To What Extent Have The Regeneration Strategies Used in El Raval Been Successful?
To What Extent Have The Regeneration Strategies Used in El Raval Been Successful? Matt Haslam
El Reval is in the centre of Barcelona and was the oldest part of the city with the worst reputation. It needed rebranding and to be regenerated. Regeneration is the process of coping with decline and encouraging re-urbanization. It is often a process that involves rebranding, this means that it; ‘refers to the creation of a new identity or image for a city or an area of that city to replace an identity that may have negative overtones’. For Barcelona, the area that needed rebranding was El Raval. Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and is the capital of Catalonia. During the late 18th and 19th centuries the city became highly industrialized by the textile industry, mainly in the western side of the city, far from where the more prosperous members of society lived. This, along with the fact that the medieval city is walled, meant that there where many people in one area as the prospect of work drew people from poorer areas of Spain. Due to the high population density there were six storey tenement blocks often lacking the basic amenities and disease was a big problem. The decline of industry and the high population density lead to the decline of El Raval creating a reputation associated with crime, prostitution and drug trade. The southern area of El Raval had a developed a serious heroin problem in the 1970’s and this was one of the first things to provoke the Catalonian government to sort out the problem along with an attempt to make the city more attractive for Barcelona’s bid to host the Olympic games in 1992. Regeneration in El Raval was cultural, social, recreational and academic. The aims of the rebranding were to remove the previous negative image and give El Raval a new distinct identity while altering the nature of the area and its activities by building on the earlier success in the city. This was achieved by changing the people to change the
El Reval is in the centre of Barcelona and was the oldest part of the city with the worst reputation. It needed rebranding and to be regenerated. Regeneration is the process of coping with decline and encouraging re-urbanization. It is often a process that involves rebranding, this means that it; ‘refers to the creation of a new identity or image for a city or an area of that city to replace an identity that may have negative overtones’. For Barcelona, the area that needed rebranding was El Raval. Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and is the capital of Catalonia. During the late 18th and 19th centuries the city became highly industrialized by the textile industry, mainly in the western side of the city, far from where the more prosperous members of society lived. This, along with the fact that the medieval city is walled, meant that there where many people in one area as the prospect of work drew people from poorer areas of Spain. Due to the high population density there were six storey tenement blocks often lacking the basic amenities and disease was a big problem. The decline of industry and the high population density lead to the decline of El Raval creating a reputation associated with crime, prostitution and drug trade. The southern area of El Raval had a developed a serious heroin problem in the 1970’s and this was one of the first things to provoke the Catalonian government to sort out the problem along with an attempt to make the city more attractive for Barcelona’s bid to host the Olympic games in 1992. Regeneration in El Raval was cultural, social, recreational and academic. The aims of the rebranding were to remove the previous negative image and give El Raval a new distinct identity while altering the nature of the area and its activities by building on the earlier success in the city. This was achieved by changing the people to change the