The Reus City Council has already begun to take the first steps to execute the RENATUReus project, which should allow the renaturalization of the city before 2026.

During the coming weeks, the council will put out to tender the drafting of projects to create climate shelters in four educational centers and their surroundings for a value of 90,000 euros.

The educational centers chosen are  the Pompeu Fabra, General Prim, Teresa Miquel and Marià Fortuny schools.

The actions will focus on the construction of new groves, new shade houses and plant pergolas, as well as the replacement of hard pavement with permeable pavements that allow greater water retention and, therefore, better development of the biodiversity of the environment.

The Councilor for Education and Citizenship of the Reus City Council, Pilar López, has assured that the council has chosen these four schools “taking into account the socioeconomic situation of the families of the schools and the neighborhood, the provision of greenery, the surface area ratio of shade per student, the comfort and habitability of the neighborhood’s homes, the capacity to accommodate maximum people based on the free surface, participation in the participatory process and the impact of the community benefit and the social transformation of the neighborhood.

“All of this,” Lópe said, “with the desire that these climate shelters are also accessible to all citizens outside of school hours.

For this reason, not only will intervention be done in the patios of these centers, but also in their surroundings with the creation of new groves and shaded spaces that “connect and expand the plant perimeter.”

The creation of these climate shelters is one of the actions included in the RENATUReus project, which has a total budget of 4.2 million euros, 95% of which will be financed by Next Generation funds.

The project is structured into three action plans: the Green and Blue Biodiversity Infrastructure Plan, the Climate Refuge Plan and the Reus Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems Master Plan (SUDS).

The drafting of these three documents amounts to 212,000 euros, 86,000 euros and 128,000 euros, respectively.