In Pamplona, a pioneering project to avoid repeated flooding
To protect certain neighborhoods from the Arga River's flooding, the city of Pamplona transformed an agricultural area into an urban park. The vegetation there is now lush and the biodiversity rich, reports the Spanish weekly El País Semanal.
In the face of climate change and extreme weather events, cities are being forced to reinvent themselves and rethink their relationship with nature. The tragedy that hit the Valencia region [in Spain] last October, with a “cold drop” with catastrophic consequences, demonstrated the urgency of restoring rivers, particularly in urban areas. And some cities have taken a step ahead, with projects that are leading the way.
Thus, in 2013, Pamplona changed the designation of the agricultural zone of Aranzadi, located in the center of this city regularly flooded by the Arga River, to transform it into an urban park and, at the same time, provide a diversion for the watercourse. This expansion field, dubbed "flood forest," allows the flooding of vegetable gardens and the park. [This, by bringing silt], fertilizes the land and protects the neighboring neighborhoods. Water taming, in short.
“The Aranzadi meander is a special place in the agricultural history of Pamplona. Very close to the old town, at the foot of the walls, it had been corseted by various constructions, pools, barriers, made difficult to access and cut off from the city,” says Iñaki.
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