Urban Forest of Palma

Urban Forest of Palma
Bosc Urbà de Palma (ca)
Bosque Urbano de Palma (es)
Interactive map of Urban Forest of Palma
TypePublic park
LocationPalma, Spain
Coordinates39°34′43″N 2°38′41″E / 39.57861°N 2.64472°E / 39.57861; 2.64472 (Urban Forest of Palma)
Area34,000 m2 (370,000 sq ft)
Created2018-under construction
OperatorPalma City Council

The Urban Forest of Palma (in catalan, Bosc Urbà de Palma; in spanish, Bosque Urbano de Palma) is an urban park planned in 2015 and under construction since 2018. It is located in Palma (Balearic Islands, Spain), in the space occupied by two sports facilities now in disuse, the Canódromo Balear and Tirador, in Es Fortí neighborhood. The first phase was completed in July 2022 and the second is expected to be carried out between 2027 and 2028.

History

Precedents: la Falca Verda

At beginning of 21st century, the Palma City Council began planning a large public park called Sa Falca Verda on land where it had been planned for decades. Among other lands, this future space was to include the lands of two sports facilities that had already been closed: Tirador (a track for cycling), closed in 1973, and Canódromo Balear (for greyhound races), closed in 1999.[1] In 2002 the project designed by architect Manuel Ribas Piera was approved,[2] which envisaged several phases of execution, one of which included greyhound and cycling tracks and envisaged the replacement of the old sports structures with a new urbanization, similar to the design of the rest of the park.

In 2005, work began with the construction of a part of the project: the so-called Parc de la Riera,[3] which opened its doors in 2007.[4] The construction of the rest of Sa Falca Verda remained stalled. Specifically, in the case of future Bosc Urbà because the expropriation of the greyhound track could not be achieved until 2008[5] and the cycling track, until 2015.[6]

New design. The urban park

On 28 December 28 2015 the city council presented a new project for the area: the so-called Bosc Urbà (urban park).[7][8][9] This new plan separated it from the rest of Sa Falca Verda, reconfigured as a park distinct from the rest; it replaced the original project with another by the architect Isabel Bennasar that preserved the old sports structures and planned to landscape the area taking them as a base, in addition to increasing the area dedicated to trees and vegetation in relation to the original project by Ribas Piera.[10]

The works did not start on time and on 14 February 2017 the project was re-submitted, now divided into two phases and to be implemented on the greyhound track.[11] This new project also did not start on time.

Execution

The works on the Urban Forest began on 27 July 2018 in first phase, corresponding to Canódromo Balear. It was expected to last twelve months and then the second phase corresponding to Tirador would be implemented.[12][13][14] However, the deadlines were extended longer than expected on several occasions,[15][16] so that first phase of the green area did not open to the public until 29 July 2022.[17][18] As for the second phase, corresponding to the velodrome, it was officially presented on 22 May 2025, according to a design by architects Isabel Bennasar and Corina Dîndăreanu, and is expected to be carried out between 2027 and 2028.[19]

Description

Despite the name of forest, the dimensions correspond of an urban park, since when it is completely finished the space will have a total of approximately 34,000 m2, made up of 16,000 of greyhound track and 18,000 of cyclist track (for comparison, the main green lung of the city, Bosc de Bellver, exceeds one million m2). However, the plan is quite different from the rest of the city's parks, since it is characterized by a basically soft, tree-lined and sparsely paved surface (with the exception of the accesses), in comparison with the rest of the main parks in the city, which would make it conceptually similar to surfaces such as Bosc de Bellver.

The site of the future park has an irregular shape and extends along the stretch of the Riera stream that runs between Es Fortí and Bons Aires neighborhoods. The perimeter is marked by Miquel dels Sants Oliver street (west), the military installations of Es Fortí (north), Jesús and Carles I streets (east), and the IES Ramon Llull and building of La Riera (UIB), to south.

In the first phase of the park, corresponding to Canódromo Balear, 280 trees have been planted: holm oaks, maples, linden trees, olive trees, elms, pines, poplars, oaks and cypresses, in addition to the planting of shrubs, lawn, spartium, grass, laurel, and bush, among others. It incorporates drainage systems so that rainwater is self-managed, complemented by irrigation systems with regenerated water. In addition to urban furniture and pedestrian routes, elimination of architectural barriers at the entrances to the park connected to the adjacent streets.[20] The entire park will be crossed by the Riera stream and two footbridges will be built to connect the two parts of the Urban Forest.[10]

Its strategic location, near important educational centers (Lluís Vives School, IES Ramon Llull and IES Joan Alcover high schools, among others), the historic center and easy access (near the Avingudes de Palma), everything suggests that it will be a very popular green area, especially for children and adolescents.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "El parc de la Riera: més d'un segle esperant". Ara Balears (in Catalan). 7 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "La Falca Verda de Palma se pone en marcha tras dos décadas de espera". Última Hora (in Spanish). 2 August 2002.
  3. ↑ "El Ram se instalará en el Parc de sa Riera a finales de mes". Última Hora (in Spanish). 12 February 2005.
  4. ↑ "Matas pide dinero para carreteras y residencias en la inauguración del Parc de sa Riera". Última Hora (in Spanish). 22 January 2007.
  5. ↑ "Aprobado el pago de los 14,3 millones pendientes por la expropiación del antiguo canódromo". Última Hora (in Spanish). 28 February 2008.
  6. ↑ "El Supremo ordena una nueva tasación para expropiar el velódromo del Tirador". Última Hora (in Spanish). 25 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "L'Ajuntament convertirà en 'bosc urbà' els antics Canòdrom i Velòdrom". Diari de Balears (in Catalan). 28 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "Cort creará un bosque en los 34.000 metros del canódromo y el velódromo de es Tirador". Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). 29 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Cort creará un bosque en pleno centro de Palma". Última Hora (in Spanish). 29 December 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Urban Design Sa Falca Verda. Palma, Mallorca". Isabel Bennasar. Architecture Landscape Office. 2015.
  11. ↑ "El bosque urbano del canódromo será una realidad antes de final de año". Última Hora (in Spanish). 14 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Un bosque en el antiguo canódromo". Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). 21 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "Comienzan las obras para la construcción del bosque urbano en el canódromo de Palma". Europa Press (in Spanish). 27 July 2018.
  14. ↑ "Se inician las obras para convertir el canódromo de Palma en un bosque urbano". Última Hora (in Spanish). 27 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "La inauguración del proyecto del bosque urbano se retrasa hasta el otoño". Última Hora (in Spanish). 9 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "El Pacte de Cort sigue sin fecha de inauguración del bosque urbano". El Mundo (in Spanish). 23 October 2019.
  17. ↑ "El canódromo ya está abierto al público". Última Hora (in Spanish). 29 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "El canódromo ya está abierto a la ciudadanía convertido en un gran parque público". Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). 30 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "El Ayuntamiento de Palma invertirá 3,6 millones de euros en el proyecto para incorporar El Tirador a la Falca Verda". Europa Press (in Spanish). 13 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Alumnes de secundària planten els primers arbres del bosc urbà del canòdrom de Palma". Diari de Balears (in Catalan). 8 April 2019.
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