), Municipal Cleaning Company of Seville (LIPASAM), etc.

The plan will be implemented in coordination with the rest of public administrations: European Union, National Ministeries of Public Works and Economy, Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDEA), Regional Ministeries of Environment and Public Works, University of Sevilla, etc.

Many associations and NGOs active in the city will also participate in the plan: CEPA, Consumer and Service User Associations, Business Union, Chamber of Commerce, Citizen Associations, Sevilla Acoge, Garelli Foundation, etc.

We have received the support of international city associations: in 1996 our plan was awarded a Honorary Mention in the European Sustainable City Award. The World Federation of United Cities contributes the possibility of exchanging experiences with other cities, and Eurocities also contributes with information and contacts.

3. Process
Each intervention has required a different process, since the starting points, required resources and necessary permits were different for each one of them.

In general, the process has consisted in different stages that can be summarized as follows:

• Previous studies and technical reports.
  

  It was necessary to previously draft a preliminary plan in order to secure the feasibility of each intervention, to define the most adequate technologies and means and to draft an initial budget.
  
  During this stage some projects have been discarded due to their unsuitability to existing conditions, the impossibility to obtain the permits required, their high cost or their low cost-effectiveness (not just financial).
  

  Other projects have undergone deep changes, such as the green belt. We realised that we could get only the permit to reforest just the narrow strip of public property along the highway instead of the large areas surrounding the SE-30 we intended at first.
  

• Fund raising
  

  We have resourced to as many public and private funds as possible.
  

  The Structural Funds of the European Union have been contributed notably to the funding, as well as the SAVE programme for setting up the Energy Agency and the DG XI.
  

  Private companies have also contributed. We have asked the citizens to contribute their efforts especially in terms of water saving and the setting up of individual water meters.
  

• Obtention of permits and required administration interventions.
  

  In many cases we have resourced to bilateral collaboration agreements, both with public administrations and private institutions.
  

• Concession of contracts.
  

  Being a public administration, these procedures have sometimes extended the stages previous to the implementation, which has cused in some cases delays in their implementation.
  

• Dissemination of the project.
  

  We have tried to disseminate the interventions as much as possible, by means of media coverage, citizen participation, advertising campaigns, etc.
  

  We have also endeavoured to disseminate the interventions in all the international forums in which the city of Seville participates.

4. Results Achieved

Impact
It is difficult to undertake a global evaluation of the project since it is only three years since it was started, from which the first one was devoted to drafts and previous studies and the interventions have taken place only during the last two years. However, some specific data can help us to partially assess the results.

• The Green Belt will be almost finished by late spring 1998.
  
• We have carried out a massive reforestation of streets, avenues, roundabouts, highway rings, small interurban areas and new urban and periurban parks.
  
• The arboretum or botanical garden has been officially opened to public.
  
• The total surface of green areas has increased from 1.680.332 squared metres in the beginning to 7.243.874 squared metres now, which means 9,70 squared metres per inhabitant.
  
• More than 6.000 trees have been planted.

• Selective collection of glass:
  
  • 1986: 13 metric tons
    
  • 1997: 4.363 metric tons
    

• Selective collection of paper:
  
  • 1992: 290 metric tons
    
  • 1997: 3.155 metric tons
    

• Selective collection of plastic
  
  • 1996: 0
    
  • 1997: 38 metric tons (collection started in October 1997)
    

• Selective collection of batteries:
  
  • 1991: 11 metric tons
    
  • 1997: 49 metric tons

The vegetal species we have planted have been carefully selected in terms of their suitability to the city's climatic conditions. We have intended to guarantee the diversity of indigenous species, adapted to the type of soil and with small water requirements and upkeeping, in order to secure that the reforestation carried out will be sustainable over time, even during the most severe draught periods. We have set up the infrastructure needed in terms of wells and drop-by-drop irrigation systems in order to secure the upkeeping of the vegetal species.

5. The experience in numbers
Financial Profile
1996-1999 Total Operasting Budget: 6.140.277.000

• Contribution of Sevilla City Cuoncil: 35%
  
• Contribution of European Commission: 65%

References

Hoyuela Díaz, Modesta (1997) Local Sustainable Development in Europe. 18 Good Examples. (Published by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)) .

Hoyuela Díaz, Modesta (1997) "Local Action 21, to raise awareness. Updating of informations on activities aimed at favouring citizen's awareness and participation". Lettre d'Information 11. European Susta (inable Cities and Towns Campaign) .