Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Homes are meant to be lived in, and there are various ways to do this: cooperative housing, sharing communal spaces and services in the same building, flats for the elderly or for young people. The book ‘Gestar-habitar: Estratègies per a l’habitatge social a Barcelona’ looks at the seven types of public housing promoted in the city and analyses the process for twenty housing projects from the moment of conception through to the moment the keys are handed over.

The book Gestar-habitar: Estratègies per a l’habitatge social a Barcelona details initiatives by Barcelona City Council to boost affordable public housing. The work uses maps and photos to show the characteristics of 23 housing blocks developed between 2015 and 2023. It also includes interviews with people living in the different buildings studied.

The projects covered in the book range from APROP provisional local housing in El Raval and Glòries to housing for the elderly in Quatre Camins and public housing produced with industrialised techniques using wood in the neighbourhood of El Besòs i el Maresme.

Besides new-build homes, the publication also details other municipal measures such as the renovation of properties in vulnerable environments and the acquisition of housing to be offered with social rents.

What initiatives does the book study?

Public housing projects

• 68 homes in Carrer de Sancho de Ávila.
• 105 homes, a primary medical centre and a centre for the elderly in Glòries.
• 44 homes for young people at Can Fabra, in Sant Andreu.
• 54 homes, 27 homes for the elderly, a community centre and a centre for the elderly at Ca l’Isidret, in Sant Martí de Provençals.
• 47 homes and 20 dwellings in Carrer de Tànger, in El Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou.
• 61 homes in Carrer de Biosca, in Bon Pastor.
• 44 homes for the elderly in Carrer de la Infanta Isabel, in Sant Gervasi.

Acquisition of properties through the right of first refusal and renovation

• 17 homes in Carrer de l’Hospital, in El Raval (renovation).
• 114 homes with rents for young people in Carrer de l’Encuny, in La Marina del Prat Vermell.

Homes for the housing emergency

• 12 temporary local dwellings (APROP) in El Raval.
• 42 temporary local dwellings (APROP) in Glòries.
• 40 temporary local dwellings in Carrer de Lola Iturbe, in La Verneda i la Pau (under construction).

Foundations, non-profit organisations and housing cooperatives

• 20 homes in Poblenou, La Balma Cooperativa.
• 32 homes in Les Roquetes, Sostre Cívic.
• 44 homes in El Raval, Fundació Salas and Fundació Nou Lloc (in the process of being awarded).

Public-private promotion of rental housing

• 63 homes in Carrer d’Ulldecona, in La Marina del Prat Vermell.

Renovation of properties in vulnerable environments

• Urban regeneration programme in Trinitat Vella and El Besòs i el Maresme.
• Renovation programme for highly complex buildings under the Neighbourhood Plan.
• Interior renovation of vulnerable housing.

Social housing programmes in collaboration with the private housing market

• 18 homes in the rental housing pool in Carrer de Floridablanca, in L’Eixample. Building finally acquired by the City Council.
• Programme for the lease and use of empty flats by the Fundació Hàbitat3.
• Programme for the temporary use of housing. Use of tourist lets as social rental housing.