Urban_Renewal

=Barcelona Urban Development and Change =

Barcelona is a city which provides an excellent case study of many of the major themes of urban development and change, but which also has some unusual and distinctive features that contribute to its particular character and personality. The city lies on a coastal plain constrained by the Collserola hills and the rivers Llobregat and Besos. These topographic constraints have produced urban congestion and high residential densities. Barcelona suffers from serious traffic congestion and has the unenviable reputation as being the second most noisy city in Europe after Sofia. The well-preserved medieval quarters of Barcelona were constructed on top of a Roman settlement, founded in 15 BC. The area within the medieval city provides an excellent example of historic continuity and the survival in the present-day landscape of an old urban core. The area today is characterised by a maze of narrow streets, alleyways and small squares - a relict urban landscape. In the 1850's the city wall strait-jacket was demolished to allow the expansion of Ildefons Cerdà's l'Eixample. Cerdà's plan was the first example of urban planning and was heavily influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx and other social thinkers of the time. The rigid blocks of Cerdà's grid give way here to narrow streets arranged haphazardly, and the change in atmosphere is striking. Cerdà's grid, with wide roads and bevelled street corners was designed for the easy passage of the steam tram along each street. Today it produces a large number of traffic intersections, one of his plan's main failings. In particular, the plan intended a garden city in which two sides of each low-rise block would be left open for small parks and greenery. In the twentieth century, with increasing population pressure and the need for car parking, most of these open areas were developed and infilled. Most of the blocks were increased in height to a uniform eight storeys by developers intent upon maximising their incomes. In the period between 1945 and 1975, large areas of high-rise apartments were built along the major route ways and in parts of the urban periphery for immigrants from other parts of Spain seeking work in the city. One such residential district, La Mina, was built specifically to rehouse shanty town dwellers. Today this has a sizeable gypsy community and the greatest social deprivation in the Barcelona metropolitan area. In the last twenty years, two major events, the 1992 Olympic Games and the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004 have enabled the city to undergo a transformation more radical than perhaps any other city in western Europe. The City authorities have been able to invest in major infrastructure projects and tackle serious inner city problems. Urban renewal has followed a 'culture-led' approach, with planned gentrification based around high-quality architecture, new museums and hotels. The driving force behind Barcelona's physical expansion has been the growth of the economy. Remaining factories and workshops in the Poblenou district are being transformed into a zone for new technologies. Southern Europe's new generation synchrotron is being constructed to the north of the city. Business tourism has been boosted by the development of Europe's largest conference centre on the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004 site. With its varied architecture, cathedrals, opera house, theatres, museums and close associations with many famous artists (including Picasso and Dali), Barcelona is very much an artistic and cultural centre. It is also the capital of Catalunya, one of Spain's most distinctive regions, with its own language, traditions and a strong sense of separate identity. Thus Barcelona provides an excellent example of urban growth, from the middle ages to the present. The city's landscape is clearly a product of its past and its present. It also reminds us that town planning is not simply a modern post-war phenomenon and that the intentions of nineteenth planners were no more likely to be fully achieved than those of their twentieth-century counterparts. Barcelona underlines the way in which modern cities combine major international trends with distinctive and local characteristics.


 * Basic information on Barcelona**

-Barcelona, the capital and most populous city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, has an area of 101 km² and a population of 4.2 million inhabitants Barcelona is the sixth metropolitan region of the European Union, 1.6 of these inhabitants are in the municipality of Barcelona rest in the metropolitan area.

-Barcelona is a major economic centre, with one of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports. Barcelona today is an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination, and has a rich cultural heritage.

-Barcelona is governed by the Barcelona City Council, which comprises 41 councillors elected by universal suffrage. The City Council has jurisdiction in the internal affairs of the Council, including municipal tax, urban planning, environment, housing and economic promotion.

Possible sites for the visit: La Rambla, Universal Forum of Cultures, Port Vell, 22@Barcelona, Diagonal Mar and Santa Caterina market.


