EU Green Capital Valencia will host 2024 edition of European Urban Resilience Forum
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
This can end up being a major embarrassment for the French capital, as cleaning up the river was touted as a major green project
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games is fast approaching, however, it seems that there might be a big scandal brewing given that the Surfrider Foundation, an NGO studying the cleanliness of the world’s waters, announced that the Seine River remains dangerously polluted. The organization based these claims on analyses it had conducted in the past six months, declaring that the state of the river remained unsuitable for swimmers.
The cleaning up of the Paris main water artery was touted by the authorities as one of the cornerstone projects that would promote the 2024 Olympics as the first zero-waste Olympic Games in history. More than merely cleaning up the river, the promise went that its water would be so pristine that several swimming disciplines would take place there – including the triathlon race.
None other than President Emmanuel Macron and the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, have promised to take a dip in the river before the start of the Games, according to France24.
The entire clean-up operation is reportedly backed by an investment of 1.4 billion euros, which included the construction of water treatment plants (for sewage and storm waters), with a new stormwater facility to be inaugurated this month.
Yet, the measurements show a picture that is not optimistic and could even be quite embarrassing for the organizers.
We are two to three times above the minimum standards required for athletes to be able to compete safely during the season," Marc Valmassoni, Campaign Coordinator for the Foundation, told France Inter. This bacteriological presence of E.coli and Enterococci has potentially serious consequences for athletes, exposing them to pathologies such as gastro-enteritis, conjunctivitis, otitis and skin problems.
According to The Brussels Times, there’s “no plan B” in case the situation doesn’t drastically improve by the summer. What’s more, the plan was that after the Games, the Seine would be open to the general public for swimming, the way it was more than a hundred years ago.
This, however, is likely to change soon
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
The island is dead set on doing something about the problem of overtourism
This is city twinning for the 21st century
You can find it in the capital Sofia, where it was installed upon the initiative of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
People in both cities got to sit together both in person and virtually
An illegal landfill will turn into a parking lot for cars confiscated by the police
It also features fast-charging stations for e-buses
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
A US geologist claims to have solved the centuries-old mystery
This is the day when all madrileños take local pride in their city and culture
And the results were immediate, two Sunday services had to be performed to accommodate the crowd
Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements.
Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
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An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team