Housing
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Multiple Residence and the Spanish Urban Population: A Social and Demographic Approach to Second Home Property Owning - CIUDAD y TERRITORIO Estudios Territoriales
05 Feb 2009The article is based on the latest contributions to the question culled frominternational and national Works on the multi-residence phenomenon.
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Rehabilitation of Albayzin World Heritage Site
30 Mar 2011The Integrated Albayzin Regeneration Plan, which has already been going on since 2002, seeks to improve the living conditions in this emblematic district and contribute to the revaluation of its extremely rich historical and architectural heritage. The action area comprises 86.26 hectares, with 6,345 inhabitants and 5,007 dwellings. The intervention initially took place in the Lower Albayzin, but the scope was expanded in March 2007 to include the whole district declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This rehabilitation is an example of integrated urban planning, bringing together the distinctive features of this historic centre and growing urban fabric, respect for gender equality and acceptance of social and cultural diversity of ethnic minorities (immigration), infrastructure requirements, public mobility and safety.
This urban renewal and community recovery plan pays particular attention to various problems that are of importance to historic centres, including upgrading of existing buildings to ensure residential use, environmental remediation of urban areas, and curbing of gentrification and population ageing. This will ease access to adequate housing in the city centre for youth, elderly and ethnic minorities (Moroccan immigrants) with limited financial resources. More than 596 publicly-funded housing rehabilitation actions have already been implemented in buildings of high architectural value. Many of these buildings, which were in a deplorable state of repair, had been turned into substandard housing with social problems. The integrated plan, with a total investment of 41 million euros, covers different aspects including parking for residents, permeabilisation of streets, community infrastructure, rehousing, educational programmes on habitat, etc.
Physical interventions on buildings have emphasised quality, preservation of heritage values, reintroduction of traditional techniques compatible with modern technologies, well-designed technical projects based on preintervention studies and archaeological interpretation of Albayzin's sensitive and fragile urban fabric, in the hopes of contributing to a didactic trend conducive to developing a rehabilitation culture in a historic city under extreme pressure from real estate lobbies. -
SOCIAL RENTAL MEDIATION AND INCLUSION HOUSING NETWORKS
30 Mar 2011Given the difficulty in accessing housing, due to both the sharp increase in prices on the real estate market, and the growing disparity between the development of salaries and the cost of housing, programmes that were able to respond to the needs of citizens became necessary. These programmes involved creating two networks: one, a Red de Mediación para el Alquiler Social (Social Rental Mediation Network) with the idea of increasing the number of dwellings for rent available to the more sensitive social sectors, and Red de Viviendas de Inclusión (Inclusion Housing Network), a network to provide support for non-profit organisations managing sheltered housing for groups at risk of social exclusion with the idea of promoting and increasing the offer of such housing for people with special needs.
Since their creation in 2005, we have noted a growing interest in joining them amongst both local authorities and non-profit organisations. The mediation network has enabled unoccupied dwellings to be available and satisfy the demand for affordable housing. There are currently eighty-nine mediation housing banks, which have managed some nine thousand dwellings since they were set up. The inclusion housing network has attended to the needs of social organisations and the groups they work for. This network currently has 108 member organisations that manage some 600 dwellings housing around 2,400 people.
We have also observed the synergies between the two networks, as inclusion network users complete the sheltered stage, become independent and move on to use the mediation network. -
Integral Rehabilitation of San Martin de Porres. Cordova
30 Mar 2011The Integral Rehabilitation project for San Martin de Porres district has been implemented since 2004 by two administrations, the Regional Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning and Cordoba City Government, with the support and active engagement of associations and communities concerned. The project seeks to improve the habitability of the district through housing and urban fabric enhancement actions and measures fostering social integration and integration of the residents into the labour market.
This rehabilitation project is an example of integrated urban planning, bringing together the distinctive features of this district and expansion of urban fabric, respect for gender equality and social and cultural diversity, need for infrastructures, revitalisation of the local economic fabric of ethnic minorities (Roma population), mobility and safety of its residents, housing for youth and large families, and introduction of social provisions in rehabilitation actions, enhancing the technical skills of workers and creating job opportunities for local residents.
This urban and social renewal pays special attention to several important problems for the district, including urban and architectural obsolescence, creation of intermediate spaces for coexistence and community life, improvement of common areas, in particular, installing lifts, environmental remediation of urban spaces, and curbing social discrimination against social minorities. These actions aim to address in a comprehensive manner issues that affect the development of the district - physical, economic and cultural transformation, social fabric, families, etc. – applying procedures underpinned by public policy, building spaces in which political decisions are consistent with the analysis of district problems and plans on possible solutions, and engaging as many community institutions and residents as possible to ensure the sustainability of the rehabilitation process.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of the blocks of flats have been renovated or are under rehabilitation. This renovation seeks to improve energy efficiency and install lifts eliminating architectural barriers for people with reduced mobility, enhance the urban image of San Martin de Porres renovating façades and roofs, create public spaces and remodel streets. It has created, close to each block of flats, spaces for relations between neighbours, fostering the identity of the district. This project has generated employment, increased social support for families and improved school attendance. All of the above was made possible by a sustainable development strategy with a total investment of about 46 millions euros. -
Assisted mixed community resource and housing building for young people equipped with Energy Efficiency Management SystemAND Didactic System I3CON. Located in Margaritas 52, Madrid, Spain
30 Mar 2011Implementing this project has meant that the EMVS has developed a new Mixed Community Resource and Housing Building concept suitable for brown sites such as those formerly occupied by old city cleaning equipment depot located in the downtown area of Madrid. The additional advantage of the project having provided parking spaces for the area residents has also improved the mobility of the neighborhood, and having relocated the cleaning equipment facilities minimizes the impact of such infrastructure while enormously improving its operativity. A very important aspect of the project has been verifying the economic viability of building a collective housing building equipped with geothermal climatization systems within the framework of protected housing. The geothermal climatization system linked to the use of the inertial capacity of the land and to inertial climatization equipment is not proposed as an accessory to conventional climatization systems, but as a complete functional alternative that is much more efficient in terms of consumption, energy costs and very competitive in terms of installation costs.
In addition, the two first tiers of the “UrbanEnergy Mangement” project, developed within the framework of the “Connected Urban Development (CUD)” initiative for actively cooperating in reducing carbon emissions in urban environments have been implemented in this building and thus unifying the policies of integration, innovation and sustainability in different fields of application.
The "Didactic I3CON System" aims to promote sustainable self-management for housing, by means of information and alerts to the user about the energy and water consumption and indoor climate. It is a system developed within the European R & D I3CON- Industrialized Construction, Integrated and Intelligent, consisting of 25 European partners from 14 countries, and is co-financed by the European Commission, Framework Program 6 (FP&). -
Physikerquartier
25 Jun 2012Physikerquartier is the first set of residential buildings to be involved in the project "ZukunftsWerkStadt" promoted by the City of Leinefelde between 1993 and 2010