Meetings with political representatives and residents of the four towns to support the continuity of the Viu la riera! project

Attendees were shown a video summary of the process and given dossiers outlining the overall results and those specific to each town, with emphasis on the consolidation of a mobilised and committed network of citizens and the need to ensure the continuity of the project and the implementation of the initiatives for improvement identified by local residents and agreed on by the local government.
It is interesting to point out three areas for improvement considered priorities by the residents of the four towns: the removal of waste from the stream, the elimination of invasive species and the organisation of walks to discover and raise awareness of the riparian landscape. The identification of common priority actions is particularly relevant, as doing so enables the local councils to shift from a local perspective and work together throughout the basin, giving them more strength when requesting resources or pushing forward unitary actions.
With the participatory process back under way, in order to ensure the continuity of the project, in terms of maintaining the online platform, promoting face-to-face workshops and implementing the activities and initiatives for improvements identified as priority, the municipalities have drawn up a working document that proposes three lines of action.
First, to consolidate the annual Stream Day celebration as a day devoted to improving the environment of the Caldes Stream and raising awareness of its natural and cultural heritage. This measure is shared by the local councils of Caldes de Montbui, Palau Solità i Plegamans, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda and La Llagosta. This initiative received unanimous approval from the four local councils, which view it as a cross-cutting recreational and educational activity that should enable them to pool good practices, define new challenges and expand the network of citizens committed to the Caldes Stream.
Second, to solicit the human and technical resources necessary for maintaining the Viu la riera-SIGPP online platform, in efforts to consolidate the work done thus far and continue to drive citizen participation in improving the Caldes Stream. This initiative received unanimous approval from the four local councils, which viewed the potential of the web-based tool in a highly positive light and agreed on the need for supramunicipal institutions to explore financing options.
The third line of action is specific to each town and requires both parties, residents and representatives from local authorities, to continue to work together to assess the steps taken and target resources on implementing the initiatives for improvement agreed on during the participatory process.
With a view to picking these lines of action back up and gaining headway, on Saturday 16 December, there will be a joint meeting at the headquarters of the Besòs-Tordera Consortium that will include members of the citizens’ network from the four towns, specialists and politicians from all four local councils and representatives from both local schools and regional authorities, such as the Catalan Water Agency, the Provincial Council of Barcelona and the Besòs-Tordera Consortium itself.
Viu la riera! is a project promoted by the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture's RIL Research Group and the University of Girona's Institute of the Environment. It is supported by RecerCaixa, a joint programme of the Obra Social "la Caixa", the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.