 * Barcelona urban development**

It is in fact, the result of a twenty years process that started right after the first elected City government –are the 80s–, and the City has urgently to begin a total urban renewal process and to improve its urban fabric. The heritage of the previous time is an important lack of public spaces, parks and facilities all over the city. The objective was to plan squares, streets and parks, over 140 projects produced during 7 years are significant enough to show the level of commitment in transforming the city, the resulted projects were well appreciated by citizens and helped to recover the sense of belonging and self-esteem. The 1992 Olympic Games provided a catalyst for a change of scale of interventions within the city, the facilities and infrastructures needed by the Games were carefully designed and located in the city to guarantee both, the specific demands and requirements of the event, while providing new investments for the city according to their current and future demands. The urban transformation of the city and the success of the 1992 Olympic Games put Barcelona firmly on the map, as well as proved the //modus operandi// employed since the 80s, the so called “Barcelona Model”. This model is based on several elements such as public municipal leadership, consensus between public bodies; the involvement of private sector financing; the prevalence of architectural design over conventional zoning in town planning; strategic planning; municipal demands for high quality; and finally the idea that having the best ideas is more important than having the biggest wallet. The new proposals over pass many times local competences and municipal boundaries, increasing the complexity not only from a technical point of view, but also challenging the abilities of the Barcelona Model itself. The Llobregat Delta would be the scenario of the big-infrastructure enlargements –framed on the Delta Plan–, of the airport, the industrial port and the new fair-trade. While on the Besos Delta, three relevant developments and a 15–year plan redefine a whole area of the city involving close to a 10% of the total 100km 2 surface of the city: Glories –a new intermodal node; Sant Andreu/Sagrera –the arrival of the high-speed train; Forum/Besos –the last 2,5km of the waterfront; and the 22@ Plan – the renovation of the old industrial district of the city.

**Watch the videos about Barcelona's Urban Renewal and the Olympics and answer the next questions: **

**After watching the videos and reading the articles, how have the Olympics' infrastructure affected the city of Barcelona?** The infrastructure of the Olympic Games affected the city of Barcelona in a positive way because “Barcelona is a good example of how a city can use a large scale international even, for urban renewal. Some parts of the city which were peripheral, like Port Vell, are now areas of centrality, other areas like Port Olympic and Olympic Village have undergone a functional transformation”. media type="file" key="p1.wma" width="300" height="45" The purpose of the Olympic Village was to create a new costal access to regenerate the water front and to replace the old obsolete industrial district with a residential one. And of course, another purpose was to host all the athletes and supporting personal that came to the Olympics’. media type="file" key="p2.wma" width="300" height="45" The major benefit to the city, that they brought was that “the Olympics’ were used as a planning tool to push forward the many projects that were already is progress”, and to the citizens the benefits were that after the Olympics’ they could use all the structures that were built for sporting events and that after the Olympics’ the Olympic village became a residential area for the local inhabitants. media type="file" key="p3.wma" width="300" height="45" Barcelona has had great strides in its original form, it has developed projects that improve transportation in the city, projects that improve its structure, in Barcelona have been changes in the use of some areas which has integrated more the city and it could be said that Barcelona is a great example to follow for other developing cities. media type="file" key="p4.wma" width="300" height="45" -The new renovated Palacio Real that once was a palace for kings, and now is a museum for medieval art that the citizens can benefit from. media type="file" key="p51.wma" width="300" height="45" -Port Olympic, a formal Olympic harbor that now is use as a marina; its proximate area is now inn at recreational activities, catering industries, shops, and so on. Also the beach was reshape, furthermore, the short line of activities that surround the beach has blossom because of the boulevards, showers, toilets and other facilities. media type="file" key="p52.wma" width="300" height="45" -Besides Port Vell was next to the city center, the area could be seem as peripheral, so in the middle of the harbor Mare Magnum was built, with an IMAX cinema, an aquarium and a shopping mall. The all Mare Magnum was criticized for blocking much of the harbor view, but the reality is that it has made once peripheral area into a tourist attraction in Barcelona, so, the area was cut off by a busy road which ended in a good access to the formal fishing harbor to the city center, the plan was to make Port Vell one of the central areas of Barcelona and to integrate the surroundings with the rest of the city, so barriers were removed and new crossings were build to allow better access to the harbor. media type="file" key="p53.wma" width="300" height="45"
 * What was the purpose of the Olympic Village?**
 * What benefits did the different Olympic structures bring to the city/citizens?**
 * How has Barcelona evolved since 1984?**
 * Name at least 3 new projects (space transformation) and mention what old structures they replaced, if mentioned, and what specific benefit(s) brought to the city and/or citizens.**

