Miraflores Park Córdoba

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Córdoba

Region

Europe

Native title of the NBS intervention

Parque Miraflores

Short description of the intervention

“The park, inaugurated in May 2003, [was] part of a 1990s project aimed at recovering the ancient canal, combining social needs and providing a space for citizens to spend their free time.” (Ref. 7) It is located on the south bank of the Guadalquivir river (Ref. 7), and today serves as a space for “leisure, sports, and intergenerational coexistence” (Ref. 1)

Address

Plaza Cruz del Rastro, 808
14009 Córdoba
Spain

Location

The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).

Area boundary

POINT (-4.77308 37.877371)

POINT (-4.771084 37.877261)

POINT (-4.772447 37.879141)

POINT (-4.776019 37.877668)

POINT (-4.776588 37.876008)

POINT (-4.773927 37.878006)

NBS area image

Source of NBS area image

Source: Cordoba, Nuestro Patrimonio Natural (City Council of Cordoba)

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Previous derelict area

Website of the intervention

http://infraestructuras.cordoba.es/doc_pdf_etc/diptico_miraflores.pdf

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

1990

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

2002

End date of the intervention

2003

Present stage of the intervention

Completed

Please specify "other" stage of the intervention

"This place was inaugurated in 2003 and was designed by the prestigious architect Juan Cuenca Montilla." (Ref 4)
"Works in Miraflores Park, which began in January 2002" (Ref. 8)

2. Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

The Miraflores Park aims to provide opportunities for:
-Urban regeneration through more green areas in the city (Ref. 2)
-Ecosystem restoration and landscape recovery (Ref. 7)
-Relating to the natural environment (Ref. 1)
-Leisure and sport (Ref. 1)
-Intergenerational citizen coexistence (Ref. 1)

Quantitative targets

Unknown.

Monitoring indicators defined

Unknown.

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Water management (SDG 6)

Flood protection

Stormwater and rainfall management and storage

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Habitat and biodiversity restoration

Green space creation and/or management

Regeneration, land-use and urban development

Regulation of built environment

Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development

Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)

Environmental education

Social justice and equity

Social cohesion

Social interaction

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Enabling opportunities for physical activity

Creation of opportunities for recreation

Cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Preservation of natural heritage

Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure

Promotion of cultural diversity

Preservation of historic traditions

What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?

Species-focused

Ecosystem-focused

What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?

Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems

Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)

Restore native species

Restore ecological connectivity

Implementation activities

Planning & Design – the design and terraces have been created in order to prevent from flood damages from the river (Ref 4); Greener area in the city (Regional and local plan) (Ref. 2); Recovering 'very degraded and uninhabited area' (Ref. 10)
Vegetation – Terraces against flood damages are also constructed, for which "several plant species have been planted in the park in the natural context of the river, with the aim of restoring the natural ecosystem of Guadalquivir and promoting a landscaping recovery program that not only involves the natural aspect, but also the historic buildings and monuments" (Ref. 7)
Gardens – 'family garden' space for learning about horticulture, healthy foods, intergenerational relations (Ref. 1)
Gardening Tables – made of sustainable materials and organic products; designed to provide a comfortable working environment for people of all ages and physical abilities (offering a height ideal for the elderly and those in wheelchairs) (Ref. 1)

Recreational Space & Activities – availability of amenities such as parkour, playgrounds, sports equipment/ areas to encourage healthy living & social interaction (Ref. 1)

Type of NBS project

Creation of new green areas

Maintenance and management of urban nature

Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas

3. NBS domains, ES and scale

NBS domain and interventions

Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented

Parks and urban forests

Large urban parks or forests

Community gardens and allotments

Community gardens

Please specify "other derelict areas"

Architect Juan Cuenca claims there is 'uncontrolled vegetation' in the area which has made it impossible to integrate the river (Ref. 10)

Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens

Unknown; 'family garden' space for learning about horticulture, healthy foods, intergenerational relations (Ref. 1)

Vegetation Type

Other

Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS

parkour, (Ref 1) ; Gardening Tables – made of sustainable materials and organic products (Ref. 1)
birdwatching observatory (Ref unknown from 2017 review)

Amenities offered by the NBS

Playgrounds

Sports areas and equipment

Swimming areas

Complementing infrastructure (bathrooms, café)

Other

Please specify "other marginalized group"

designed to provide comfortable working environment for people of all ages and physical abilities (offering a height ideal for the elderly and those in wheelchairs) (Ref. 1)

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Provisioning services

Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)

Habitat and supporting services

Habitats for species

Cultural services

Tourism

Aesthetic appreciation

Recreation

Mental and physical health and wellbeing

Social and community interactions

Please specify "other cultural service"

"our elders can teach the young people their experience in a comfortable way, and where people relate to the natural environment within the urban space."

