Landscape Regeneration of the Area around the Cabanyal Station and Serreria Avenue by CERCLE Territorio Paisaje y Arquitectura SLP

The regeneration of 49.171 m²  in the Poblats Maritims district of Valencia, promoted by the Valencia City Council, reimagines the space between the neighborhoods of El Grau, El Cabanyal-Canyamelar, La Malva-rosa, and Beteró. Anchored around the Cabanyal railway station and Serreria Avenue, the project transforms an infrastructural void into a resilient, inclusive, and biodiverse urban landscape.

CONTEXT AND VISION

By the end of the 19th century, the so-called Maritime Villages were already the second most important urban hub in the metropolitan area of Valencia. With an economy linked to fishing, the development of the port provided another source of employment for the people of Valencia’s waterfront neighborhoods.

In the late 1990s, the urban plan to extend Avenida Blasco Ibañez could create a deep impact on the old urban structure and was ultimately halted due to strong opposition to a project deemed to disrespect the area’s character. The space has an important symbolic significance as it represents a meeting place for all of Valencia’s neighborhoods near the sea.

Within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund and through the financing of a Sustainable and Integrated Urban Development Strategy for the Cabanyal-Canyamelar-Cap de França Neighborhood, a process of redevelopment of the maritime villages was initiated, including regeneration initiatives such as the project surrounding the Cabanyal Station.

The proposal reclaims public space with a design structured around three core strategies:

•Plazas as Living Ecosystems: A constellation of green plazas interconnects neighborhoods and creates inclusive, pedestrian-oriented environments. The project creates an important area for traffic calming by creating a pedestrian space of more than 30,000 m2, 1,200 meters of two-way bicycle lane, 10 bicycle racks with a capacity of 30 bicycles, 40 new pedestrian crossings and 5 sensorized parking spaces for handicap people. Activities are included with a 450 m2 playground, a boccia court and bio-health facilities, 120 benches and 22 ischial supports create an environment suitable for resting from the frenetic pace of the city.

•Urban Forest and Climate Resilience: The project generates a large canopy of vegetation to adapt the urban space to the heat waves that Valencia experiences most frequently. A balanced Mediterranean garden with 425 trees of 15 different species and 6,827 shrubs of 75 different species, encompassing 17,500 square meters of green space. Two biodiversity areas are located next to the station, an area of 450 m2 of gravel gardens. The underground railway tunnel prevented the planting of trees in the affected area. To compensate for the lack of vegetation in this area, 86 planters with small trees and shrubs were installed. The extensive planting scheme supports evapotranspiration, carbon sequestration, and human comfort.

•Sustainable Water Management: The 4,91 hectares site has been transformed into a fully permeable urban landscape, promoting the city’s resilience to climate extremes. These systems, implemented across 200 square meters of the project area, respond to both historical and contemporary challenges—such as the devastating 1957 flood and the more recent DANA event in 2024. This hydrological strategy is not merely technical; it is a critical adaptation measure that prepares the urban fabric for future climate uncertainty, while integrating ecological function into the public realm.

ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL BENEFITS

The new green infrastructure acts as a biodiversity corridor, offering habitat and shelter for urban fauna while enriching the local flora across multiple layers—groundcover, shrubs, and canopy. Designed as true urban refuges, these spaces offer microclimates to support life during heatwaves, droughts, and storms.

From the urban forest emerging at the edge of the Cabanyal neighborhood to the meandering promenade along Serreria, users experience a landscape of transitions: from biodiversity “drops” to a water garden plaza, and finally to shaded waiting areas echoing the old railway tracks. These “green wagons” suggest a new narrative of mobility—slower, gentler, more human.

The result is a landscape that goes beyond beautification: it is a performative system that regulates climate, filters water, reduces emissions, and improves public health. Culturally, it restores a sense of place and pride in an area historically shaped by community resistance and resilience.

TOWARD A NEW URBAN NATURE

This regeneration project redefines the relationship between infrastructure, ecology, and urban life. It turns the space around the Cabanyal Station from a barrier into a green hinge—linking neighborhoods, capturing rain, sheltering biodiversity, and fostering social inclusion.

It is not just a park. It is a climate infrastructure. A civic commons. A living system that responds to today’s crises—ecological, social, and climatic—with beauty, care, and intention.

• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape: CERCLE Territorio Paisaje Arquitectura SLP

• All architecture offices involved in the design: Gecival Ingeniería, Execution TECOPSA Landscaping execution PAIMED

• Other credits you need or wish to write: Ines Novella Abril (architect) responsible for the Gender Approach in Urban Design, Photography by Bruno Almela

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