Apartments, apartments, apartments, apartments

In the exhibition Housing the Majorities, Barcelona 1860-2010, curated by Manel Guàrdia and Maribel Roselló, from the Barcelona Housing Museum, the MUHBA's headquarters in the old low-cost housing of Bon Pastor, a poster from the 60s can be seen from a construction company showing multiple residential developments on a map of Barcelona. The poster is titled “Pisos pisos pisos pisos” (Flats flats flats flats) and largely hints at how the response to the problem of access to housing and shantytowns was given from the late 1950s through the Social Urgency Plan of Barcelona of 1958. This plan, focused on the maximum production of "flats" possible in the cheapest way (through the so-called

It is surprising that, once again, the current discussion about the serious problem of housing access is focused on the quantity of flats to be built. Let us remember that the two plans currently underway by the Generalitat de Catalunya have been named by the same Government Plan 50,000 and Plan 214,000. On the other hand, in the equation, issues as or more important than the provision of housing units do not appear, or have not been disclosed, such as the location of new housing, the necessary urban infrastructure and services, or what the shape of these new neighborhoods should be.

The location, both of new buildings and new residential sectors to be developed, is crucial for the relationship between residence and workplace. Population growth and retention are directly related to job opportunities. In recent decades, demographic growth in Catalonia has been concentrated on the coast, from Cambrils to Palamós, thanks to the attraction of Barcelona and the tourism sector, even though this was not the desirable scenario for territorial planning, which foresaw strengthening the growth of central cities such as Vic, Manresa, or Igualada, which, on the other hand, have not met expectations. Should we maintain this trend and let Barcelona and tourism continue to attract and concentrate population on the coast? Or should we plan a more balanced territorial model rooted in the strengthening of more solid, fair, and resilient productive economic sectors than tourism? And this does not only happen with urban planning and the construction of flats, but it also requires the coordinated activation of infrastructure and job creation policies. 

We often feel that mobility can solve the problem of access to housing. This is an idea that needs to be qualified and approached with caution. It is evident that no new residential sector (nor industrial sector) should be developed that does not have access to a high-capacity public transport network. However, connectivity should not be a vehicle for expelling social housing from central locations and segregating it territorially. We need to generate affordable housing equitably throughout the territory, especially in consolidated urban areas where there is none, if we do not want to reproduce the model of social segregation of the 1950s. Measures such as the 30% initiative promoted by Barcelona City Council or the purchase of housing through the right of first refusal and pre-emption are fundamental instruments for providing affordable housing also in consolidated urban environments.

The second important issue is the idea of habitability, which goes beyond access to a home, and refers to the capacity of a given urban environment to provide the conditions that guarantee a dignified daily life: parks and gardens, public facilities, and local commerce. Presentations and debates are held on how the thousands of new homes will be financed, but what is the budget for the facilities that will be necessary for the new population? What will the new neighborhoods be like? The quality of habitability also depends on the urban form. I recall that within the framework of the Strategic Residential Areas of 2008, a set of urban planning recommendations was drawn up to guide the design of new residential sectors. It would be interesting to recover that idea and update the document to define how we want new neighborhoods to be: how they will adapt to new climatic conditions, how they will promote healthy living habits, and how proximity and urban vitality will be promoted. That is, how we want the lives of their future inhabitants to be.