Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

A delegation from Los Angeles, composed of the Deputy Mayor, directors from the LA Board of Public Works and its river park, people in charge from the technical departments of engineering, transport, waste management and sustainable economic development, as well as representatives of the private sector in the area, visited the AMB to see first-hand the metropolitan model of governance, its powers, and in particular the characteristics of the Leisure Park Project for the Llobregat River, which they were able to visit.

The Vice-President of the AMB Department of International Affairs and Cooperation, Alfred Bosch, together with Ramon Torra, Manager of the AMB, and Antoni Farrero, the General Coordinator of Infrastructure, were responsible for welcoming the North American visitors and introducing them to the reality of the metropolitan administration and one of its main projects: the reconversion of a space like the Llobregat River Park, as part of the Consortium for the Recovery and Conservation of the River Llobregat.

Los Angeles, which is the second largest city in the US with a similar number of inhabitants as all of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, also has a riverside park, the Rio de Los Angeles State Park, managed by the City of LA in partnership with the Parks Department of the State of California. Therefore, the delegation wanted to familiarize itself with this large green infrastructure with the help of the experts who aided in its recovery. The technicians were able to explain the challenges faced and the solutions which have been implemented to convert a degraded area in what was an example of the integration and conservation of nature within an urban environment, while opening a recreational space for the city's inhabitants.