Urban_Renewal

I think the High Line in New York, is an example, but on a minor scale. Cities, deteriorate, and when they are in very bad conditions it's necessary to make them change, in order for us to live in them, we need to recover and improve this urban spaces that are in bad conditions.
 * Do you know an example that represent this concept?
 * What is your interpretation of the quote // **"...urban space improvement and recovery... should be an ongoing concern for all cities**"? //

NOTES: - The city lies on a coastal plain constrained by the Collserola hills and the rivers Llobregat and Besos. These topographic constraints have produced urban congestion and high residential densities.

- Barcelona suffers from serious traffic congestion and has the unenviable reputation as being the second most noisy city in Europe after Sofia.

- The well-preserved medieval quarters of Bar celona were constructed on top of a Roman settlement, founded in 15 BC.

- The area within the medieval city provides an excellent example of historic continuity and the survival in the present-day landscape of an old urban core.

- The area to the south of the medieval district was later to become the pedestrianised 'Rambla'. This was the site of industries too polluting to be allowed inside the main city.

- Cerdà's plan was the first example of urban planning and was heavily influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx and other social thinkers of the time.

- The l'Eixample was planned using an extensive grid-iron pattern. The development rapidly spread to connect Barcelona to the outlying towns.


 * Watch the videos about Barcelona's Urban Renewal and the Olympics ( [|information page] ) and answer the questions below on your **//urban renewal//** page

**- After watching the videos and reading the articles, how have the Olympics' infrastructure (the Olympic Village) affected the city of Barcelona? **



<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games had an enormous impact on the urbanism and external projection of the city of Barcelona. The Games enabled billions in infrastructure investments that are considered to have improved the quality of life and attraction of the city for investments and tourism.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- What was the purpose of the Olympic Village? **



<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">During the Olympic Games, the athletes stayed on the opposite side of the city to the stadium, the Olympic Village. This area was originally a disused Industrial site, but is now a beautiful area to visit. Two apartment blocks were built for the athletes - one is now an insurance company building and the other is the 5-star Arts Hotel - acclaimed as one of the best in Europe. **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- What benefits did the different Olympic structures bring to the city/citizens? ** <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Barcelona is a very dense metropolis, people highly concentrate in the space. Also, in the previous years, Spain was ruled by an authoritarian political regime, that didn’t care to implement effective planning regulations or investing in city for the general well-being of the population. The result, was a chaotic growth that severely damaged the urban core and created poor peripheral areas. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The organization of the Games permitted a complete change in the scale of urban planning in Barcelona. After the Olympic nomination the people of the city could enjoy new ring roads, seaports and Olympic Villages **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- How has Barcelona evolved since 1984? **



<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Since 1984, there has been a high pressure to intervene in the city in order to provide open spaces, services, facilities, infrastructures and so on. The nomination of the city as the site for 1992 Olympic Games permitted a radical change of scale of urban interventions and renewal in order for the city to keep in shape for this international competition. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There has been a urban regeneration based in both rehabilitating central spaces and looking for the reequilibrium between centre and periphery **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- Name at least 3 new projects (space transformation) and mention what old structures they replaced, if mentioned, and what specific benefit(s) brought to the city and/or citizens. **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Barcelona was opened to the sea with the construction of the Olympic Village and Olympic Port in Poblenou, a decayed neighbourhood. And the creation of the Estadi Olímpic (the Olympic stadium). Various new centres were created, and modern sports facilities were built in the Olympic zones ofMontjuïc<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and also, El Prat airport was modernized and expanded as two new terminals were opened. New hotels were built and some old ones were refurbished.