** New words learned:  **

**__Settlement__**
 * Meaning:** A **settlement** is a general term used in archaeology, geography, landscape history and other subjects for a permanent or temporary community in which people live, without being specific as to size, population or importance. A settlement can therefore range in size from a small number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with surrounding urbanized areas.
 * Translation:** Asentamiento
 * Link to pronunciation:** []

**__Alleyways__**
 * Meaning:** A narrow street with walls on both sides / A narrow street formed by the proximity of adjacent buildings.
 * Translation:** Callejones
 * Link to pronunciation:** []

**__Strait-jacket__**
 * Meaning:** A **straitjacket** is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and which is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to him/herself and others.
 * Translation:** Camisa de fuerza
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * [[image:http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/tools/shared/mediahub/02/10/43/slideshow_943102_165750_Homes_Right_Kid_Whim.JPG width="149" height="225" align="left"]]__Haphazardly__**
 * Meaning:** In a haphazard manner / random; chaotic; incomplete; not thorough, constant or consistent
 * Translation:** Sin orden ni concierto
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * __Grid__[[image:http://inconvenientbody.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/escher_grid.jpg width="215" height="208" align="right"]]**
 * Meaning:** a pattern of regularly spaced horizontal and vertical lines / The grid plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a . In the context of the culture of Ancient Greece the grid plan is called Hippodamian plan.
 * Translation:** Red
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * [[image:http://images01.olx.com.pk/ui/4/00/46/65399446_1-Pictures-of-8-Marla-Double-Storey-House-for-sale-in-DHA-Homes-DHA-Valley-Islamabad.jpg width="168" height="247" align="left"]]__Storey__**
 * Meaning:** is any level part of a building, which has a permanent roof and could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). The plural is storeys or stories, respectively.
 * Translation:** Piso
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * __Beveled__[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Bevel_%28PSF%29.png width="299" height="210" align="right"]]**
 * Meaning:** A **beveled edge** refers to an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular (but instead often at 45 degrees) to the faces of the piece.
 * Translation:** Biselado
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * [[image:http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/0511-0803-2716-1630_Lady_P.I._Looking_for_Clues_clipart_image.jpg width="172" height="180" align="left"]]__Seeking__**
 * Meaning:** the act of searching for something.
 * Translation:** Buscando
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * __Shanty__[[image:http://www.hollowearth.org/woebot_images/shanty_house.jpg width="350" height="192" align="right"]]**
 * Meaning:** An old run-down house or shack; Pejorative term used on early (mid 1800's), poor, Irish immigrants to USA
 * Translation:** Chabola
 * Link to pronunciation:** []

__Synchrotron__**
 * [[image:http://hunterblatherer.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/synchrotron.jpg width="400" height="219" align="left"]]
 * Meaning:** An apparatus for imparting very high speeds to charged particles by means of a combination of a high-frequency electric field and a low-frequency magnetic field.
 * Translation:** <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Sincrotrón
 * Link to pronunciation:** []


 * Counterparts[[image:http://www.freshhook.net/Images/Counterpart_Header.png width="240" height="243" align="right"]]**
 * Meaning:** Either of two parts that fit together, or complement one another. / One which resembles another
 * Translation:** <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Las contrapartes
 * Link to pronunciation:** []