The Ajuntament recently rolled out a plan to drastically increase the amount of green space in Barcelona by 2020. The ‘Plan del Verde y de la Biodiversidad de Barcelona 2020’ could see a doubling in the number of trees planted throughout the city, and is set to deliver 108 acres of green space by 2019. This increased greenery aims to combat air pollution and climate change, and would provide Barcelona’s citizens with a welcome respite from the soaring temperatures in the summer months.
The feat will be accomplished through various steps—five new gardens will be connected to existing open spaces via thriving plant-filled corridors, green roofs will help to keep the city cool, creepers will extend along bare walls, and temporary gardens will fill sites waiting for construction.
Of the five new parks, one is set to spring up in a formerly traffic-ridden square, where cars have now been diverted into underground tunnels, while another will take the place of a courtyard block currently filled with workshops from the Twenties. These parks demonstrate the Ajuntament’s knack for creating green space where there is none.