Located in the northern part of the park, next to the skate park in the Algarve city, the part of the municipal park inaugurated on 13 July puts at the disposal of the population a new area of ??18,000 square metres of green spaces and equipment to promote the practice of physical activity and leisure, in an investment of 1.6 million Euros, plus VAT, the mayor quantified.

Within the park area, visitors will be able to find an “open field on synthetic grass, space for practicing petanque, an area equipped with bars and other equipment for the new urban form of street workout” and also has a basketball court, with a table for 'street basket'”, he said.

“It is important that cities see themselves as taking on a new dimension, a dimension that is more about enjoying nature, slowing down the pace of life. All of this is in the intention of the designer and those responsible for the Municipality of Loulé”, said the Mayor of the Algarve.

The expansion of the park also allowed to plant trees, such as pines, and “embodies the philosophy that this chamber has” of promoting healthier lifestyles and which is evident in the integration of the municipality in the International Association of Educating Cities and in the National Network of Healthy Municipalities, he argued.

Vítor Aleixo considered that the citizens of Loulé, in the district of Faro, will thus gain “spaces for socialising among them outdoors, to stroll, to exercise, to talk to each other, to rest in the shade”.

“We want there to be an education for taste, for the values ??of a world where the urban space, more characterised by cement and concrete works, also has decompression spaces, where there is green, water, trails and where people can walk and play, have meetings between generations, in a background where we can promote our physical and mental well-being”, he said.

The objective is also to "get people out of the house, from in front of the screens, bring them out into the street and rediscover this important dimension that it is to talk to each other", he added.

Asked if he is concerned about the possibility of gatherings that increase the risk of contagion due to the covid-19 pandemic, António Aleixo replied that he was not.

“I don't worry too much, in the first place because they are open spaces, wide, they are not confined spaces. And then I believe that people's behaviour, as a general rule, and for the most part, is responsible behaviour”, he argued.

Vítor Aleixo considered that “people now have enough information to keep the necessary social distance and to be able to enjoy this space safely and without risks” and even with benefits.

"The existence of these spaces is a good antidote to agglomerations and confinements, which are reasons for risk," he said.