The article by Kamil Rawski describes the project carried out by Territory 24 in the Malgrat de Mar region of Barcelona, Spain, and shows how cooperation with the residents is an easy way to revitalize the neighborhood.
The Barri del Castell neighborhood is located in the coastal city of Malgrat de Mar in Barcelona. About 18500 people live in this area. The area where the project is located used to be agricultural land, but later it turns into an unplanned urban growth area. Accordingly, the needs of the neighborhood have been changing considerably in the last 25 years by the municipal council.
The elements that distinguish the Barri del Castell neighborhood from the others are the origin, economic and social position and topography of the neighborhood. The district lies near the city centre, between the steep slopes of Castell hill to the southeast and the Sant Genis river to the northeast. Being between two physical borders also affects the urban fabric. The social inequalities experienced with the immigrants who settled in this region in the 50s, 60s and 70s are also added to this situation.
The two ends of the most neglected neighborhood are reconsidered within the scope of general urban planning. This plan proposes another solution for the town's more general integration, while reducing social inequalities with the urban fabric and the renewal of buildings.
Reviving a Neighborhood
Intervention Purpose
In 2009, Territory 24, within the scope of the 'access_SOS' project, started to investigate the public space of the city and the accessibility of people from all walks of life to these spaces. They held a workshop with the residents of the neighborhood. As a result of the workshop, they determined the streets of Barri del Castell as places where social ties can be re-established. Here, thanks to the collaboration with local residents, the designers had the opportunity to identify the flaws in the neighborhood and the needs of the people.
Ultimately, the main focus was on improving the quality of public space and solving the problem of accessibility to the space. The street has become a town square designed with urban elements, designed with road signs, arranged guardrails, street furniture and trees, and no congested traffic areas.
Project Idea
The main purpose of the project is to open four streets (Segre, Montnegre, Tordera, Montseny) to pedestrian traffic. The common goal of the designers is to improve the accessibility conditions and increase the quality of the public space by gathering pedestrian and vehicle mobility in this area.
To achieve these goals, Territory 24's proposal is to leave less space for vehicular traffic and to increase the physical accessibility of the site by including guardrails. In addition, creating a signage system where vehicles and pedestrians can easily read the area, to achieve a street circulation that everyone can understand.
Parallel white lines indicate pedestrian use areas, while yellow lines indicate private vehicle roads and areas where parking spaces are prohibited.
However, due to the economic crisis, the implementations could not be expensive. So, Territory 24, together with the La Petita Dimensio group, developed a concept in order to reduce costs, where they would select and paint only the necessary elements to give the street a new sense of space. For example, to reduce the speed of vehicles, they put pedestrian crossings of different lengths to create a holistic unique platform.
Street Art and Design
A graphic language was created based on leaf patterns, which became a distinctive element for the streets. When the surface of the patterns was painted, it gave the impression that they were the shadows of the trees. In order to achieve a more consistent and continuous area, an asphalt surface has been designed so that there is no clear separation between the different areas of the street (pedestrian-vehicle circulation, parking, etc.).
In addition, a one-sided asymmetrical street was designed. A decentralized business center for vehicles and resting points to strengthen relations between neighbors were also provided.
In the sessions held with the residents of the neighborhood, it was decided to protect some parking spaces. That's why the designers made three parking spaces on each street. Thus, each parking lot both regulates transitions to existing homes and responds to future entryways. In addition, the project produces small concrete squares within the streets of Tordera and Montnegre, meeting the rest and gathering needs of the neighbourhood.
Planting and Equipment
Alanı daha keyifli hale getirmek için, bitki örtüsü ve kent mobilyaları da projeye dahil edildi. Sokaklar her mevsim yeşil ama görsel ilişkiyi korumak adına gölgelendirme olarak kullanılmayan bitkiler ile renklendirildi. Tasarımcılar cadde boyunca beton dairesel oturma birimleri ve çöp kutuları da koymayı unutmadılar. Ayrıca bu elemanlar, araç trafiğini caydırmak için kullanılan geleneksel bariyerlerin yerine de kullanılmıştır. Arazinin dik eğimi göz önüne alındığında(%14 ile %20 arasında değişen), tasarımcılar cephelerde tutturulmuş ve sokak boyunca yürüyüşü kolaylaştıracak korkulukları da düşündüler.
From start to finish, Barri del Castell is a good example of how creativity and inclusion can reduce costs. Neighborhood residents actively participated in the process to identify problems and solutions. After all, the project does not contain unnecessary elements and each element serves functionally as well as its visual function. Certainly, the involvement of local residents is the main factor that makes the project successful.
Source:
https://landarchs.com/revitalize-neighborhood/
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