Socio-spatial analysis of the vulnerable urban fabric in the city of Barcelona

[EN] Socio-residential vulnerability is one of currently increasing challenges for cities and metropolitan areas in addressing the interaction between the vulnerable resident population and the need to improve the building stock, particularly after the financial crisis of 2008 and the consequent regression of public investments.Recent studies have measured and described the levels of vulnerability in the city of Barcelona and their results highlight socio-spatial similarities between urban fabrics that happen to be morphologically, historically and geographically very different.The present research focuses on the assessment of physical and social shortcomings of vulnerable areas in the city of Barcelona. With this purpose, a sample of buildings in some of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods are statistically analysed through a set of variables at building scale related to both the need of improvement of residential existing buildings and the characteristics of their inhabitants.An extensiveThe main sources of this research have been provided or supported by the Council of Barcelona, by means of several contracts that have been crucial for the development of fieldwork and database elaboration. The present paper has been written with funding of the Ministry of Education thanks to an FPU Grant for Doctoral research. Finally, this research has been carried out in the framework of the ongoing R&D Project: Re-Inhabit. Indicadores socio-espaciales para la mejora del stock habitacional en zonas vulnerables. Criterios de actuación en los casos de las áreas metropolitanas de Barcelona y Bilbao. RTI 2018-101342-B-I00, supported and funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.Vima-Grau, S.; Cornadó, C.; Garcia-Almirall, P. (2019). Socio-spatial analysis of the vulnerable urban fabric in the city of Barcelona. VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability. 4(2):75-89. https://doi.org/10.4995/vitruvio-ijats.2019.12559OJS758942Alguacil, J., Camacho, J., Hernández, A. (2014) La vulnerabilidad urbana en España. Identificación y evolución de los barrios vulnerables. EMPIRIA. Revista de Metodología de Ciencias Sociales 27: 73-94. https://doi.org/10.5944/empiria.27.2014.10863Ajuntament de Barcelona (2016). Pla pel Dret a l'Habitatge de Barcelona 2016-2025. Resum executiu.Garcia-Almirall, P., Vila, G., Vima-Grau, S., Uzqueda, A. (2017). Estudi i detecció a la ciutat de Barcelona d'àmbits de vulnerabilitat residencial. Ajuntament de Barcelona.Cornadó, C., Garcia-Almirall, P., Vima-Grau, S. (2017). Prediagnosi de l'edificació residencial en els àmbits de vulnerabilitat de la ciutat de Barcelona. Ajuntament de Barcelona.Cornadó, C., Garcia-Almirall, P., Vima-Grau, S., Vila, G., Uzqueda, A. (2017) Methodology for the Detection of Residential Vulnerable Areas - the Case of Barcelona. IOP Conf. Series. Materials Science and Engineering 245. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/245/4/042062Cornadó C, Vima-Grau S, Garcia-Almirall P. Assessment of the Residential Building Stock in the Vulnerable Areas in the City of Barcelona. XVII International Forum. Gangemi Editore, 2019; 174-183. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/166252Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC). 2018. Anunci de la Convocatòria del Programa de Finques d'Alta Complexitat. Núm 7642-14.6.2018. CVE-DOGC-A-18157071-2018.Tapada, M.T., Arbaci, S. (2011) Proyectos de regeneración urbana en Barcelona contra la segregación socioespacial (1986-2009): ¿solución o mito? ACE: Architecture, City and Environment 6, 17: 187-222.Thomsen, A., Van der Flier, K. (2011). Obsolescence and the end of life phase of buildings. Management and Innovation for a Sustainable Built Environment. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Thomsen, A., Van der Flier, K., Nieboer, N. (2015). Analyising obsolescence, an elaborated model for residential buildings. Structural Survey 33, 3: 210-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/SS-12-2014-0040Thomsen A., Nieboer, N., Van der Flier, K. (2017). Obsolescence - understanding the underlying processes. ENHR 2015 Conference Lisbon. https://doi.org/10.15396/eres2017_259Turkington, R., Watson, C. (2015). Renewing Europe's Housing. Policy Press, Great Britain. https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447310129.001.0001Vima, S. 2018. Caracterització i prediagnosi del teixit socioresidencial vulnerable a la ciutat de Barcelona. Master thesis MBARCH. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Residential vulnerability of Barcelona: methodology integrating multi-criteria evaluation systems and geographic information systems

This article presents the methodology and results of a pioneering investigation in the determination and mapping of socio-residential vulnerability in the city of Barcelona according to a multi-criteria synthetic analysis. The methodology followed is based on a system of indicators elaborated from the exploitation of habitual statistical Open Data complemented with specific unprecedented data elaborated and supplied by the Barcelona City Council. The analysis is based on secondary data and it is structured in georeferenced axes, components, and indicators, which allow determination of the sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and urban and residential space characteristics at neighborhood, population census unit, and urban block level. The objective of the research was to detect, determine, and establish a measure of differentiation relative to the degree of residential vulnerability of some neighborhoods with respect to others, in order to seek prioritization measures for action in the most vulnerable areas. The results of the research provide a series of maps that allow us to define the areas where the highest levels of vulnerability indicators coincide according to a synthetic multi-criteria analysis.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN/2PE/RTI2018-101342-B-I00Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::10 - Reducció de les DesigualtatsObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::1 - Fi de la PobresaObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats SosteniblesPostprint (author's final draft

