PARQUE FLUVIAL DEL BÉSOS

Barcelona, Spain
Bert de Sola, Alberto Alarcon, Ferran Puig

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain that called for Catalan independence in 2017, when the Catalan Parliament unilaterally voted for independence following a referendum. The Spanish Senate rejected the independence bid, but the tensions between the autonomous government and Spanish state affect all parts of the region, including its climate change policies. The Besós River, which flows through Catalonia into the Mediterranean Sea, was Europe’s most polluted river in the 1970s and 1980s. Cleanup efforts took place through the 1990s, and Parque Fluvial del Besós was built in the early 2000s between the cities of Barcelona, Sana Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià del Besós. The river is channelized and shallow, thus posing major public safety risks in the event of a flood. The park covers 4.7 miles with recreational bike paths and linear adjacent parks. In addition to this area of public usage, there are 115 hectares of wetlands, the majority of which are not accessible to the public and planted with grasses and sedge. The mouth of the river is completely inaccessible to the public, and includes restored wetlands. The park is managed by the Barcelona Provincial Council, who work to monitor the park and ensure that it is not subject to flash flooding across the channel. A series of optical and acoustic signals are placed throughout the park to alert visitors about heavy rainfall events, and the entrances to the park include electronic panels that provide updated information on the permissible conditions of use in the park.

2002 - 2004
54 acres
62 feet above sea level

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