International competition of ideas: Repensar Bon Pastor
For a participative and zero eviction renewal of a popular district of Barcelona
Within the framework of the World Zero Eviction Days 2009, the International Alliance of Inhabitants summons a competition of ideas for a participative and “zero eviction” renovation of the popular district of Bon Pastor in Barcelona.
Inscription from november 3rd, 2009, to february 23rd, 2010
Bon Pastor neighborhood is in the district of Sant Andreu, in northern Barcelona, just on the shore of the Besòs river. Its typical “casas baratas”, 784 social houses built by the City Council in 1929 adressed to immigrants and slum dwellers, are now seriously at risk. The urban renewal plan approved for the area involves the demolition of all houses, without considering the possibility of conservation and rehabilitation of this heritage.
A violent eviction headed by the riot police in october 2007 forced the last 4 families of the first sector of demolitions to abandon their houses without the compensation they were claiming for. The tension that followed this police response to a social problem, together with the unease of an important part of the population for the conditions of the new buildings they will be moved to – especially among the eldest and poorest inhabitants of the 600 houses still untouched by demolitions – requires a solidarity intervention from outside.
The “Repensar Bon Pastor” competition is adressed to students, scholars and professionals of architecture and social sciences from all the world, and is designed to present new possibilities for the transformation of Bon Pastor, and at the same time to open a discussion about the dominant and alternative forms of “making cities” at present times. Participants shall develop one or more proposals to transform the “casas baratas” neighborhood, in respect of the historical heritage of the houses, with a participative approach and a multidisciplinary point of view, and through sustainable solutions towards the environment and the context of the city.
Video documentary on Bon Pastor's “casas baratas” in Housingtube
Inscription from november 3rd, 2009, to february 23rd, 2010.
More informations at: http://repensarbonpastor.wordpress.com
To propose a presentation act in your area, email to:repensarbonpastor@gmail.com