Assessment of green networks in peri-urban areas of south-west Madrid

According to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [1], citizens must have universal access to green areas and the connection between urban and peri-urban areas must be encouraged. This investigation shows the important contribution of peri-urban green zones for the fulfilment of this double objective since environmental, social and economic values converge in them and also supra-territorial strategies can be defined from them [2, 3, 4]. In this way, one of the essential principles of Urban Ecology, connectivity as a foundation of resilience, is fostered. In the case of large peri-urban green areas, this study shows that their location and size are strategic in the definition of the urban ecotones, in the conservation of ecological corridors in urban environments and in the definition of strategies to improve biodiversity. These are places designed to host a strong pressure for public use, so it is increasingly urgent to educate society in the need to value the Mediterranean landscape and ecological designs as the only sustainable model not only for the future, but from the present. These solutions are beginning to be applied in urban green areas on an ad hoc basis, but a great effort and support is needed in their dissemination and knowledge, as well as joint work with research bodies as it is an arduous job. The difficulties of joint management between local administrations in the management of these green areas result in incoherent situations that condition the adequate achievement of projects with common objectives and their landscape integration. Establishing good governance practices is essential when carrying out projects that, although local in nature, are framed at territorial scales...