Renaturalisation and natural rewilding of the Manzanares river in Madrid, Spain: Mapping recreation potential and actual use

Urbanisation has impaired the capacity of urban rivers to provide ecosystem services. In the last decades, many river restoration projects have been carried out worldwide with the objective of recovering ecological integrity and the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services. In this paper we analyse the impact of the renaturalisation of the Manzanares river in Madrid, Spain, in the attractiveness of the surrounding green space for outdoor recreation. Two complementary mapping methodologies, ESTIMAP-recreation model and public participation geographical information systems (PPGIS), were used to analyse recreation potential and actual use. The results show that the renaturalisation of the river has improved ecological quality as well as recreational attractiveness, increasing the capacity to provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Both methodologies produce complementary results. The areas close to the river are those with the highest recreation potential. However, actual use is not only conditioned by recreation potential but also by proximity to the place of residence, accessibility, security, and other landscape characteristics that could not be captured by ESTIMAP model, such as sense of place. We conclude that even in highly modified urban rivers, renaturalisation with low-cost actions can highly improve the capacity to provide ecosystem services and recommend using complementary methodologies to capture the diversity of user preferences for outdoor recreation to design urban green spaces.