In the face of rising temperatures, armed conflicts, and other pressing global challenges, how can one find the much-needed calm to intervene, enjoy, or endure the city? Once again, Planur-e reaffirms its commitment to spreading awareness through exemplary planning practices from around the world. This time, without leaving Europe. Each edition brings increasingly innovative and creative proposals at all scales of urban intervention. These projects are grounded in reality and offer solutions that can be adapted elsewhere, provided they are carefully studied and understood.

In this new issue, we aim to address two distinct yet seemingly unrelated issues: urban planning regulations and water. We argue for a more attentive, open, and responsive planning process—one that addresses both the problems and benefits arising from urban development in order to prevent, mitigate, or adapt to its impacts.

In order to proceed, it would be necessary to discuss flexible proposals that resolve the definition of uses, developments and fundamental layouts. These proposals should encompass strategies to tackle complex issues, including climate change, economic fluctuations, and challenging societal circumstances, whilst also incorporating more straightforward concerns such as citizen participation. We have identified instances where transversality is evidently anticipated, as evidenced by the example of England. We have seen successful cases such as King's Cross, and the evolution towards more reasonable approaches in Battersea Power Station. These cases have been achieved without undermining the control of the administration throughout the urban transformation processes of the city. In addition, there should be a demand for documents with significant technical content. These documents should exemplify possible courses of action depending on the site, its scale and available resources.

Fresh water constitutes the foundation of any human settlement and plays different roles: as a resource, a spring, a river, a lake, an aesthetic element, a waterfall or a tumultuous torrent. These roles appear in both natural and urban spaces—making planning essential. For a long time, cities have turned their backs on water, but this is slowly changing. Riverfronts are becoming more significant, whether through inclusion or reimagined use. Urban design must support this shift. We must remember that water can also be dangerous, so it is essential to discuss how to prevent problems before they occur, reduce their severity if they do, and learn from past events. In this edition, three projects explore water from different perspectives.

The first of the papers addressing water as a resource focuses on the Master Plan for the Barranco de Benopia, an intermittent river system in Valencia. This is a territorial plan that operates on the basis of prevention and presents an elaborate methodology based on the analysis of three subsystems: hydrological, ecological and sociocultural. Its aim is to “diagnose, organize and activate fluvial spaces from a systemic and multifunctional logic, providing a useful tool for similar contexts in the Mediterranean”. The ravine is understood as a green infrastructure that serves multiple purposes and unites the territory. The methodology identifies strategic areas of intervention, where a set of actions is applied to guide future planning. The three subsystems are studied to identify disconnections or links, which are interpreted as drivers of change. These drivers are addressed through a set of coordinated strategies applied to the project.

Two other projects deal with the treatment of river edges: the Ribera del Guadalete in El Puerto de Santa María and the River Lee in Cork. In the first case, it is openly acknowledged that "the river has been the city's backyard, the place where spaces of leisure, oblivion or imperative need have been chaotically created". The project's primary objective is to restore the Ribera's unique identity, emphasising the pivotal role of water and transforming it into a vibrant, active space that will benefit the city as a whole. The proposal is based on an in-depth historical study that divides the river into four sections and offers targeted solutions, grounded in a prior recovery process and the design of recreational and walking areas, reorganising various uses.

The third water-related project is Marina Park, which is much more ambitious than the previous ones, and it is presented under the motto: "A dialogue between the river and the city". The project is located on the south bank of the Lee River and aims to catalyse the transformation of 32 hectares of port docks into a mixed-use district, contributing to the regeneration of an industrial area through the creation of a waterfront park. This public space, located in a strategic area connecting the river, the city and new developments, has as its main objective to create a healthy city. In order to achieve this objective, a water and biodiversity-sensitive design has been implemented, involving the integration of green and blue elements. This innovative approach seeks to mitigate risks and promote a sustainable and connected environment. This situation differs significantly from the one described in the first article, as in this case it is the river floodplain. As the authors state: "Water is used in a spatial, functional, educational and poetic way." The project under discussion centres on the design and resolution of concrete situations.

This edition of Planur-e includes two articles that explore the revitalisation of existing urban landscapes in contrast to the development of new ones, an emerging issue in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. The term "urban regeneration" is the most common for addressing the actions undertaken in the existing city.

