Madrid
Site: Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a large urban area with ~6.3 million inhabitants which is already implementing nature-based solutions. Through the “Madrid + Natural” project, the local council is promoting a system of blue- and green infrastructure linking public spaces, parks, natural areas, green walls and roofs in order to bolster the resilience of the city against climate change.
Situation: Madrid has a transition climate, between Mediterranean and cold semi-arid conditions, with strong fluctuations in temperature. This will be a demanding environment for the NICE pilot´s validation, with cold winters during which frequent frost and occasional snowfalls are expected.
Solution: The pilot is located within Aqualia´s (NICE partner) headquarters allowing for a close monitoring. Two NICE pilots will be tested in Madrid, each with the capacity to treat 2 m3/d greywater. The technologies considered include green walls, vegetable rooftops and rain gardens among others.
The NICE Urban Real Labs are ideal test beds for nature-based solutions for circular urban water solutions, as they have varied geographical, environmental and socioeconomic characteristics.
The Urban Real Labs cover a wide range of climate zones: tropical and subtropical (Pereira and Turin), Mediterranean (Talavera, Algeciras, Benalmádena, Lyon, Cairo), transition climate with extreme temperatures (Madrid), oceanic (Vigo, Aarhus), and Baltic (Gdansk).
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No.101003765.