‘La ciudad que piensa’ urban transformation forum brings together experts from EDDEA and Paris City Council

José María de Cárdenas, founding partner of EDDEA, took part alongside Genevieve Garrigos, a councillor at Paris City Council, in a forum organised by the Zona Franca de Cádiz and Diario de Cádiz, on a panel entitled ‘La ciudad que piensa’ (The Thinking City). The forum set out to reflect on proposals for the future design of more sustainable and liveable urban spaces.

In the debate, Genevieve Garrigos, a councillor in the government of San Fernando-born mayor Anne Hidalgo, spoke on ‘Paris and its 15-minute city’, while José María de Cárdenas, the architect leading the project for Seville’s future Port Urban District (Distrito Urbano Portuario), focused his talk on ‘Seville, territory and attractive cities’.

Garrigos explained the 15-minute city project, built on the idea that residents can find everything they need close to home, in their own neighbourhood. One of the goals this achieves is fewer car journeys and lower emissions.

The Parisian representative also described one of the projects under way: ensuring there is “a breathing space” no more than five minutes from every home. To this end, ‘oases’ with trees and planting have been created in school playgrounds, which are also opened to the public in the afternoons.

José María de Cárdenas, for his part, is leading the project commissioned by the Port Authority in Seville to transform some two linear kilometres between the Puente de las Delicias and the Puente del Centenario, reclaiming this stretch of the river for the city and its neighbouring districts.

The project drawn up by the EDDEA team covers the layout, land uses, buildings and planning of this new 57-hectare neighbourhood of the Andalusian capital, which will integrate the port into the city. “Ultimately, it is about creating a liveable, inclusive and connected district for an area that is going to be profoundly transformed,” De Cárdenas said.