Towns and Cities, Growing Greener
Towns and Cities, Growing Greener
Located in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Cornellà de Llobregat has a population of 86,610 and covers an area of 7 km2. It is a compact, multi-faceted city, with residential neighbourhoods, facilities, green areas, services and industry. Sitting on the banks of the Llobregat River, the city is home to five large city parks and a small agricultural area that is part of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park. Cornellà’s history has been defined by its proximity to the city of Barcelona, being well connected to the Catalan capital, and by its location on the Llobregat River.
Cornellà de Llobregat at a Glance
Cornellà NaturaCornellà Natura is the city’s Strategic Plan
for 2016–2026, which aims to make the city
more livable – with a focus on sustainable land
use in the city, environmental improvement,
and ensuring that Cornellà is genuinely people-
friendly. The three pillars upon which it is
based include making Cornellà a greener place,
promoting sustainable urban mobility
and improving the city’s environment.
People at the ForefrontCornellà prides itself on the charitable nature
of its citizens and their involvement in a range
of projects in the city. For example, Cornellà
has a ‘Social Agreement’, signed by its citizens
and city stakeholders, committing to working
together to improve Cornellà on the basis of
consensus. Cornellà’s ‘Alliance Against Poverty’
is another such initiative, which provides a city
plan with actions to fight energy poverty and
aims to raise awareness of this issue amongst
citizens by providing them with advice and
support on the topic.
A Vibrant CityOne aspect which particularly characterises
Cornellà is its network of people-led associations.
This enables its citizens to genuinely take part
in a diverse range of educational, cultural and
leisure activities, helping to shape the city for
the benefit of all.
Cornellà de Llobregat places great value on citizens and their involvement in a range of projects in the city.
Cornellà de Llobregat aims to make its city more natural and to maximise its green spaces.
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Cornellà de Llobregat, a Green City
Spotlight on Cornellà de Llobregat
Climate Change and Energy Performance Cornellà signed the new Covenant of Mayors’
Agreement on Climate and Energy, committing
itself to reducing CO2 emissions by 40% by
2030, and at the same time, to becoming a more
resilient city, with a local plan for adaptation
to climate change. Additionally, Cornellà has a
plan to improve energy efficiency in municipal
facilities, and has made a firm commitment to
the fight against energy poverty.
Sustainable Urban MobilityCornellà has two excellent features that
facilitate sustainable mobility: it is a compact
city (almost 90% of journeys within the city are
made on foot) and it has an excellent public
transport network of trams, trains, underground
and buses. There are more than 16 kms of roads
with speed limits of 20 km/h, so vehicles and
pedestrians may co-exist in harmony. 8 kms of
cycle lanes will be added by 2020.
Nature, Biodiversity and Sustainable Land UseThe city’s green infrastructure is made up
of the Llobregat River, parks, green areas and
agricultural land, which account for a total of
83.86 hectares. The Cornellà Natura project
aims to increase the amount of green surface
area to 133.60 hectares by 2026 (15.52 m2/
person). With this in mind, five green corridors
have been defined in Cornellà to fuse the city’s
natural and cultural heritage, structuring green
areas as environmental services, which favour
biodiversity, the water cycle and the urban
micro-climate.
Images on the left page ©Guillem Urbà / Cornellà City Council
• 9.74 m2 of green area per inhabitant, aiming
to reach 15.52 m2 by 2026
• More than 50% of all journeys are made on foot
or by bicycle, with public transport accounting
for another 30%
• Public electric bicycle programme recently
created with 56 bicycles
• 19 solar, thermal energy facilities in schools
and municipal buildings
• 500 environmental education activities
took place in 2018 with more than 14,000
participants
• Energy Efficiency Office created in 2016 to
address energy poverty
• More than 50% of schools form part of the
Schools Network for Sustainability
• Less waste generated per person than
European average, 1.08 kg/person/day vs.
1.31 kg
• Water usage per person is less than
European average, 94.6 litres per day vs.
128 litres
• Won the National Sustainable City Award
for initiatives “Run against energy poverty”
and the “Solidarity Shop” for combating
food waste
• Awarded Child Friendly City twice by
UNICEF-Spain
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Five green corridors Cornellà identified to connect citizens to green spaces.
There are 19 solar, thermal energy facilities in schools and municipal buildings in Cornellà, with installed panels covering a surface area of 544 m². This initiative has a dual objective: to promote renewable energies in the city and to boost the green economy.
Air Quality and Noise Pollution In 2017, the first institutional agreement to
improve air quality in the Metropolis of Barcelona
was approved, aiming to reduce emissions by
10% over the following five years. Cornellà has
also signed up to the Metropolitan Programme
to combat air pollution, which includes structural
measures to reduce polluting emissions. As a
start, the most polluting vehicles have been
banned in some parts of the city when levels
of pollution are high.
Waste and Circular EconomyCornellà has several initiatives to prevent
waste and promote the transition towards a
circular economy. These include the prevention
of food waste through the ‘Solidarity Shop’
concept, where leftover food from Cornellà’s
Centre Market and supermarkets is collected in
collaboration with the Red Cross and distributed
to families in need; as well as the promotion
of composting through the city’s nearly 500
composting stations. In addition, the city has
created a space for ‘social reuse’ at the waste
collection centre where objects that are in
good condition are recovered and distributed
to socially vulnerable people.
