Environmental recovery of Llobregat river Baix Llobregat
The aim of the proposal is to identify the main constraints for the environmental recovery of River Llobregat defining at the same time the actions needed to improve the connectivity along its course, as well as its accessibility from the various municipalities surrounding it in order to enhance its social use and to accommodate recreational activities.
The development of the proposal lies in understanding the river from two complementary perspectives: the river as a living and ever-changing entity, full of life as a natural space with its own dynamics and workings, and the river as a peri-urban green and leisure area for citizen enjoyment, while respecting the natural environment where it is located. The proposed landscape envisions the river as a green space, connected to the city and its surroundings. The proposal, executed in several stages, aims to resolve the relationship of the cities with the river, transforming what is now a boundary into an access of some urbanity, allowing the connection between the two riverbanks, linking the preexisting road networks and proposing vegetation which is coherent with the available water resources. Far from making extensive interventions in the entire area of the river, we performed concentrated and specific works to generate major changes in the accessibility and the course along the river.
The actions in the banks of the river were focused on dealing with certain issues to create a reaction in the river in terms of hydraulics and plant life. It is a medium and long term approach without any immediate results. It sets in motion a gradual process of naturalization of the river without any obvious human involvement. The introduction of small elements of change in the course of the river (deflectors) manages to reconfigure its meandrine aspect in shallow waters. Every allochthonous species are removed at certain points to introduce selected species, thus creating expansion units of native flora that should gradually colonize the banks of the river.
