Landscaping project redefines Marina Port Valencia's waterfront
Marina Port Valencia has unveiled an ambitious landscaping project to transform the waterfront and reconnect the city with the sea through a continuous ‘green corridor’. The project, carried out by GM Paisajistas in coordination with the ERRE team, reimagines this historic stretch of the waterfront as an accessible, active public space designed to be enjoyed all year round, tailored to the Mediterranean climate.
At its core, the project seeks to make Marina Port Valencia a seamless extension of the city, replacing the traditional separation between port and urban life. An uninterrupted green corridor links the three marinas (from Marina Norte through Marina City to Marina Sur), structuring the entire area as an urban promenade that gives structure to the waterfront, encourages walking, cycling and outdoor activity, and introduces shaded, cooler places to pause and enjoy life by the water.
The landscape is designed to offer visitors a unique experience, integrating functional nature within a demanding port environment. The proposal promotes progressive renaturalisation through a diverse mix of planting inspired by the Mediterranean coastline, using species adapted to salt exposure, wind, intense sunlight and challenging soil conditions. Meanwhile, layered planting increases biodiversity, lowers irrigation needs and secures the long-term durability of the spaces.
The project connects architecture, greenery and the waterfront in a continuous sequence of public spaces. Shaded stretches, places to pause, viewpoints and activity areas line the route, opening views across the marina basin and out to the horizon, turning the sea into an active part of the urban experience rather than simply a scenic backdrop.
Marina Port Valencia is evolving into a vibrant shared waterfront where sport, active mobility and economic activity coexist, without losing its identity as a marina. The landscape acts as a mediator between the area's industrial heritage and its new urban uses, integrating the port's legacy into a contemporary vision of the waterfront.
From an environmental point of view, the project has featured sustainability criteria from its conception. The selection of native and climate-adapted species reduces irrigation and maintenance needs, increases resilience to wind and salt exposure, and helps establish a stable, long-term planting system. The design treats shade as essential climate infrastructure, combining tree planting, palms and additional elements to maintain comfortable temperatures along the route.
However, the project goes beyond ornamental landscaping, introducing nature as a foundation for wellbeing, identity and climate adaptation. Whenever possible, existing vegetation is reused or transplanted, helping green spaces take root more quickly while lowering the environmental impact of the project.
With this proposal, Marina Port Valencia is making headway towards a contemporary waterfront model in which landscape is driving force of urban transformation: a continuous, recognisable and distinctly Mediterranean coastal space, designed to be lived in, explored and enjoyed in direct contact with the sea.
