The Spanish Mediterranean metropolis of Valencia was named European Green City of the Year last week .

European Green Capital 2024 Valencia Spain
[People enjoying lunch at a restaurant in Valencia, Spain]


Valencia, Spain's Mediterranean city, was voted European Green City of the Year last week. According to the explanation, the 800,000-person city's achievements in sustainable tourism, climate neutrality, and a fair and integrated green transition were recognized. Valencia's inner-city transportation has been drastically reformed in recent years, with the implementation of a framework to encourage and enhance pedestrian zones, additional cycling lanes, and a denser public transportation network.


More than 180 kilometers of cycling pathways were developed after the old town was proclaimed a pedestrian zone, with only residents, buses, and taxis permitted to travel - at walking pace. Valencia is also the Spanish city with the lowest level of air pollution in recent years. The environmental research institute Observatorio de la Sostenibilidad determined this. Spanish cities have often been successful in constructing bicycle infrastructure and beginning traffic turnarounds. What is the reason behind this, and what are you doing differently?


The existence of an overall plan for an area-wide infrastructure of consistent quality is critical to success. Giuseppe Grezzi, who has been City Councilor for Mobility in Valencia since 2015, emphasizes this and is a key figure in the implementation of the plan: "Since we took office in 2015, we have been pursuing a holistic project and not a collection of individual measures." In the city's seven years in office, the cycle path network has grown by nearly half, to 183 kilometers today, and the quality of the routes has significantly improved. To make room for pedestrians, many existing cycle paths have been lowered or relocated to the carriageway.


Miguel lvarez, a transport specialist and connoisseur of Spanish transport policy, verifies this: "Grezzi's party knew in advance where it had to travel." At the outset of a legislative term, it is critical to have a ready-made strategy in place that allows you to get started right away. Because there is usually opposition, debate, and annoyance due to building activity in the first several years. The benefits could then be realized at the end of the election period, once the measures were in place and operational.


In Germany, on the other hand, there is often a decades-long lead time with a fundamental stock of existing infrastructure. However, it is frequently gradually improved and expanded, resulting in a patchwork of various types and qualities. Bike lanes were also frequently built where they would cause the least disruption to automobile traffic, rather than where they were most required. If the quality of bicycle infrastructure is measured at its weakest or most hazardous place, a city like Berlin falls short. Valencia is different: in just a few years, a relatively complete, coherent network of cycle paths has been built. The use of bicycles has also increased since then.


Since 2015, the city of Valencia has been led by Joan Ribó, an electoral alliance candidate affiliated with the left-wing Compromis party. A coalition with a lean to the left currently governs the city, with support coming from the Social Democrats and (up until 2019) Valencia en Com, which is the name of the regional offshoot of Podemos. As a direct consequence of the economic crisis, left-wing rally movements were able to force their way into the town halls of Valencia, which is considered to be one of the "cities of change" in Spain. Committed women often made it to the top, such as Manuela Carmena in Madrid and Ada Colau in Barcelona, who is also the chairwoman of the C40, the coalition of large cities working toward climate neutrality. Both of these women were mayors of their respective cities.


People can make all the difference in the world when it comes to the success of a modal shift. In the case of Valencia, that person is someone in the back row named Guiseppe Grezzi, who was born in Italy. He is credible because he is an enthusiastic cyclist who has a vision. Miguel Alvarez, head of the Spanish department at the Mobility Institute in Berlin, says, "I would even go as far as to say he doesn't give a damn about re-election. The main thing is that Valencia gets a reasonable bicycle infrastructure."


Similar resistance, fears, and debates about measures that promote active mobility and limit private car traffic can be observed time and time again. What is now common sense in traffic science is confirmed in Valencia: Measures are successful if they take away space, speed, and privileges from the car.


According to Grezzi, the issue with retail in the old town is more the numerous large shopping centers that are located in the surrounding area. Retailers all over the world fear a drop in sales as a result of restrictions on private car traffic. As elsewhere, the dealers in Valencia initially protested against the eviction of the cars. And again and again, as in Valencia, these prove to be unfounded.


Another commonly held concern, namely that automobile traffic would shift to nearby and secondary roads, did not materialize in Valencia. Neither of these outcomes occurred. A recent study came to the conclusion that "traffic has not been diverted to nearby alternative roads" and that "two desirable effects could occur" as a result of this: "reducing unnecessary trips [by private car] and switching them to more sustainable modes of transport." [Citation needed]


Brent Toderian, a Canadian urban planner, is famous for saying, "Color is not infrastructure," and this adage is frequently cited. The mere presence of color markings on roadways, which are often referred to as "protective lanes," is not sufficient to merit the designation of "bicycle infrastructure." The Conservative party, which held power at Valencia City Hall for more than two decades, was largely responsible for the installation of bicycle lanes on the sidewalk. On the other hand, the new bike lanes in Valencia are almost entirely separate areas, which means that the car lanes have been reduced. As a direct consequence of this, the number of accidents resulting in personal injury fell drastically. In this context, the study points out that "the formats chosen for the construction of cycle paths in recent years are excellent, considering the sufficient section, the suitability of the separation elements made and the solutions at crossings,



It is typically a positive sign of inclusivity and good design when demographics such as older people and women use the infrastructure for active mobility. [Citation needed] According to Valencia's 2019 Bicycle Mobility Report, women make up 39% of cyclists, indicating a high level of satisfaction with the city's cycling infrastructure. Another interesting fact is revealed by the report: 15 percent of people who use bicycles are over the age of 55, and "many of these people are first-time users - thanks to a high-quality infrastructure."


The city of Valencia is also experiencing difficulties with administrative bottlenecks. The authority must make do with just two signal technicians who are in charge of marking traffic areas in order to fulfill their responsibilities. Grezzi laments that "our limited financial and human resources prevent us from moving faster." He calls for "a public company to streamline these projects, which now have to comply with the procedures and authorizations of various administrations that do not only concern mobility". "Our limited financial and human resources prevent us from moving faster," Grezzi says.


Valencia's success can be attributed to a wide variety of factors, including the dynamics of movement around cities that are undergoing change and a national government that collaborates with these cities on environmental and transportation policies. The most important thing to note is that Valencia has both a comprehensive plan for a full cycle path network as well as a long-term vision for putting that plan into action. It is possible that starting over from scratch would be beneficial for many cities in Germany.

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