How many times have we put our hands on our heads when we have verified that someone has damaged an emblematic building, a historic facade, a house or a traditional shop because of their private interests. We put our hands on our heads because we felt that a part of our history and our identity had been erased forever. And we felt that way because there are many legacies, more than we think, whether because of their historical, architectural or landscape value, or because of their ordinary nature: because they are part of our daily lives, of the city in which we live.
But the putting of our hands on our heads is over. Just like asking ourselves “how can it be that these houses or this palace are not protected?” is over. It’s over, because from now on we will have a Comprehensive heritage protection strategy, which represents a before and after in municipal action. The goal is for all neighborhoods subject to speculative dynamics to enjoy public protection to guarantee their present and future. A strategy that will also serve to protect the neighborhood that suffers the worst consequences of this speculative pressure, in the form of abusive rentswith a real affordable housing proposal.
that of Thank you they should be neighborhoods where you want and above all where you can live. Therefore, it was necessary to adopt a clear commitment to repair and protect the neighborhoodand do so on the basis of four fundamental pillars.
The first, to protect 3,400 buildings of great historical value that are part of the ordinary heritage, that strengthen roots and have the ability to create community bonds. The new planning points the way to an innovative conception of heritage, which goes beyond great architectural works, and understands it as that lived landscape that forms neighborhoods and collective memory. In addition, respect for heritage in a climate emergency context is also an urban recycling strategy, which puts an end to systematic demolition and the enormous associated emissions.
The second, undo a city plan of the year 1976 that planned to throw houses on the ground, and that it was a sword of Damocles that hung over the heads of many families. We guarantee that 94% of the homes that have been affected for more than 40 years will now eventually be recognized as homes. In addition, we are promoting affordable housing, which is expanding the norm which means that all private developments must allocate 30% of affordable housing to plots of 400 square meters.
Third, maintain the structure of neighborhoods that walk and facilitate community relationships. Gracia is already a big ‘superilla’, with streets full of life, and we need to protect an essential element so that it does not change: the proximity trade. We do this by establishing the category of commercial activity axes where there can be only commercial activity on the ground floor, and therefore replacement by other activities will be avoided.
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The fourth, greening of Grace to make it healthier. Gracia is one of the old towns in Catalonia where there is less free space, under Tortosa, Ciutat Vella or Girona. The new planning protects existing green space (public and private) prevents, for example, a private garden from being converted into a building, and proposes to enlarge it with each new urban intervention.
If innovation is the ability to equip ourselves as a society to provide solutions to current challenges, we can confirm that these strategies are ultimately an urgent and essential innovative urbanity. A paradigm shift when thinking about the city’s heritage, which includes social and environmental perspective that all future planning will have to be prioritized. We want Gracia to continue to be the Grace we want and that drives and shapes Barcelona’s identity: neighborhood life, the street and green spaces, small shops, space for children and the most daily cultural exchange. By preserving the identity of Gracia today, we envision a future full of life for tomorrow.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com