Scale

Spatial scale

Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level

Beneficiaries

Primary Beneficiaries

Local government/Municipality

Citizens or community groups

Marginalized groups

Young people and children

Marginalized groups

Elderly people

People with functional diversities

Other

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Government-led

Please specify other non-government actors involved

architect Juan Cuenca Montilla

Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative

The City Council of Cordoba (through the municipal company Procórdoba) is financing this park (Ref. 9), and it was designed by the architect Juan Cuenca Montilla (Ref. 7).

Key actors - initiating organization

Local government/municipality

Other

Please specify other key actors – Initiating organization

architect Juan Cuenca Montilla (Ref. 7)

Land owners

No information found

Please specify other Key actors - Other stakeholders involved

architect Juan Cuenca Montilla (Ref. 7)

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

Local government/municipality

Citizens or community group

Other

Land owners

No information found

Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used

Dissemination of information and education

Policy drivers

NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy

Unknown

NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan

Unknown

NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan

Unknown

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Unknown

Enablers

Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section

Local policy about the protection of urban environment related to green areas (Ref. 2)

If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.

City specific green space strategy or plan

Please specify other vegetation type

‘Various plant species have been planted in the park integrated in the natural context of the river, with the attempt to restore the natural ecosystem of the Guadalquivir and promote a landscape recovery program’ (Ref. 7);
'family garden' space for learning about horticulture, healthy foods, intergenerational relations (Ref. 1);

Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify

"The municipality will thus pay 2.76 million euros compared to 1.79 million in which the project was awarded" (Ref. 9)
Capital gains from Guadalquivir land used to pay for work in Miraflores (Ref. 10)

Co-finance for NBS

Unknown

Co-financing governance arrangements

Unknown

Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?

Unknown

Financing

Total cost

€2,000,000 - €4,000,000

What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?

2 760 000 (Ref 9)

What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?

Unknown

What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?

Unknown

Please specify cost savings

Unknown

Please specify total cost (EUR)

"The municipality will thus pay 2.76 million euros compared to 1.79 million in which the project was awarded" (Ref. 9)

Source(s) of funding

Public local authority budget

Other

Please specify other source of funding

Capital gains from Guadalquivir land used to pay for work in Miraflores (Ref. 10)

Type of fund(s) used

Earmarked public budget

Other

Please specify other type of fund used

Capital gains from Guadalquivir land used to pay for work in Miraflores (Ref. 10)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Business models

Green densification model

Green heritage model

Please specify other environmental impact

Sustainable production/consumption (Ref. 1)

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Public actor (e.g. municipality)

5. Innovation

Type of innovation

Technological

Infrastructural innovation

Social

Cultural innovation

Please specify technological innovation

Terraces are designed to prevent damage from potential flooding of the river. (Ref 4)

Novelty level of the innovation

Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)

Please specify novelty level of the innovation

Other parks have been previously created with the same goals of Miraflores park, but Miraflores offers new adapation (terraces against flood damages, gardening tables, birdwatching observatory). (no reference provided from 2017)

Replicability/Transferability

Unknown

Please specify Replicability/Transferability

Unknown

6. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Climate change

Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters

Green space and habitat

Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development

Increased green space area

Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems

Increased conversion of degraded land or soil

Restoration of derelict areas

Other

Please specify other economic impact

provides Gardening Tables – made of sustainable materials and organic products (Ref. 1)

Description of environmental benefits

Vegetation – Terraces against flood damages are also constructed, for which "several plant species have been planted in the park in the natural context of the river, with the aim of restoring the natural ecosystem of Guadalquivir and promoting a landscaping recovery program" (Ref 7)
Gardening Tables – made of sustainable materials and organic products (Ref. 1)
a 1990s project aimed at recovering the ancient canal (Ref 1)

Economic impacts

Other

Please specify other socio-cultural impact

intergenerational relations (Ref. 1)

Description of economic benefits

provides Gardening Tables – made of sustainable materials and organic products (Ref. 1)

Type of reported impacts

Achieved impacts

Indicators

Variety of plant species (Ref. 7); Accessible amenities (Ref. 1); Environmental education opportunities (Ref. 1)

Environmental, social and economic impacts

Cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Regeneration, land-use and urban development

Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)

Water management (SDG 6)

Analysis of specific impact categories

Job creation: The NBS created ...

No information available

Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...

Improved access to green and/or blue spaces

Increased access to healthy food for humans and/or animals

Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?

Yes

Please specify the negative impacts

Various delays in inaugurating the project (Ref. 10); Architect Juan Cuenca claims there is 'uncontrolled vegetation' in the area which has made it impossible to integrate the river (Ref. 10)

COVID-19 pandemic

Unknown as of 12 September 2020

Methods of impact monitoring

Process of recording NBS impacts

No evidence in public records

Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS

Unknown

Evidence for use of assessment

Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Impact assessment mechanism

Name of any specific impact assessment tools

Unknown.