WaterCornellà has taken several measures to
conserve its water. For instance, Cornellà built
two ‘lamination tanks’ to prevent flooding and
to regulate the water that reaches treatment
plants. Groundwater is also used to water
public parks and gardens, as well as fill the Can
Mercader Park’s artificial lakes during droughts.
Additionally, sports facilities in Cornellà have
wells and rainwater collectors that reuse the
collected water to water their respective fields,
resulting in a water savings of 90,000 m³/year.
From left to right ©Guillem Urbà / Cornellà City Council ©ProCornellà
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Cornellà de Llobregat, European Green Leaf 2019Cornellà Natura is an urban renewal project geared towards a new concept of mobility and the use of public spaces, thus improving the health and quality of peoples’ lives while also making the city more sustainable and livable. Cornellà’s events and activities during their European Green Leaf 2019 year will strongly reflect the key visions of this strategic project.
More Green SpacesMaking the city a greener place which is
more people-friendly is one of Cornellà’s main
priorities, with many actions planned over the
coming years to increase the number of green
spaces and their links to citizens by way of green
corridors. Cornellà also aims to preserve and
improve its city’s natural heritage, while also
making its city more resilient to climate change.
Improved Public SpacesCornellà is committed to creating a pleasant,
quiet and safe environment for its citizens. It
has plans to create more pedestrianised areas
and to increase the widespread use of public
transport and the bicycle path network, while
also improving road safety, accessibility and
inter-modality.
Cornellà also plans on introducing facilities to
enable greater use of electric vehicles in the city.
Environmental QualityThe city plans on introducing a number of
measures, such as integrated air management
plans, optimised use of water resources and
better waste management, all to improve
Cornellà’s environment and ecological impact.
For instance, Cornellà has been implementing
the Catalan Government’s Action Plan, which
includes a series of actions such as promoting
sustainable mobility and regulating the domestic
boilers in municipal facilities to improve its air
quality. Furthermore, Cornellà’s municipal waste
prevention and management plan will form the
basis for many of their waste-reduction related
activities in the next few years.
Images left and right © Guillem Urbà / Cornellà City Council
8 kms of cycle lanes will be added by 2020. Cornellà aims to increase biodiversity and preserve its city’s natural heritage.
• Galway
• Torres VedrasMollet del Vallès
European Green Leaf Award Winners Ganadores del premio European Green Leaf Award
• Cornellà de Llobregat 2019
• Horst aan de Maas 2019
• Leuven 2018
• Växjö 2018
• Galway 2017
• Torres Vedras 2015/2016
• Mollet del Vallès 2015/2016
• Leuven
• Horst aan de Maas
• Växjö
Cornellà de Llobregat
ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreenleaf
European Green Leaf AwardThe European Green Leaf Award is a
competition aimed at towns and cities
across Europe, with between 20,000 and up
to 100,000 inhabitants, which recognises a
city’s commitment to better environmental
outcomes. It is the partner competition
of the European Green Capital Award for
cities over 100,000 inhabitants. Cornellà de
Llobregat in Spain and Horst aan de Maas
in the Netherlands are the joint European
Green Leaf Award winners for 2019. In 2018,
Leuven in Belgium and Växjö in Sweden were
the joint European Green Leaf Award winners.
The Spanish city of Mollet del Vallès and the
Portuguese city of Torres Vedras were the
winners of the inaugural European Green Leaf
Award 2015/2016, followed by the Irish city of
Galway, who won the title in 2017.
The European Green Leaf and European Green
Capital Awards are initiatives of the European
Commission. To find more information about
the winners, how to apply for the Awards, how
the winners are selected, and for any other
questions, please visit our website below.
European Green Leaf AwardEl premio European Green Leaf Award está
dirigido a ciudades europeas de entre 20.000 y
100.000 habitantes y reconoce su compromiso
para mejorar sus logros en sostenibilidad urbana.
Va de la mano del European Green Capital
Award, que se concede a ciudades de más
de 100.000 habitantes. Cornellà de Llobregat
(España) y Horst aan de Maas (Países Bajos) son
las ganadoras conjuntas del premio European
Green Leaf Award 2019. En 2018, las vencedoras
conjuntas de este galardón fueron Lovaina
(Bélgica) y Växjö (Suecia). Mollet del Vallès
(España) y Torres Vedras (Portugal) ganaron
la edición inaugural, 2015/2016, seguidas de
Galway (Irlanda), que se hizo con el título en 2017.
Los premios European Green Leaf y European
Green Capital son iniciativas de la Comisión
Europea. Para más información sobre las
ganadoras, cómo presentar una candidatura,
cómo se elige a las vencedoras o cualquier
otra consulta, visite nuestro sitio web a
continuación.
Towns and Cities, Growing Greener
Print K
H-04-18-873-2S-C
ISB
N 978-92-79-96526-5
doi:10.2779/176762PD
F K
H-04-18-873-2S-N
ISB
N 978-92-79-96527-2
doi:10.2779/486060
cover image “C
an Mercader Park ” ©
Guillem
Urbà / C
ornellà City C
ouncil
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019
© European Union, 2019 Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39).For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.