The website of the European Commission includes, in its section on Environment and Climate, a report on LIFE Lugo + Biodinámico with a meeting with Mayor Lara Méndez and Municipal Architect Susana Penedo.

In this meeting, focused on the objectives of LIFE Lugo + Biodinámico, such as turning Lugo into a model of resilience to climate change for other European cities, the Municipal architect Susana Penedo highlighted that Multiecological Neighbourhood and recovery of the green environment the city will demonstrate to the rest of Europe how ecological design oriented towards sustainability can contribute to combat climate change from the cities. This goal has become especially important now, when the reality of the pandemic and the lockdowns across the continent remind us of the enormous importance that healthy homes and green urban spaces have for our well-being.

For its part, the Mayor of Lugo, Lara Méndez, declared that “the Multiecological Neighbourhood will be a constructive reference for all sustainable and resilient European cities”. The residents of Lugo will be able to enjoy the organic configuration of urban and green spaces, which bring the best of the city and nature closer together. At the heart of this new neighborhood will be located the Impulso Verde building, the project’s flagship and architectural piece that will function as a municipal and work space, with sustainable elements and guaranteeing the building’s energy self-sufficiency. The entire area of ​​the Multiecological Neighbourhood will be a leisure space designed to protect native nature, with urban forests and a recovered wetland.

The team that works on the configuration and planning of the Multiecological Neighbourhood focuses on new construction techniques to create innovative buildings from locally sourced materials, such as Galician wood. The pioneering use of these construction materials, which will replace steel and concrete, will guarantee that the constructions that are erected from now on in the city of Lugo will emit less CO2 into the atmosphere, reducing in this way the environmental footprint of the city.

“When a city like Lugo assumes this model as part of the city’s strategy, it turns it into an example for other medium-sized cities in the European Union”, says Susana Penedo. “Once the difficulties that COVID-19 is posing to us have been overcome, we will be prepared to respond in our city by improving habitability and urban spaces”, says Lara Méndez, Mayor of Lugo.