Since last January, the Taranto administration has been working on the “Green Belt Taranto,” an ambitious project aimed at making the city a green capital. This plan, which has been presented on national and European institutional tables and integrated into the Just Transition Fund, envisions widespread renaturalization and greening throughout the city. The goal is to transform public areas into a green belt that includes parks, wetlands, urban forests and other areas of natural interest, divided into three main sections: north, east and south.
The green belt is part of a larger environmental reclamation process to counter the effects of decades of industrial activity. The project aims to reclaim marginal and undeveloped areas, create new urban and suburban parks, reorganize peri-urban gardens, and improve natural areas such as wetlands and shorelines. One of the main initiatives is the planting of about one million trees, to increase the city's green area, and the creation of sustainable infrastructure, such as bicycle and pedestrian paths.
Some interventions have already been started, including the “Urban Forest” in the Tamburi district, designed to purify polluted soils and aquifers, and the Mar Piccolo terraced waterfront, which is part of a larger environmental system. Further investments are planned in various parks and urban natural areas, such as Eco Palude La Vela and Mar Grande Park, through the three-year Public Works Plan.
The “Green Belt Taranto” represents an innovative model of urban planning, with the aim of integrating green as an essential infrastructure and promoting a sustainable future for the city and its inhabitants.