Multiscale integral assessment of habitability in the case of El Raval in Barcelona

The understanding of habitability conditions of existing housing stock plays a central role in the quantification and qualification of sustainability from the architectural field. This research assessed habitability as a fundamental social benefit by means of a multiscale approach to the case study of the Raval neighborhood that can be replicated in other settings. We described a sample of six hundred dwellings located in two urban blocks spatially and typologically. This analysis of architectural features incorporated information on the current occupancy and use of spaces and the assessment of the state of conservation and maintenance of building envelopes and common elements. Although the scale of most analyzed aspects was larger (building, urban block or urban fabric), the discussion of results by housing unit provided a close picture of the existing diversity and heterogeneity of socio-spatial and architectural realities within buildings and urban blocks. Results from this paper allow for the valuation and discussion of substandard housing cases that call for an immediate improvement and adaptation, while providing evidence that most dwellings fail to fulfill residents’ right to adequate housing. In conclusion, the results obtained highlight the importance of designing rehabilitation programs and instruments to improve existing spaces with a focus on current use, occupancy, and residents’ needs.Postprint (author's final draft

Methodology for the Detection of Residential Vulnerable Areas: the Case of Barcelona

In a context of a shifting environmental, economic and social paradigm, European cities face a situation that is at the same time challenge and opportunity: the need for urban rehabilitation of the vulnerable degraded socio residential fabric. Public administrations in big cities and metropolitan areas are confronted with both the undercurrent need of actualization of the built stock and the rise of urban residential vulnerability. The city of Barcelona, as many others, is the result of multiple phenomena with high urban and social consequences. The socio spatial integration of immigrant population, the touristic rise and gentrification processes are current situations simultaneously taking place in the city. In parallel, a framework of economic crisis in which public investments in urban and social matters decrease, provides a temporal juncture that results into an increase of social polarization and socio economic inequality that becomes evident and expressed in the territory. This research focuses in the case of Barcelona, and presents a methodology based on a system of indicators elaborated through the exploitation of statistical data complemented with very specific data supplied by the Barcelona City Council. The accurate knowledge of socio demographic, socioeconomic and residential and urban characteristics is crucial in order to define the very complex urban dynamics that describe in the city neighbourhoods and areas. Residential vulnerability is defined as an assembly of objective conditions that relate to residential space and indicate situations of social discrimination and structural disadvantage of the population, related to a specific time and context. Thus, it is relevant to analyse the concentration of certain indicators of vulnerability in specific places or neighbourhoods, to contrast its effect on the socio-residential situation and its temporal evolution in order to identify tendencies. The present study contributes to the identification of data sources and a system to calculate the purposed indicators, the elaboration of a GIS analysis in order to determine the characterization of neighbourhoods and census sections according to each indicator, and the identification of areas with a higher degree of problematic based on synthetic analysis. A very relevant knowledge basis that can be used by public policy makers in order to establish measures that define vulnerable areas where to carry out actions that foster urban equality

Culinary and sensory traits diversity in the Spanish Core Collection of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The Spanish National Plant Genetic Resource Center's core collection of bean germplasm includes 202 accessions selected from more than 3000 accessions in function of passport data, seed phenotype, genetic background, and agronomic traits. To acquire more useful information about these accessions, we cultivated and characterized them for sensory and culinary traits. We found considerable variation for culinary and sensory traits of the cooked beans (mean coefficients of variation: 41% for the sensory traits and 40% for the culinary traits). The large dataset enabled us to study correlations between sensory and culinary traits and among these traits and geographic origin, seed color, and growth habit. Greater proportion of white in the seed coat correlated positively with brightness and negatively with mealiness (r=0.60, r=-0.60, p<0.001, respectively). Mealiness correlated negatively with seed-coat roughness and rate of water absorption (r=-0.60, r=-0.53, p<0.001, respectively). Materials of Andean origin had lower seed-coat brightness (p<0.01) and seed-coat roughness, and greater seed-coat perceptibility, mealiness, flavor, and aroma (p<0.001) than materials of Mesoamerican origin. Growth habit failed to correlate with culinary or sensory traits.Postprint (published version

Methodology for the detection of residential vulnerable areas: the case of Barcelona

