The Guadalmedina river in Malaga as a collaborative process of design,execution and management of an urban and biological corridor
- Autores: Rubén Mora Esteban
- Localización: EESAP15 International Conference 2024, 22-23 October Donostia-San Sebastián: Proceedings book, 2025, ISBN 978-84-9082-982-0, págs. 142-159
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
The Guadalmedina River, a Mediterranean torrent that flows through the city of Malaga (Spain), has been a crucial element in the history and urban development of the city. As in many rivers globally, the intense urbanisation of its bed, and the hydraulic interventions (riverbed canalisation, damming, etc.) aimed at controlling the flow of water and preventing recurrent flooding, mainly due to the deforestation of its basin, have generated significant problems in terms of fluvial functionality and ecological connectivity. With the aim of showing a more open, transparent and democratic way of approaching urban and environmental issues, this article presents the interdisciplinary and participatory research carried out on the Guadalmedina River by Rizoma Foundation1. An exhaustive analysis has been carried out at basin and urban section level with a methodology developed in phases and over a long period of time. A series of primary data collection activities have been carried out, such as fieldwork, observations, surveys, interviews, bibliographic reviews and document analysis. Other educational and dissemination activities have been developed, such as a multidisciplinary proposal workshop and the publication of a book. It ends with the development of a proposal for a collective and collaborative process of design and management for the rehabilitation of the river. It is concluded that this approach is more in keeping with the complexity of a river ecosystem and is in line with the new policies for action in urban and natural spaces, as well as with the demands of a citizenry that demands more transparency and decision-making power in common affairs. It is an example of action that can be extrapolated to other places within the paradigm of the eco-social transition in which we find ourselves.