Coastline Aerial View of Somorrostro, C

ENG 7 COASTLINE Aerial view of Somorrostro, c. 1950. anC. Fons TAF MONTJUÏC aerial view of Montjuïc, 1969. arxiu Huertas SHANTY TOWNS th In the 1870s, the Somorrostro and The presence of shanties on Montjuïc IN 20 -Century Pequín shanty towns sprang up is documented since 1885, when the on the seafront, stretching from La order was given to demolish those BarCelona Barceloneta neighbourhood to the inhabited by quarry workers. In the Besòs River, although it had previously early 20th century, the subdivision been the site of fishermen’s huts. The of municipal and private land for Shantyism in Barcelona was an urban phenomenon, which ramshackle dwellings were built on the purpose of planting vegetable began in the late 19th century and lasted until the late 20th state-owned land, amidst factories, gardens, whose number reached century. In a period of rapid growth in Barcelona, the typical the railway and the sea. The arrival of in excess of two thousand, was a workers for the 1888 Universal Exposi- catalyst in the appearance of new housing solutions for the most disadvantaged from the out- tion is one of the reasons account- shanties. In the 1920s and 30s, the set of industrialisation, such as the division of flats, sub-let ing for the expansion of precarious pace of construction burgeoned with rooms and boarding houses, proved insufficient to offset the housing on the beaches. In the 1920s, the massive influx of workers for major housing shortage, in a city where it was more difficult to find there were four well-established sites, public works owing to the construc- each with approximately one hun- tion of the underground and works accommodation than to find employment. dred shanty dwellings: Somorrostro, for the Universal Exposition finally held In 1922, with an official census of 6,000 shanties, shanty Bogatell, Mar Bella and Pequín. The in 1929. The number of shanties in this shanty settlement of Rere Cementiri, area reached 3,500. towns comprised a scattered informal city, with shanty areas in Poblenou, had also taken shape, such as Somorrostro, Pequín and Camp de la Bota, along the Immigration in the 1950s and 60s and Camp de la Bota spread as of turned Montjuïc into the most seafront, and Tres Pins and Can Valero, on Montjuïc, plus a 1925. The population of these informal populous shanty town. In 1957, 6,090 cluster of smaller areas on the hills and at the foot of Coll- SHANTY TOWNS/BCN settlements mostly hailed from Valen- shanties accommodated more than cia, Murcia, Aragon and Andalusia. serola. The shanties were also located in interstitial places URBAN HISTORY GUIDE 30,000 people. On the west side of within the city’s formal structure, both in some blocks at the the mountain, the neighbourhoods of The coastline’s shanty towns witnessed two ends of the Eixample neighbourhood, and in contact tremendous growth in the post-war Tres Pins, Can Valero, Les Banderes, period and reached the pinnacle Damunt la Fossa and other smaller areas between Sants, Les Corts and L’Hospitalet. of their expansion in the mid-1950s. concentrations formed a continuum. The dwellings varied greatly, from On the northern slope of the moun- After the Spanish Civil War, the concentrations of structures made of wood and mate- tain, noteworthy were the Poble-sec existing shanties resumed their expansion and new ones rial gleaned from the beach to small and Maricel shanties and, by the sea, were formed, as a result of the influx of migrants, both for houses made of brick and cement. Can Tunis and Morrot. economic and political reasons, to a city where the chronic There was no running water or any The neighbouring parishes and some kind of infrastructure. As a result of the housing shortage had been exacerbated by the effect of religious orders opened chapels, narrow alleyways and wastewater bombings and the economic and social crisis. In 1949, the schools and clinics. Shops, bars, discharged directly into the sea, infec- Service for Control and Suppression of Shantyism came into makeshift dance halls and cinemas tions were common, and storms often also emerged, and a social fabric being, which, among other tasks, was in charge of returning destroyed the dwellings. was gradually woven which, in the Aerial view today, 2011. Jordi Todó. Tavisa Aerial view today, 2011. Jordi Todó. Tavisa newcomers to their places of origin: the official city re- Given the neglect of the dictator- mid-1960s, allowed the shanty dwell- pressed shantyism yet tolerated it at the same time, especial- ship’s authorities, the Church, often ers to come together in a community ly when economic growth picked up and needed a workforce. out of paternalism, provided care movement to demand improve- services. Under its auspices, various ments. Under the slogan “one flat In the mid-1950s, Barcelona began to be revived and, some social initiatives were rolled