The environmental impact of the Quart Cinturó

Firstly, the building of the Quart Cinturó (including exits and feeder roads) will mean the irreversible loss, through occupation or fragmentation, of much of the area's agricultural and forestry land. The inevitable speculation that would follow would mean an end to the landscape patchwork of fields that has grown up over the centuries.

Added to this, a preliminary study carried out by the same MOPTMA, stressed that the building of the Quart Cinturó would:

• Directly affect the well-being of the three parks (Montnegre i Corredor, Montseny and Sant Llorenç i Serra de l'Obac).
• Form a barrier against the free movement of fauna, and with it the loss of endangered species.
• Require the flow of water in the river to be modified.
• Increase considerably the levels of atmospheric pollution through gases and particles, and therefore the subterranian water supply.
• Increase noise levels along its route.
• Destroy sites of archaeological importance.

But the overall impact of the Quart Cinturó would go beyond the irreversible destruction of possibly unique areas of Mediterranean natural beauty. We must not forget the educative and leisure needs that these areas fulfil. Perhaps the Quart Cinturó would provide a way in which people could go far and wide in search of ever scarcer open spaces!

The socio-economic impact of the Quart Cinturó

Iwould be n socio-economic terms, the impact of the Quart Cinturó particularly severe at specific points, such as the Can Trias quarter of Viladecavalls ( it would go straight through the residencial centre), Abrera or Sant Celoni ( where the impact of the Quart Cinturó would be added to other major infrastuctural projects- the N-11 road, the A7 motorway, the Baix Llobregat dual carriageway or the high-speed train.

But, in general, the development model that this project would cause the break up of the towns and villages of the affected areas (Vallès Oriental and Occidenta and Baix Llobregat) fomenting a process of urban growth that would turn them into mere suburbs of a "Greater Barcelona" . To the south of the territories of the Vallès Oriental and Vallès Occidental following the motorway A7, we can savour a foretaste of what could lie ahead: a virtually unbroken mass of residential and industrial estates and hypermarkets.....This would signify an end to the region's farming community as well as inflicting a serious blow on the identity, social life, culture and economy (especially to the already struggling small businesses) of these communities.

It is, however, possible that the availability of cheap land for building will bring with it a certain economic boost to the construction business and industry; but let us not forget that periods of growth are by nature ephemeral lasting no more than the time taken to develop the available terrain. But what next?

Are we ever going to learn that you cannot fuel a locomotive for long by burning the carriages ?