About Castellón de la Plana
Castellón de la Plana is the capital city of the province of Castellón in Spain, with almost 200,000 inhabitants. The city functions as an economic and social centre for the whole province. The municipality is currently focusing its efforts on promoting systemic changes in the organisation of buildings, energy networks and transport, and is emphasising the importance of the engagement of all relevant stakeholders in these processes, along with the ongoing involvement of citizens. The municipality aims to be a living lab of new and innovative technologies, and promotes any activity directed towards achieving the low carbon economy objectives.
Castellón is tackling several climate and water related challenges, such as water scarcity, heat stress, pollution and densification. The city aims to employ a range of nature-based solutions in planned landscape-scale integrated urban water management. The city's vision for 2050 is to have a green city with a high-quality living environment for everyone. Green corridors will connect the different parts of the city, which will provide shaded places to walk and cycle. The city will also make the best possible use of their water and natural resources. The wetlands will be transformed and a blue-green infrastructure is realised, which will contribute to the environment through a circular economy.
Ambitions, Vision & System Analysis
Ambition Setting
An ambition workshop, which included several sessions with policy makers, strategy departments and internal and external stakeholders, was held to obtain a thorough understanding of the city’s ambitions and specific contexts. The result of the ambition workshop was a set of strategic ambitions for the city.
Vision Development
The vision workshop included several sessions with internal and external stakeholders to define and visualise the desired future for the city. Building on the strategic ambitions, a vision of the desired future scenario for the city in 2050 was developed.
System Analysis
To understand the status quo as a point of departure towards achieving the city’s desired future vision, a systems assessment was conducted to assess the city’s sustainability performance and to support the development of projects to strengthen sustainability and resilience in the city. The analysis also mapped potential stakeholders to help support the roadmapping development process, as well as identified potential sites for NBS implementation.
