Madrid to Blanket Itself in Green for Climate Change Resilience

"In Madrid, pretty much every unused space will soon be covered in plants," according to an article by Adele Peters.

The details of a wide-ranging and ambitious plan:

The city is spending millions to expand existing parks, and as many roofs and walls will be covered with greenery as possible. Twenty-two vacant lots will be turned into urban gardens. Paved squares will become parks that can suck up rainfall. Near the river that runs through the middle of the city—where a major highway was torn down in 2003—the city is spending over $4.3 million to finish filling in the banks with trees.

Cars will also no longer be welcome on some of the center city's streets, allowing planned space for linear parks as well.

The plan addresses one of the key buzzword surrounding planning and cities in recent years: resilience. Already, Madrid has felt the heat of increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall. Peters explains in more detail how each of these landscaping projects can improve quality of life as the city faces the new threats brought about by climate change.