Over 20 years of waiting to see if your apartment would be expropriated: "I thought it wouldn't happen again."

BarcelonaIs it possible that something you've been waiting for for more than twenty years can take you by surprise? The answer is yes. At least, that was the prevailing sentiment this Thursday afternoon among the residents of Vallcarca affected by the green boulevard project that Barcelona City Council has reactivated after two decades. The council had announced in the morning that it was beginning therecord to expropriate the four properties on Bolívar Street—also with a facade on Vallcarca Avenue—between Ballester and Agramunt Streets.

"We already thought it wouldn't happen. It took us by surprise," admits a neighbor who prefers not to give his name. He has been renting one of the affected apartments with his mother—who is elderly and ill—for more than 40 years. They were already there when, in 2002, the municipal government, then led by Joan Clos, approved the Vallcarca urban plan, according to which the building where they lived would be demolished. They have been living with their souls in their hearts for more than two decades.

"At first, we were more worried, but with the wolf coming, the wolf coming, we disconnected a bit," he explains. At the end of last year, however, they and the other affected residents—about fifteen homes and two commercial premises—received a letter from the City Council notifying them that the expropriation process was being reactivated. On their blog alone, seven more homes are listed as affected. Some are homeowners, others have been tenants for more than 25 years, and others for less time.

In the case of this neighbor and his mother, they are fortunate that, since they were already renting the apartment when the planning was approved in 2002, the City Council will relocate them to the building that the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation (IMHAB) has long since built on Avinguda Vallcar's. However, they are concerned that the move will mean a substantial increase in their rent, as they now have an old rental agreement.

Andrei, on the other hand, is one of those affected who don't know where they will go from here. He has been renting in one of the affected buildings for almost 20 years, but he arrived after 2002, once the planning that planned the demolition of the building where he lives had already been approved. He explains that at the beginning of his life, he was more aware of the possibility of expropriation, but as the years went by, and he saw that nothing was moving, he had stopped thinking about it. "So what now? Where will we go?" he asks.

In the case of tenants who arrived after the 2002 urban planning, the City Council only plans to compensate them financially but not relocate them anywhere. Andrei asks the council to also offer them an alternative. Of Belarusian origin, he arrived in Barcelona in 1995. "I've been in Vallcarca longer than in my country," he emphasizes, explaining that he has his entire network in the neighborhood. When asked if he's afraid of not finding another apartment to live in Vallcarca, he is blunt: "Vallcarca? I'm afraid of not being able to continue living in Barcelona directly."

Starting over elsewhere

The expropriation now underway also affects the two commercial premises—two vehicle repair shops—on Vallcarca Avenue. Vicente is the owner of one of the repair shops, where he has been working for over 25 years. Like the rest of the residents interviewed by ARA, he explains that he was convinced he shouldn't leave where he is. "I didn't believe it, after 20 years," he emphasizes. He believes that the Valencian floodplain disaster has accelerated everything, since one of the key urban planning priorities is the large rainwater tank with a capacity to collect up to 27,000 m2.³ of water that must be built just below these farms.

Vicente explains that he'll open the business elsewhere, but admits that finding a space similar to the current one—spacious and with few columns—isn't easy. Even less so in such a central location. Although he's sad to be leaving a place where he's experienced so much—"I've seen it all, I've had so many miles," he jokes—he's convinced he'll make it.

Neighbors who still have to wait

The demolition of housing at a time of housing crisis in the city has raised criticism among some residents. The City Council responds by pointing to the 522 homes—40% of which are social housing—that will be built in the neighborhood once all urban planning is completed. In the case of the area currently affected, however, the space will be a kind of very long green plaza, acting as a promenade between Lesseps Square and practically the Vallcarca Bridge.

However, for now, the City Council has only initiated the expropriation of the first section. To comply with the 2002 planning, the project to demolish the buildings between Agramunt Street and Casa Comas de Argemir, the modernist building where the future Vallcarca Rambla should end, is postponed later. Thus, there are a handful of residents who will still have to continue living, waiting to see whether, more than 25 years later, the expropriation will finally come to them.