Brazil: Preparing Cities for Climate Change Requires a Focus on Nature

Fortaleza, the state capital of Ceará, is widely known for its beaches, Crab Thursdays, forró music, and comedy shows. However, another local initiative—albeit less famous—shows a lot of potential to inspire Brazil and the world: the regeneration of urban green spaces under the Fortaleza Sustainable City project.

Led by the Fortaleza Mayor's Office and supported by the World Bank, the project focuses on improving land use and the urban environment, supporting the implementation of urban and environmental policies, and rehabilitating public spaces through interventions at the Vertente Marítima Basin and other selected green areas. So far, US$36 million have been invested—approximately half of the total loan value (US$73.3 million).

The project is now reaching its final year, and the regeneration of Rachel de Queiroz Park is one of its main achievements. The park—the second largest in the city—is 10 kilometers long and covers a total area of approximately 203 hectares, divided into 19 sectors. Redevelopment works in four sectors were completed in February 2022, covering 12.9 hectares. Work is underway in another two sectors, and should be completed by March 2024.

One of the sectors that have been completed—near the Presidente Kennedy district—included a large area prone to flooding, which was also used as an illegal dump. The project implemented a unique solution that has contributed to reducing water pollution and minimizing flooding at the local level, in addition to providing benefits to the population, biodiversity, and the local economy.

It consists of a wetland system formed by nine interconnected ponds. The water coming from Cachoeirinha Stream flows gravitationally from one lagoon to another, thus triggering a natural cleaning process known as bioremediation, which improves water quality across the whole system. In addition, over 1,000 trees were planted, and several community leisure areas were created.

Rachel de Queiroz Park and its new life constitute an excellent example of a “nature-based solution”. Such solutions focus on replicating natural processes, and represent one of the project’s differentiators. They are used to protect, restore, create, and/or manage natural or modified environments (including coastal or riverine environments). They are closely related to the objectives of adapting environments to extreme weather events (such as intense rainfall), and/or mitigating the effects of these phenomena.

“In most cases, nature-based solutions provide, in addition to environmental benefits, a number of socioeconomic benefits, such as enhancing leisure and sports facilities; promoting local economy and businesses; and increasing biodiversity, among others,” says Hannah Kim, senior specialist and project manager for Urban Development at the World Bank.

This is exactly what happened in the sector near Presidente Kennedy at Rachel de Queiroz Park. Through the project, a number of walking tracks, cycle paths, and leisure and sports areas were created in the area. In addition, the local government coordinated a program of cultural and educational activities. These new developments encouraged more people to visit the park, which in turn attracted several businesses. These improvements are estimated to have benefited around 70,000 people.

“It’s an innovative way of designing urban infrastructure, where the public use of urban facilities is aligned with the cycles of nature and the preservation of local biodiversity,” says Luciana Lobo, municipal secretary for Urban Development and Environment of Fortaleza.

In recognition of its achievements, Rachel de Queiroz Park was nominated for the Loop Design Award, one of the most respected architecture and design awards in the world. It also received the Building of the Year 2023 Award from Archdaily, a leading online platform in architecture and design.

Lessons Learned

In Brazil, rapid and unplanned urbanization has contributed to precarious access to basic services, increased inequality, pollution, deforestation, and disaster-related risks. In Fortaleza, a city with nearly 2.5 million people, these trends are particularly evident. Its growth pattern has been characterized by repeated invasions of environmental protection areas, parks, and green spaces. The poorest areas are located along the coast and main waterways, which are very vulnerable to flooding and pollution. Climate change has further increased these risks.

The Fortaleza Sustainable City project is part of a wider effort by the Fortaleza Municipal Government to consolidate, regenerate, and safeguard its green space system. However, Fortaleza needed additional support to reach scale in this effort, and so the municipality sought financial and technical support from the World Bank.

In addition to Rachel de Queiroz Park, the project is investing in micro parks—small public spaces that were previously underused or abandoned throughout the city, and which are now undergoing rehabilitation based on a set of criteria, including proximity to primary schools. The Fortaleza Micro Parks project was selected as the third best initiative at the Seoul Design Award for Sustainable Daily Life 2023—the only project in South America. In 2022, it also won the international AIPH World Green City Award.

Many lessons have been learned throughout this process. A key lesson is that engaging local governments and communities is essential for any park system project to be successful. In both projects—Rachel de Queiroz Park and Micro Parks—city officials, local communities, and schools were involved during the design, implementation, and operation stages.

In the Micro Parks project, these groups actively participated in site selection, project design, supervision of implementation, and operation and management. Involving residents in design and planning also increases community buy-in to the project and ensures that the green spaces meet the needs of the population.

The face of the neighborhood

Bernadete Micro Park, in the Siqueira district, is one of the micro parks under the project. The name pays homage to catechist Bernadete Ferreira Souza, who is now 72 years old, and has lived in the neighborhood for 42 years. Through her social work, she has become a reference for the community.

“This was a garbage dump. Today, we have transformed it into a beautiful space, where children will be able to play, and families will be able to spend their afternoons and evenings. This is very gratifying," she says. “It is a participatory micro park. And this is what excites me the most: it has the face of this community. It’s not something that was decided top-down," she adds.

This work further proves that nature-based solutions, such as the creation of urban green spaces, are more effective when used as part of integrated investment packages. For example, the project received grants to connect low-income homes to the local sewage system, in order to contribute to reducing pollution along the coast. To date, 2,500 household sewage connections have been completed.

The idea of integrating all these measures is in line with meeting the needs of cities in Brazil and around the world toward increasing resilience in an inclusive way. As a result of this, Fortaleza will certainly attract the attention of leading global experts in urban development—and when they visit, they will also be able to enjoy the city’s beautiful beaches, Crab Thursdays, forró music, and comedy shows.