Valencia: how this beautiful Spanish tourist city became the green capital of Europe

CNN
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Valencia has long been known as one of Spain’s sunniest cities due to its prime location on the Mediterranean Sea. It can now claim the coveted title of Europe’s Green Capital and also claim to be the most sustainable.

The European Commission cited 5 million square meters of green space in Valencia. According to the commission’s report, 97% of residents live within 300 meters of a major green space. Whether it’s the popular wide sandy beaches of the Mediterranean or the humid lagoons of Albufera, where Valencia’s paella rice is grown.

The title of Green Capital is awarded annually to a European city that sets an environmental example for other cities. The European Commission will award the winner her 600,000 euros ($656,000) to fund more sustainable programs. But the real benefit is the marketing boost provided by a city’s certified green credentials. Previous winners include Tallinn, Estonia and Oslo, Norway.

“I think this is a recognition by the European Community of our common efforts,” says Paola Llobet, Valencia’s councilor for tourism and innovation. “This is what we, as a community, have been building over the years within our neighborhoods. We have protected our orchards, our beaches, the sea, Albufera Natural Park and more.”

Those wishing to visit can find out about Valencia’s most impressive examples of green spaces simply by looking at a map of the city. The Turia Natural Park is a converted nine-kilometre-long riverbed that runs through the city.

After a deadly flood in 1957, the river was redirected and Tulia was to become a multi-lane highway. However, public opposition prevented the development and led to a movement for more green space in the city centre.

Today, Turia is a valuable shared space, a green ribbon connecting suburban orchards to the Mediterranean Sea. On weekends, soccer, rugby and baseball games are held at one of the park’s many sports facilities. On sunny days, families picnic under baobab and cypress groves, while rock climbers and amateur acrobats scale and spiral down the medieval stone bridge that still spans the park. Try your hand.

It is also home to Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava’s futuristic masterpiece, the City of Arts and Sciences, which is now one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. Bright white curves and skeletal columns give it a space-age design, making it a favorite filming location for science fiction films and series, from “Star Wars” to “Westworld.”

Turia also serves as a sustainable transport highway. Designated paths are maintained throughout the park, perfect for those commuting by bike or electric scooter to get through the city streets and avoid road traffic.

For Giuseppe Grezzi, an Italian who moved to Valencia, his love for cycling led him to get involved in local politics, eventually serving as the city’s sustainable mobility councilor for eight years. His proudest accomplishment is that he increased the number of bike lanes in the city by more than 50%.

“The city is flat. The weather is perfect! I wanted to be able to bike everywhere,” he said after attending a community meeting to discuss Valencia’s Green Capital status. “We changed the city. I was proud to be a part of it. We protected public space, increased pedestrianized areas to make the city greener and reduced pollution. We have introduced so many policies.”

During his tenure, the city has poured money into sustainable transportation, expanding new subway lines, installing public bicycles, and creating around 200 kilometers (120 miles) of bicycle-only roads that connect to several “green routes” outside the city. The road was expanded.

During the pandemic, Valencia took the initiative to convert several high-traffic areas into pedestrian zones. This includes the city’s central roundabout, where the Ayuntamiento, Valencia’s city hall, is housed in an impressive 18th-century building.

Another green benefit is Valencia’s abundance of fruits and vegetables. The city is surrounded by La Huerta, an area of ​​over 120 square kilometers of orchards and vegetable gardens whose produce is sold at Valencia’s Municipal Market. The European Commission is promoting its Zero Kilometer Food campaign, which advocates growing and processing food right where it is sold and eaten, to reduce transport costs and carbon emissions. It featured community and food programs.

Valencia’s Mercado Central is the perfect place to see it in action. Nearly 300 fruit, vegetable, fish and meat vendors sell their wares in a huge modernist hall. The day begins before dawn as hundreds of vehicles begin unloading fresh produce from the surrounding area, including bushels of Valencia’s famous oranges.

Although Mercado Central has become a popular tourist attraction, it is still used by locals. According to the market, about 80% of its customers are local residents.

This includes a growing number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the city. In 2005, Chef Begoña Rodrigo opened La Salita, a restaurant showcasing local produce from the Valencian region. By 2019, Rodrigo earned a Michelin star for an innovative menu that “takes vegetable preparation to new heights.”