Use of GIS in mapping impacts

No evidence in public records

Citizen involvement

Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment

Unknown

7. Sources

References

Web links relevant to the intervention

Documents relevant to the intervention

Attachment	Size
Ref. 2 Plan for the protection of the city's green urban areas -1997 (45.9 KB)	45.9 KB
Ref. 1, 3 Miraflores park description of its main spots (320.92 KB)	320.92 KB
Assessment of environmental impacts of the city in some parts of the city such as parks and gardens (338.79 KB)	338.79 KB

List of references

1. Ayuntamiento de Cordoba (n.d). "Miraflores". Delagación de Infraestructuras. [Document provided].
2. Ayuntamiento de Cordoba (2003). "ORDENANZA MUNICIPAL DE PROTECCIÓN DEL MEDIO AMBIENTE URBANO EN RELACIÓN CON LAS ZONAS VERDES (B.O.P. nº.62, de 17 de marzo de 1997)" . [Document provided].
3. Ayuntamiento de Cordoba (n.d). "Miraflores". Delagación de Infraestructuras. [Document provided].
4. Marcelino (2009). "Parque Miraflores". urbecordoba.com. [Not available in 2020].
5. Sapos y Princesas (n.d). "Parque de Miraflores". saposyprincesas.com. [Not available in 2020].
6. Leña, Isabel (2015). "De Miraflores al Parque Joyero". diariocordoba.com. Available at: https://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/temadia/miraflores-parque-joyero_951578.html [Accessed 12 September 2020].
7. Guida Spagna (n.d). "Parque de Miraflores". guidaspagna.net. Available at: http://www.guidaspagna.net/citta/cordoba/parque-de-miraflores.htm [Accessed 12 September 2020].
8. Diario Cordoba. (2003). "Miraflores, listo para ´acoger´ el edificio previsto". diariocordoba.com. Available at: https://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/cordobalocal/miraflores-listo-acoger-edificio-previsto_41538.html [Accessed 12 September 2020].
9. Diario Cordoba. (2003). "El Parque de Miraflores costará un 35% más". diariocordoba.com. Available at: https://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/cordobalocal/parque-miraflores-costara-35-mas_38297.html [Accessed 12 September 2020].
10. Miranda, L. (2018). Miraflores, la historia del parque que no rodeó a la Córdoba del future. ABCdesevilla. Available at: https://sevilla.abc.es/andalucia/cordoba/sevi-miraflores-historia-parque-no-rodeo-cordoba-futuro-201807252115_noticia.html [Accessed 12 September 2020].

Attachments

Attachment	Size
Natural heritage of Cordoba, map and descriptions of all the main parks and gardens of the city (4.65 MB)	4.65 MB

Additional comments

Cordoba had been chosen for welcoming the 44th National Congress of Parks and Public Gardens in 2017: http://www.vivirlosparques.es/index.php/rincon-de-prensa/noticias/item/3692-conclusiones-parjap-17
"The mayor of Cordoba wanted to highlight the importance for the city of Cordoba to organize, together with the AEPJP, an event such as the 44th National Congress, "not only because we are going to put the focus of attention, both nationally and internationally, The management that we do from the public of our green spaces, but because it is a showcase and a unique opportunity for hundreds of people from other areas of the country to know our vast and varied natural, historical and cultural heritage."http://aepjp.es/component/k2/item/3654-reunion-entre-el-ayuntamiento-de-cordoba-y-la-aepjp
Title of an article: "Cordoba, Spanish capital of parks and gardens" source: http://cordopolis.es/2017/01/14/cordoba-capital-espanola-de-parques-y-jardines/

Comments and notes

Comments

2020 comments:
Section 7/ Repetition of references (Ref. 1 & Ref. 3 are the same)
Section 4/ Regional & National governments marked as Key Actors in last review (2017), but I was unable to find information to support that (in 2020 review)
Section 4: Policy Drivers: There is no clear information if the city followed strategy. However, this area was destined to welcome the congress palace. Therefore, the city ended up to create a park. The city may had followed the local policy about the protection of urban environment related to green areas (Ref. 2).

Additional insights

2020 comments:
Section 2/ Implementation Activities: Bird watching activities (at the mirador) (Ref. Unknown)
Section 4/ Roles of Actors: ‘Originally, the park was destined to host the new Congress Hall of the city, however the construction of this congress has been cancelled’ (Ref. 6)

Pictures of the NBS

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/sites/default/files/nbs/images/parque_de_miraflores.jpg

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Public Images

Source: Ref. 10, Rafael Carmona

Source: Ref. 7