The second instalment of our 9th Annual Seminar Series took place in the John Lennon Art & Design Building of John Moores University to an attentive audience in a packed auditorium eager to hear the insights of Francisca Hipolito Bonet from Valencia European Green Capital 2024. Engage board member and Ropewalks resident, Diana Heredia, reports from the seminar.

Valencia is another coastal city that bears some similarities with Liverpool being roughly the same size; surrounded by a metropolitan region of the same name and having a busy port (Valencia has the 5th busiest container port in Europe). It was awarded the distinction by the European Commission at the first attempt due to its achievements in sustainable tourism, climate neutrality, as well as fair and inclusive green transition.

Valencia has over 800k inhabitants, but 97% of them live within 300m of a green urban area and the EC gives a special mention to the proven commitment to improving air quality and restoring nature ecosystems, such as the Devesa dune and wetland ecosystems. Valencia also stimulates a healthier, sustainable, and inclusive food production through its “Neighbourhood and Food Programme”.

Unsurprisingly, Valencia ranks highly on liveability indexes for quality of life and affordability.

Francisca introduced us into the achievements of her city with a short exploration of why Valencia was successful in its European Green Capital bid – amongst other things, pointing out sustainable civic action to inform and inspire a creative response, consistent records of high environmental standards, plans for further improvement, and its function as a role model demonstrating a best practice approach to inspire other cities. She showed us the Green Capital Network forming a community in itself, in which participants debate, but also share guidance and support.

The advance into becoming one of the most sustainable cities in Europe started in the past after the city was hit by a devastating flood in 1957 that inundated almost three quarters of the city. As a reaction to the disaster the course of the river Turia was changed leaving a huge tract of land to develop what is today one of the largest urban parks in Spain. The park is heavily used by residents and visitors alike, but only came about after an active mobilisation against plans for a motorway that would have run through the heart of the city. The citizens of Valencia demanded “the river is ours and we want it green!” But this is just one of the city’s many parks and gardens. One of the projects started in the course of the Green Capital Year was the extension of this park to link the port and the Mediterranean Sea with a river estuary park, the Parque de Desembocadura. Completion for the urban forest is due between 2026 and 2027.

Another of the green assets of Valencia is the Albufera Natural Park, one of two natural parks, accessible by bike or public transport (a bus ticket is only €1.50!), which is an important wetland inhabited by thousands of birds adding to the biodiversity of the area.

Near the lagoon of Albufera is another stretch of natural environment that was saved by a citizens’ campaign El Saler per al poble that demanded a halt to urbanisation, restitution of public property and environmental protection of the land which has seen an extensive restoration into a recreational area used by residents and tourists alike. The habitats protected are part of the Natura 2000 Network, which is a network of protected areas covering Europe’s most threatened species and habitats.

The most inspirational takeaway from Francisca’s presentation however is the way Francisca talks about the citizens who live and interact with Valencia. People are not just at the centre of every decision, but every decision is taken by, for and with the people. This is a mission stated in the Missions València 2030: “Missions must be related to the concerns of Valencian citizens and society. They must be important to them. Missions València 2030 place València at the European forefront of cities focusing their research and innovation on local missions that improve the lives of its citizens.

It is our contribution, from the field of innovation in València, to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDG 2030).”

As with our previous speaker, the ambitions of the city don’t end here. València aims to be climate neutral by 2030 with staggering targets based around fair energy transition, innovation and inclusivity.

A number of projects mentioned:

• RIP – Requiem in Power – renewable energy project that aims to transform its cemeteries into the nation’s largest urban solar farm
• Project 50/50 – educational project to encourage primary schools to reduce CO2-emissions
• Decarbonisation of mobility
• Pedestrianising the city – Queen’s Square as a result of a citizen participation process
• Pensem la Plaça – Public participation regarding pedestrianising Valencia’s largest square
• Sustainable food & L’Horta
• VLC Tech City
• My neighbourhood in transition
• Avalua Campanar en Verd – participatory evaluation of green spaces in Campanar neighbourhood & design of green routes

Again, as at the last seminar our speaker emphasised the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship. Valencia is the place with the most startups in Spain.

After the inspirational presentation, Liverpool City Council’s Sustainability Manager, Simon Mansfield, juxtaposed it with the data from Liverpool and shared what we could take away and learn from.

This seminar’s local panel consisted of a politician, activist, academic and representative of the arts sector – Cllr. Laura Robertson, Marianne Heaslip, of People Powered Retrodit, Prof. Trung Thanh Ngyuyen, and Emma King of TATE Liverpool – each of whom responded with their observations, which at times focussed on the very specific challenges in our own city.

Despite the extended time for a Q&A it felt like there were many more thoughts and views left to discuss at the close of this seminar, and there was a buzzing energy in the room.

One of the closing remarks from Francisca was that the award was a great moment of pride for the city but is not the end of the road. The goal is to make a better place to live for us and our children. And that is something everyone in the room can agree on.