However, major environmental challenges remain in the city’s future. Of particular importance are changes in the political environment.

Valencia’s Green Capital proposal was launched under Valencia’s previous government, a coalition of left-wing parties known as Compromise. The 2023 election created a coalition government between the center-right People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party, which has denied the existence of climate change.

That worries Giuseppe Grezzi, a former councilor for sustainable mobility.

“Many of our projects have simply been stopped. Many are now paralyzed by the current administration,” he said. “So we’re very concerned about whether that’s going to continue. Because this strategy shouldn’t be partisan, it shouldn’t just belong to one political party. . The whole city has to be involved in it.”

Paola Llobet, current MP for Tourism and Innovation, said that although some projects were being reassessed, the current government was still committed to achieving sustainability goals.

“Maybe we have a different way to achieve our goals, a different public policy,” she said. “But the goal remains the same: to achieve a sustainable city and improve the quality of life for those who live here and those who visit.”

One flashpoint is Valencia’s commercial port and cruise terminal. Proposals are being considered to expand the port, which could attract tens of thousands of new tourists a year. The current administration is also exploring the possibility of adding new direct flights from the United States to Valencia International Airport.

However, cities like Barcelona and Venice are struggling to cope with the arrival of huge numbers of tourists. Even for those in the tourism industry, there are concerns that Valencia could suffer the same fate.

“If we can put restrictions on tourism, whether it’s on cruise ships or planes, that may require cancellations as well,” one anonymous tour guide told CNN Travel. “I am concerned that at some point these numbers will become unsustainable.”

For Llobet, that means leveraging technology to lessen the impact of tourism on Valencia. She created a “heat map” of the city that tourists and guides can use to show which areas are more crowded, suggest alternative routes and encourage tourists to visit other parts of the city. We have started a project to create “.

“We have a lot of data. We measure air pollution. We have problems with noise pollution and we are starting projects on carbon emissions.” As you know, 70% of employment in the city depends on the service sector, which is absolutely connected to tourists.”

Perhaps the most visible environmental challenge is Valencia’s fallas tradition. This is a springtime riot of noise, color and pomp that takes a toll on the environment. Every March, tens of thousands of people flock to the city to participate in a series of elaborate parades and fireworks extravaganzas. Huge, colorful statues are displayed throughout the city and are lit on fire at the climax of the festival. As a result, black smoke is often produced when polystyrene and petroleum-based products burn.

This year, Valencia celebrates its Green Capital status by celebrating its first-ever “Green Fallas”, giving neighboring regions funds to build with environmentally friendly alternative materials such as paper mache, wood and rice stalks. provide. The goal is to celebrate Fallas with completely sustainable materials by 2030.

The highlight of Fallas this year is a huge two-story statue called “Two Pigeons, One Branch” that is being built in front of the city hall. The peace painting depicts a pair of white doves carrying an olive branch. The structure is made from wood, papier-mâché, and neop, a foam substitute for polystyrene made from plant residues such as waste from wheat and grain processing.

Still, it’s difficult to place environmental limits on cherished traditions. After the interview, Llobet invited CNN Travel to the main balcony of City Hall to watch the Mascleta, a fireworks display that will be held every day for the first 19 days of the festival. Each day is hosted by a different Valencian neighborhood community known as a “falero”.

Just before 2 p.m., a specially selected group of “fareras” (young women and girls in elaborate traditional costumes) accompanied the mayor and signaled the start of the mascleta.

A single shot was followed by the sound of a steady explosion, followed by the sound of fireworks exploding into barely visible white stars in the blue sky. However, all that could be seen was rising smoke. As a local broadcaster on the balcony breathlessly explained, the art of maskreta is not a light show, but a rhythm and crescendo of sound, culminating in a thrilling, deafening concentration of noise and smoke. It culminates in gunfire.

Llobet admits that it is difficult to make Fallas a truly environmentally friendly event, but he aims to make Fallas a more sustainable tradition.

“We are working with various ‘faleros’ to improve the use of plastic, waste and water. “Every year we try to make it a little bit better,” she said. “However, there are more than 100,000 ‘fallers’ in the city. There is one in every square or plaza. So, in fact, it’s a way of life. ”