We are faced with two projects of very different scale. The smaller site is located in Manlleu, involving just over one hectare of land. This is an operation in the city centre, in an industrial area that remains, and where a new park conceived as a space of memory and collective identity is planned. The area is characterised by its proximity to water, given its location within the flood zone of the Ter River. The decision to maintain the uses is based on the general plan and responds to a more contemporary vision of a mixed, diverse and balanced city, in a space with potential, strategically located and surrounded by services. The urban regeneration operation, which is to be carried out in accordance with sustainability criteria, is expected to stimulate economic activity. The objectives are clearly derived from the analysis of the current situation, maintaining what is relevant for the continuity of the city, giving priority to open spaces as inclusive spaces and incorporating residential use away from the preferential flow area.

The second, larger intervention is located in the city of Avila, involving the restoration of public housing built in the 1950s, comprising eight unitary developments in an area classified as an ARU (Urban Regeneration and Renewal Area). The Special Plan and the and the associated Memorandum Program will eventually constitute fundamental tools for public intervention, focusing primarily on meeting the needs of accessibility, energy efficiency, mobility and quality of public space. This site has experienced a series of challenges over time, manifesting physical, functional and environmental deterioration, aggravated by a lack of resources among its residents. Covering six hectares and presenting an “L” shaped configuration, the area in discussion is home to a total of 616 dwellings, predominantly distributed in linear blocks, with surface areas ranging from 50 to 150 square meters on average. In addition, it has two educational facilities. Over time, the area has experienced physical, functional, and environmental degradation, compounded by limited resident resources. A comprehensive analysis of the architectural typologies is carried out, assessing their historical value. Urban planning guidelines have been defined that emphasise public participation, regulatory clarity, and the improvement of both public space and buildings. These strategies inform the PERI, which determines permitted uses, the public facilities system, and management procedures. The document includes actions on mobility, public space, and construction, with a strong focus on accessibility and energy efficiency. The analysis addresses the broader social, economic, and environmental effects, recognising the long-term nature of the project and the challenges of implementation. Once planning is completed, execution will begin through the establishment of a dedicated ARU management office.

Moving on, the Rakyta neighborhood project is a new development on the outskirts of Bratislava, conceived by a team of Spanish architects following an international competition. The project, which covers an area of 40 hectares, proposes an urban growth model aimed at transforming “a peripheral and fragmented territory into a habitable ecological infrastructure”. The project is based on the principle of a multi-layered city, with progressive growth, and already partly built. In the “Notes” section, various concepts related to the area in question are discussed, such as porosity, centrality, mobility, personality, diversity, ductility and naturalness. These concepts feed into the development of the master plan, from which “a diverse, complex, open, scaled and diverse fabric with personality” is to be generated. This fabric is expressed in the following proposals: the gate, the square as the heart of the neighbourhood, the area linked to the Rakyta stream, the meadows, the hill and the open end. The project was developed through successive workshops until the definition of the master plan, in a work of coordination of promotion, administration and urban requirements defined for the area.

From the perspective of territorial planning, this issue also presents the Territorial Urban Planning Rules (NUTs) of the Spanish province of León. This document reflects the efforts made to structure and guide development in small municipalities that do not require a general plan due to their size and dynamics. In this case, the rules apply to 85 municipalities and 428 towns, primarily in the southern part of the province. The NUTs seek to balance environmental and cultural preservation with social and economic development, offering a broad contextual analysis to support these goals. They operate in accordance with a rigorous and systematic methodology, enabling them to gain profound insights into the intricacies of the territory and therefore provide a nuanced evaluation of proposals.

As always, this edition of our journal features an urban design project. This time, the redevelopment of a section of a well-established urban promenade in Terrassa, the city's primary east-west thoroughfare. The project was conceived with the aim of pacifying traffic and improving connectivity between the promenade and its surroundings. The design is a hybrid typology combining elements of the street and square, divided into two strips: one for circulation and the other for living, enhancing transversality and blurring the boundaries. Brick is the primary material used, as it is a historical resource of the city. The geometry of the brickwork allows for the differentiation of the two strips, thus enhancing permeability. The planting of new flowerbeds has been identified as a key strategy to enhance biodiversity in the city, showcasing the use of species that are well-adapted to urban environments. The reduction of CO? emissions is a key priority, with a focus on the use of recycled materials.

To conclude, it is essential to acknowledge the bibliography included in the different papers, the expertise of the authors, the incorporation of research in some of the selected works and, above all, the presentation of methodologies that make an important contribution to the generation of good urban planning practices.