out in the per family”, their struggle influenced years later, shanty towns reached their peak, amounting to shanty towns until the initiatives were the policy of Francoist authorities, diversified in the 1960s and social at a time in which the demolition of 20,000 shanties that housed between 70,000 and 100,000 workers came into being. shanty towns turned into a priority on people, almost 7% of the city’s population at the end of the the political agenda. However, the The extension of the Passeig Marítim, decade. The shanties therefore became a reserve of informal construction of estates to rehouse housing, an urban capital created by the residents them- seafront promenade, between 1957 the shanty dwellers progressed slowly and 1964 saw the demolition of some and had many deficiencies. Most of selves, which proved essential for housing a large number of of the shanties, which was permanent the shanty towns did not disappear people who had come to work in industry and services. with the dramatic transformation of the until 1972. seafront for the 1992 Olympic Games. The shanty towns were located in areas that were often not A radically different landscape was approved for building and, therefore, beyond the scope of designed in its place, stretching from the Vila Olímpica to the Fòrum. planning. Added to the precariousness of construction was the lack of sewage, water and electricity. The shortage of Aerial view of Turó de la Rovira, 1972. APMH Aerial view of La Perona, c. 1970. APMH healthcare services was mitigated at first by the social action EL CARMEL OTHER SHANTY of parishes in nearby neighbourhoods, with the provision of TURÓ DE LA ROVIRA pastoral care, and later the activities of religious orders dedi- TOWNS cated to education. In the late 1960s, community action was carried out by social workers from Càritas and the Municipal Museu d’Història de Barcelona The shanty town of Turó de la Ro- Housing Board, responsible for resolving the shanty town is- Apart from the areas with the highest Plaça del Rei, s/n vira is a prime example of how the sue. However, the shanty dwellers gradually developed their informal city spread. In the 1940s, concentration of shanties, over the 08002 Barcelona th hundreds of people availed of the 20 century, many smaller concentra- own community solidarity networks and achieved temporary Information and bookings: anti-aircraft battery, perched on top tions of varying duration sprang up, improvements by means of direct actions and demands [email protected] which occupied vacant plots where of the hill, to build the shanties of Els vis-à-vis the authorities. Tel. 93 256 21 22 Canons. The surrounding area also the urban grid was unfinished, even barcelona.cat/museuhistoria saw the emergence of the Raimon in parts of the Eixample, as well as in Various urban redevelopment initiatives led to the pulling peripheral areas in Les Corts, Poble- facebook.com/barcelonacultura Casellas and Francesc Alegre down of the first shanty towns, and emergency situations, twitter.com/bcncultura shanty towns: by the 1960s, the area nou and at the foot of the Collserola housed some 3,000 inhabitants. In mountains. such as floods and landslides, forced the relocation of the victims to temporary accommodation such as the Stadium MUHBA URBAN HISTORY GUIDES the vicinity, there were also concen- As the expansion of the formal city trations of shanties at the foot of the progressively needed these spaces, and Belgian Pavilion, on Montjuïc. 1. BARCINO/BCN 14. INDIANES 1736-1847/BCN hills of El Coll and El Carmel, along- their inhabitants were relocated. 2. GAUDI/BCN 15. REREGUARDA/BCN side various types of dwellings built This was the case of the shanties on Gradually, the emergence of a more agile housing market 3. DIAGONAL/BCN 16. ROMANESQUE 11th-13th C./BCN by the residents themselves, typical Diagonal, demolished just before the and the rolling out of social housing policies promoted the of the entire Tres Turons area. 4. PARCS/BCN 17. CALL/BCN Eucharistic Congress was held in 1952, eradication of shanty towns. The 1958 Social Emergency when the area was redeveloped. Its 5. GOTHIC/BCN 18. BALCONADA/BCN The shanties adapted to the relief Plan initiated the construction of large-scale council housing of the terrain, marked by the steep inhabitants were hurriedly rehoused estates on the outskirts of the city and other towns in the 6. WATER/BCN 19. INDIANS 1835-1888/BCN in substandard housing blocks, in Can gradient and quarrying at Can metropolitan area. 7. SHANTY TOWNS/BCN 20. MACOSA/BCN Baró. Both the dwellings, initially built Clos, Cases del Governador and Via Trajana. Other shanty concentrations 8. DEFENCE 1936-1939/BCN 21. SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945/BCN of stones and covered with leather- More organised community associations in the shanty towns, 9.

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