Erasmus: The City of Murcia

Posts über unser Erasmus-Projekt erscheinen in Englischer Sprache – Übersetzung? | Posts about our Erasmus project appear in English – Translation?

Murcia is the capital city of the Region of Murcia located in the southeast of Spain, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Region of Murcia is one of the driest and hottest regions in Europe. The most important source of water is the River Segura which flows through the region and the city. Therefore Murcia is surrounded by large agricultural areas where fruits, vegetables and flowers are produced. Often Murcia is called “Orchard of Europe”.

Prehistoric rock paintings are proofs of very early human settlements. The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians used the River Segura to connect the harbour town of Cartagena with the hinterland. In 825 the town of Mursiya was founded by the Moors. The Moors installed a highly complex system of irrigation canals that enabled rich agriculture. For more than 400 years Murcia was an arab city and the inhabitants of Murcia say that they all have arab roots.

Nowadays Murcia has over 460,000 inhabitants and has an important university.
Some of the main sustainability challenges in Murcia are related to waste and water management, unsustainable consumption, ecosystem degradation and the dominance of fossil fuel energy.
Murcia’s Circular economy strategy, just launched on 22 November 2021, aims to address many of these concerns, while catalysing a number of circular innovations. For example, through its engagement in the European-funded VALUEWASTE project, Murcia has introduced the selective collection of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste, which is valorised into protein for food, feed, and biofertilisers. Murcia is considered an example for well-managed wastewater treatment and reuse. Furthermore, Murcia takes part in a large number of circular economy and stakeholder engagement initiatives.
Murcia is home to:

• 117 km of bicycle lanes
• 3156 public bicycle parking spots
• more than 50000 square meters of pedestrian areas in the city centre
• recreation areas along the river banks
• 54 charging points for electric vehicles and 50 more under construction
• implementation of new containers for urban organic waste for public markets, restaurants and bars

“It is our aim in Murcia to act as an urban bioeconomy lighthouse by sharing and replicating the so-called ‘Murcia circular experience’ with other cities of the ICLEI network” Jose Antonio Serrano, Mayor of Murcia.

Murcia is also home to our Spanish partner school, which hosted us this time – and the reception at I.E.S. Aljada was just as wonderful.

 

All posts about the Erasmus project can be found here.

 

 

 

 

erstellt am: 25.11.2024 von Julia Kabatas

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