In a context of a shifting environmental, economic and social paradigm, European cities face a situation that is at the same time challenge and opportunity: the need for urban rehabilitation of the vulnerable degraded socio residential fabric. Public administrations in big cities and metropolitan areas are confronted with both the undercurrent need of actualization of the built stock and the rise of urban residential vulnerability. The city of Barcelona, as many others, is the result of multiple phenomena with high urban and social consequences. The socio spatial integration of immigrant population, the touristic rise and gentrification processes are current situations simultaneously taking place in the city. In parallel, a framework of economic crisis in which public investments in urban and social matters decrease, provides a temporal juncture that results into an increase of social polarization and socio economic inequality that becomes evident and expressed in the territory. This research focuses in the case of Barcelona, and presents a methodology based on a system of indicators elaborated through the exploitation of statistical data complemented with very specific data supplied by the Barcelona City Council. The accurate knowledge of socio demographic, socioeconomic and residential and urban characteristics is crucial in order to define the very complex urban dynamics that describe in the city neighbourhoods and areas. Residential vulnerability is defined as an assembly of objective conditions that relate to residential space and indicate situations of social discrimination and structural disadvantage of the population, related to a specific time and context. Thus, it is relevant to analyse the concentration of certain indicators of vulnerability in specific places or neighbourhoods, to contrast its effect on the socio-residential situation and its temporal evolution in order to identify tendencies. The present study contributes to the identification of data sources and a system to calculate the purposed indicators, the elaboration of a GIS analysis in order to determine the characterization of neighbourhoods and census sections according to each indicator, and the identification of areas with a higher degree of problematic based on synthetic analysis. A very relevant knowledge basis that can be used by public policy makers in order to establish measures that define vulnerable areas where to carry out actions that foster urban equality.Postprint (published version

Socio spatial characterization of Large Housing Estates in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona

Fifty years after the construction of Large Housing Estates in the periphery of the Barcelona urban continuum, public administrations face the need to redesign polices and tools aimed at improving living conditions in each of these specific areas. The need to improve the current living conditions of the housing stock according to habitability exigencies, maintenance and repair of building pathology, the improvement of energy efficiency and the research of a better social integration of their population, are some of the issues that call for being addressed when aiming to improve Large Housing Estates. The current research provides a socio spatial characterization of 20 study cases according to the evaluation of both socio demographic, socio economic and spatial indicators and their evolution along 5 time periods since their construction. Even if all study cases originally had many common characteristics, their very different evolution in time calls for a specific analysis of the current state of each area. Moreover, the characterization of the different evolution of the studied indicators on each specific case is a very useful tool to identify and describe past and ongoing complex social and urban processes. The applied methodology provides a detection of risk parameters, allowing to identify the most vulnerable cases in comparison with the analysed cases as well as the city average indicators. The transversal capacity of considering simultaneously social aspects as well as urban, architectonic and technological aspects, provides an integral view on the current state of Large Housing Estates in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. A result consisting of relevant information in order to design effective integral tools that refer to the particular social and physical contemporary conditions and ongoing processes on each site.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

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Decision-making tool for the selection of priority areas for building rehabilitation in Barcelona

The promotion of rehabilitation is an urgent necessity in today’s consolidated cities, both due to the need to update their buildings to achieve habitability and safety standards that are required nowadays, as well as to stop the deterioration of buildings in vulnerable environments, where paradoxically the obtainment of economic resources to invest in building maintenance and upgrade is scarcer. Decision making on the delimitation of areas in which the need to invest is higher is extremely complex and often relies on large secondary data studies that are contrasted with local stakeholders’ intuition and knowledge on the ground. Usually, rehabilitation aids are directed to relatively large areas, where a certain need may be found. However, these areas are often excessively wide and specific needs that would require special focus can be diluted in the whole. The current trend of area-based and site-specific rehabilitation programs calls for precise and focused data studies and methodologies. The research presented here provides a methodology for the selection of priority areas to promote rehabilitation in the context of Barcelona’s vulnerable neighborhoods. The selection methodology combines primary and secondary data with a very high level of disaggregation that identifies where the needs are greatest, and it also provides a tool that is still based on primary disaggregated data for the delimitation of areas. The results obtained highlight specific priority areas such as parts of the Raval, Carmel and Besòs-Maresme neighborhoods within larger zones that had been previously defined as vulnerable. The proposed methodology seeks to provide tools to foster evidence-based decision making, thus improving both the understanding of reality and its spatial distribution through data mining techniques and data visualization.Postprint (author's final draft

Culinary and sensory traits diversity in the Spanish Core Collection of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The Spanish National Plant Genetic Resource Center’s core collection of bean germplasm includes 202 accessions selected from more than 3000 accessions in function of passport data, seed phenotype, genetic background, and agronomic traits. To acquire more useful information about these accessions, we cultivated and characterized them for sensory and culinary traits. We found considerable variation for culinary and sensory traits of the cooked beans (mean coefficients of variation: 41% for the sensory traits and 40% for the culinary traits). The large dataset enabled us to study correlations between sensory and culinary traits and among these traits and geographic origin, seed color, and growth habit. Greater proportion of white in the seed coat correlated positively with brightness and negatively with mealiness (r=0.60, r=-0.60, p&lt;0.001, respectively). Mealiness correlated negatively with seed-coat roughness and rate of water absorption (r=-0.60, r=-0.53, p&lt;0.001, respectively). Materials of Andean origin had lower seed-coat brightness (p&lt;0.01) and seed-coat roughness, and greater seed-coat perceptibility, mealiness, flavor, and aroma (p&lt;0.001) than materials of Mesoamerican origin. Growth habit failed to correlate with culinary or sensory traits. Breeders can benefit from the information about this core collection available at www.crf.inia.es/crfesp/paginaprincipaljudia.asp