The Master Plan of La Vega Baja, Toledo, Spain: Heritage landscape, ecological landscape, urban landscape

Abstract

Toledo´s la Vega Baja is a great urban void that due to historical changes has remained on the periphery of the city´s growth, surrounded by the old town of Toledo, the expanding northern suburbs and the Tagus River. Its privileged location together with the patrimonial and ecological wealth of the space, were the basis of the proposed Master Plan for la Vega Baja (PDVB).

The objective of the PDVB has been to organize this empty space and open it to the public, while protecting and restoring its ecological and cultural value. To this end, it has been necessary to integrate different elements: Toledo´s urban facade, the Tagus river with its riparian vegetation and patrimonial assets that have witnessed a series of historical uses, and most importantly, the archaeological site of what may be a great Visigoth city.

The general approach of the PDVB has been to treat the space as an open continuum, a series of landscapes with their own characters, which have different uses and functions: from the classic garden that surrounded the Roman circus, to the river, with vegetation, urban amenities and paths according to existing ruins; through the archaeological site’s patrimonial garden, for which are proposed new plants and temporary itineraries that change as excavations advance; to the more purely agricultural garden or riverside landscape of high ecological value in relation to avian fauna.