Expo Zaragoza 2008 is wholly dedicated to the issue of Water as a high-value natural resource for Mankind and both the Exhibitions and the themed Pavilions focus on highlighting various aspects relating to the importance of Water in the society in which we live and, especially, in the society of the future

It is for this reason that we are joining in this homage to water and also giving it the protagonism it will have at Expo Zaragoza 2008, so that this Second Iberian Seminar on Parking and Urban Mobility will devote one of its panel discussions to the special importance of Water in Construction of Car parks, in a Paper that will analyse all the implications of Water and factors to bear in mind when designing and building car parks. These aspects go from the existence of a water table, the presence of groundwater or underground currents in the area to possible damage to structural elements by water, depending on its chemical composition.

This Paper will be complemented by a second Paper on the most relevant details of the relationship between Water and maintenance of the built car park and its urban environment, highlighting all the factors that affect this type of facility, both the endogenous and the exogenous. The Paper will also assess the possible reuse of underground water for urban uses such as street-cleaning or watering of green areas in the vicinity of the car park.

The topic of Water will feature in a quarter of the Papers of this Second Iberian Seminar, while the other three-quarters will look at other aspects of Parking and Mobility in cities.

Given that this Second Iberian Seminar will be held in Zaragoza, there will also be a focus on the growing problems of Parking and Mobility in medium-sized cities, both in Portugal and Spain, as they may even be more serious and more difficult to solve as things stand than those of major cities. The larger cities also have other forums for discussion in international conferences such as the 13th European Parking Congress, recently held in Madrid by the European Parking Association and organised by ASESGA.

The organisers of this Second Iberian Seminar in no way want its relation to water and the environment to be purely anecdotal. The purpose is to move forward in issues of major importance and to honour the title of the Seminar: IN SEARCH OF TRULY SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY. We aim to cover innovative topics such as the above-mentioned usage of the water table for urban maintenance and many others directed at improved capitalisation of natural resources, and look for truly effective, not theatrical, solutions, rejecting political gestures and ultimately making energetic and strong demands for a serious approach from local, regional and state authorities in the matter of parking and mobility in the urban environment.

Among other aspects relating to the parking business, delegates and exhibitors will be given a leading role in discussing subjects such as Commercial Management and specific issues of control, signage and communication technology, overlapping interests between small and large car parks and, of course, one year on from its implementation, a legal evaluation of the new Parking Law which, among other things, made it compulsory in Spain to charge by minutes.

The Second Iberian Seminar in Zaragoza 2008 will also take the opportunity to discuss the WHITE PAPER ON PARKING, backed by ASESGA, which is currently being drawn up and will have been presented days before the Seminar, where its content will be exclusively revealed in an international setting.

Ramon Llopart Ricart
Director of the Second Iberian Seminar on Parking and Urban Mobility
Zaragoza 2008