Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Conexus is a collaborative project bringing together countries in Latin America and Europe with a view to working on nature-based solutions (NBS) in urban spaces.

The final Conexus project conference which aims to fast-track nature-based urban solutions, took place in Barcelona from 15 to 17 March, with the First Deputy Mayor taking part in the opening session. Laia Bonet praised the Urban Agriculture Observatory, launched by the Municipal Institute of Parks and Gardens in collaboration with Barcelona Regional, as a tool for knowledge, and the study of urban planning for the city.

The observatory makes it possible to analyse agriculture in the city of Barcelona today, providing a map of the city’s allotments by type, as well as data on a number of physical and biological variables, socio-environmental services, and the diversity and yield of the crops grown on the allotments.

The latest nature-based urban solutions to address climate change adaptation and the conservation of biodiversity were presented at the conference. This knowledge exchange project linking Europe and Latin America also includes the cities of Turin, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Bogota and Sao Paulo as well as Barcelona. The University of Sheffield is leading the project from an academic point of view, with the participation of the Swedish SLU, CREAF and other organisations such as ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability as well.