Guimarães expands parks and river paths to cut summer heat

Guimarães, the latest European Green Capital, is intensifying its climate-adaptation plan by creating a radial system of green corridors that connect parks, farms, forests and the Ave and Vizela rivers. The initiative, coordinated by the Guimarães 26 Mission Unit at the Landscape Laboratory, follows more than a decade of investments in green roofs, urban gardens and river restoration. Satellite-image analysis published in September 2025 shows land-surface temperatures falling by as much as 2.49 °C where these interventions exist.

City officials attribute a two-degree overall cooling to the program and aim to expand it further to combat heat-related health risks. The effort is part of a broader European Commission assessment covering air quality, biodiversity and climate mitigation across seven criteria.