Adaptación climática y resiliencia en Vitoria-Gasteiz

• Andrés Alonso ^[1] ; Efrén Feliu ^[2]
  1. [1] epartamento de Medio Ambiente y Espacio Público. Ayuntamiento de Vitoria-Gasteiz
  2. [2] División de Energía y Medio Ambiente. TECNALIA
• Localización: Cities at risk: resiliencie and redundancy / coord. por Rufino Javier Hernández Minguillón, Víctor Araújo Corral, Raffaelina Loi, 2015, ISBN 978-84-9082-182-4, págs. 11-24
• Idioma: español
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Climate adaptation and resilience in Vitoria-Gasteiz
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• Resumen

  • Despite the uncertainties associated to the trends and future scenarios of climate change impacts, several initiatives are underway in the Basque country to develop adaptation plans for resilient cities from a proactive and anticipatory perspective. The main objective of these plans is to identify and minimize impacts on areas such as ecosystems, health and human wellbeing, the regional economy or infrastructure, based on a better knowledge of our systems and thresholds, taking into account the sensitivity to climate variables. In this context, in 2010 was launched the PACC-Vitoria project (Plan de Adaptación al Cambio Climático de Vitoria-Gasteiz), resulting from the collaboration agreement between the Basque Government, the City Council and Tecnalia Research & Innovation (energy and Environment Division). The project is developed for the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz, whose local authority is committed from a few decades ago with the sustainable and resilient local development. Vitoria-Gasteiz was awarded as European green Capital 2012. So far, based on a vulnerability assessment to future climate projections (temperature and precipitation), a prioritization of areas and sectors has been developed. Some of the project initial stages (the development of local climate scenarios and the methodological approach to vulnerability assessment) were already presented at the second Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation (Bonn, 2011). This article focuses mainly on the presentation of results of the vulnerability assessment and prioritization, and how this plan may imply a new vision in urban planning and green infrastructures, integrating the benefits of adaptation in both scales. At sectoral level, the most vulnerable are the economic activities, followed closely by the water and natural resources. The urban green infrastructure (IVU acronym in Spanish) of Vitoria-Gasteiz is composed by water bodies (aquifers, rivers and streams, lakes and wetlands, sewer network), the parks belonging to the external Green Belt, the rest of urban parks network, the agriculture outer belt, other public spaces (eco itineraries, urban and green belt routes), mobility infrastructure, and the internal green belt, which is being currently developed connected to the external Green Belt. Currently, the natural and rural environment is the most vulnerable area from a spatial perspective. This is because the key elements of these sectors (mainly the IVU) are among the most vulnerable elements. The internal green belt is one of the strategic initiatives included in the Green Capital program and framed in the revision of the General Urban Master Plan of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Urban development will be based on the urban green infrastructure, which will help to enhance the ecosystem service, such as adaptation and mitigation to climate change, biodiversity improvement, environmental quality, health and welfare. At micro scale, urban green elements are of great importance for the urban planning revision, since there is a will to promote connections between urban spaces - streets, squares, parks and gardens - as well as peri-urban, natural and cultural spaces, through flexible connections and non-motorized transport systems. The participation of Vitoria-Gasteiz in EU Cities Adapt initiative (DG-Clima) has been a good support and motivation to continue working for transforming Vitoria in a resilient city.