Valongo hosted the second transnational meeting of the PARKS network on 25 and 26 June, bringing together municipalities from Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Spain, Ukraine and Ireland to discuss urban green spaces. The network is funded under the fourth call of the URBACT programme and is led by Perugia. It aims to transfer good practices in managing and maintaining green spaces in urban areas.

Who took part and what was discussed

PARKS stands for Participatory Actions for Resilient and Knowledgeable Stewardship. Representatives came from Perugia (Italy), Sofia (Bulgaria), Veszprém (Hungary), Arteixo (Spain), Chernivtsi (Ukraine) and County Monaghan (Ireland). The two days covered good practices in managing green spaces and assets, citizen participation and the inventory of urban trees. An expert in green-space management also took part.

What Valongo showed

On the first day, participants visited green spaces in the municipality and learned about the management practices used there. They also saw the “Community Gardens” initiative, developed by Valongo City Council under the “Walls that Unite Us” project, which involved residents of social housing areas in gardening in the spaces next to their homes. The management of the PARKS network was also discussed that day.

On 26 June, the discussion turned to two municipal projects, “Every Street with Trees” and “Network of Urban Micro-forests”. Perugia presented its urban tree inventory, and a workshop covered the phytosanitary assessment of trees. The day ended with a walk to the village of Couce.

The local action group

A local action group of municipal partners follows the implementation of the network in Valongo. Its members include:

  • the parish councils
  • LIPOR, the association of municipalities for sustainable waste management in the Porto Metropolitan Area
  • the Association of Municipalities of the Parque das Serras do Porto and the Association of Municipalities of the Rio Leça Corridor
  • municipal services, the company Colquímica and Tree Plus, a UTAD spin-off

During the meeting, LIPOR also presented a set of good practices related to sustainability.

Next steps and wider context

Besides transferring Perugia’s practices, the network aims to foster mutual learning, with all partners sharing their own practices and projects. A new meeting is planned later this year in Veszprém, Hungary.

The meeting adds to other green-space work around Valongo. On 28 May, the Serras do Porto Natura 2030 project, an investment of more than €1.7 million, was presented in Paredes. It covers the municipalities of Gondomar, Paredes and Valongo and includes the rehabilitation of 8.4 kilometres of watercourses.