"The quality and design of the landscape in Pamplona are excellent, although the use of bicycles and pedestrianization should be increased."
“La calidad y el diseño del paisaje en Pamplona son excelentes, aunque se debería incrementar el uso de bicicletas y la peatonalización”
"The quality and design of the landscape in Pamplona are excellent, although the use of bicycles and pedestrianization should be increased."
This was stated by Joe McBride, an expert in urban landscaping from the University of Berkeley, on the occasion of a course he gave at the University of Navarra.
Joe McBride, an expert in architecture, design and urban landscape management at the University of Berkeley (California), said that Pamplona has an "excellent quality and landscape design , although the use of bicycles and the pedestrianization of more streets in the center should be generalized, with the goal to reduce pollution levels. This is what he said on the occasion of the Urban Forestry course that he gave at the Master's Degree in Biodiversity, Landscapes and Sustainable management of the University of Navarra.
In the opinion of the specialist -Full Professor of the forestry division of department of Environmental Policy in the North American center-, the percentage of green areas in the capital of Navarre offers a wide range of parks accessible to all citizens. "People should live within 15 minutes walking distance of a green recreational area if we want to have a sustainable city," he said.
For this reason, he defended urban growth that does not exceed 10 levels in height: "With this model we can design enough wooded areas, make urban transport and other infrastructure more profitable and enjoy optimal views in the city."
Regarding the most efficient ways to reduce pollution in urban centers, Joe McBride advised providing more bike lanes and rental zones. He also proposed pedestrianizing most downtown streets and avoiding tree trimming in some areas so that a canopy of joined canopies can be formed. "With these practices, most of the pollution would disappear, absorbed by the trees, whose planting is always guaranteed to improve air quality," he recommended.
Semi-wild green areas
On the other hand, the North American Full Professor suggested broadening citizen participation in environmental planning, "since it can give rise to new ideas while creating community awareness in a common project . In this sense, it is essential to begin to consider the impact of climate change and adapt both design and management of green spaces to it".
According to McBride, another interesting measure related to the environmental Education is to maintain semi-wild green areas with facilities for children to discover and play in what could be a natural forest: "These places are very important for the mental and psychomotor development of the little ones, who could deploy their skills at contact directly with nature".
McBride's participation in the Master's Degree in Biodiversity, Landscapes and Sustainable management of the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra is included in the agreement of partnership that the academic center maintains with the University of Berkeley for the exchange of teachers, students and the partnership in different projects of research.