Critical Review of Public Policies for the Rehabilitation of Housing Stock: The Case of Barcelona

Abstract

This article reviews rehabilitation programs in Barcelona, focusing on aspects such as the intervention model, actual public investment, and results. Programs of this type are not exclusive to Barcelona; however, similar examples can be found in other European cities, especially where European Union (EU) funding is present. After analyzing these models, we reached a series of general conclusions that may be of interest. Thus, an eminently practical and reflective analysis is presented, aimed at technicians and those responsible for the design of intervention policies in urban regeneration. Rehabilitation programs are increasingly focused on vulnerable settings, and in this context, the participation and service function of public administrations are particularly relevant. The general model for rehabilitation subsidies rarely takes into account the specific characteristics of disadvantaged urban settings, as the article will show. After analyzing the different policies presented in this research, we identified two essential requirements: detailed knowledge of the affected neighborhood, and ongoing evaluation of the development of programs—beyond simple management indicators—so negative effects can be corrected in time such as gentrification, real estate speculation, and other by-products that the intervention itself can promote. This study confirms that not all public investments have the expected results.

Multiscale Integral Assessment of Habitability in the Case of El Raval in Barcelona

“…However, it would be impossible to install an elevator in a lightwell or stairwell in 35% of cases, meaning changes to the interior of residences or the surrounding spaces would be necessary. Previous studies along these lines note that residents' lack of resources, difficulty managing communities or reaching agreements, and the unequal distribution of subsidies for rehabilitation (which are concentrated in wealthier areas of the city) are the fundamental reasons the immense majority of buildings in the Raval still have no elevator [45,125]. Regulations protecting historic buildings and, in some cases, their typological constraints, are additional obstacles [126].…”

“…The obligation to generate databases to monitor compliance with the 2030 Objectives has led to the recent creation of public organizations capable of carrying out broad data studies on the characteristics of existing housing [40][41][42][43]. On a regional level, policies on urban regeneration are increasingly based on detailed data studies [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54].…”

“…The Raval is currently part of the Ciutat Vella district, Barcelona's historic center. Despite a series of public rehabilitation and urban renewal programs organized over the last three decades [45,83], most areas in the neighborhood still suffer from extreme socioresidential vulnerability [49]. The Raval is one of the neighborhoods with the lowest per capita income in the city, where the cost of housing of a mostly private rental stock takes up an extremely large portion of household income [36,108].…”

“…Location in relation to interventions promoted by urban renewal projects [45,83]: the first block (from here on, block 1) is quite far from the sectors most affected by these projects. The streets surrounding it do not include any of the new public spaces created over the last few decades.…”

“…As for the state of the buildings, block 1 is located in an area with a greater concentration of buildings in a poor state of repair, and dwellings tend to be quite small [49,50,54,104,105,108]. Furthermore, there have been fewer large-scale rehabilitation projects in this part of the neighborhood [45,83]. Although the building density in block 2 is quite high, it is significantly lower than in block 1.…”