The last 91 families who lived in the cheap houses of Bon Pastor pending demolition already have their new flats or are about to receive the keys. Thus, the rehousing of the residents affected by the renovation of this neighborhood of Sant Andreu is finished, a long process that started in 2006 and which has so far involved the replacement of 590 homes. But it does not end there, since the fourth phase, which is being delivered now, has 163 leftovers, including those of a block that is still under construction and a dozen previous deliveries that were left empty. And there is still another to build with 160 more. A first package of these homes to be awarded will be for splitting family units where different generations live together (grandparents, children, grandchildren, uncles...), an innovative formula that the neighborhood has been demanding for years and that the City Council has agreed with the neighborhood association.
In 1929, 784 cheap houses were built in Bon Pastor, the small houses, as they call them in the neighborhood. In the renovation plan agreed in 2003, it was decided to build more floors in anticipation of the new needs. Thus, there will finally be 913. The first phase, delivered in 2006, had 152; the second (2010), 190; the third (2017), 167, and the fourth (the current one), 244. The 160 of the fifth, which will be spread over four buildings, does not yet have a schedule. In all cases, the residents have been able to choose between continuing the rental regime - they are the majority -, with the Municipal Housing Institute - the former board of trustees - maintaining the property, or buying the home under a protection regime official
"I have very conflicting feelings because I'm leaving our house, which my great-grandparents built, where I've lived a lot, but we're moving to a flat that's great," explains Sandra Teruel, 39, who is in the middle of moving with his partner and his two children. "This was like a small town - he adds - with a lot of life in the street, where we played; now it will be very different". The main improvement is that you go from living in about 40 square meters to having more than 80, storage room and garage space for a similar income. Instead of 280 euros a month, he will pay 320. And it is clear, he continues, "quality has nothing to do with it, the houses had cracks, dampness, problems with the pipes, the toilets were clogged... They needed renovations, but it was difficult because it was necessary to ask permission from the board of trustees and it was a lot of money if they had to be demolished".
It is estimated that there are about forty new family units from splits. To access one of the remaining homes, they must be registered in the register of applicants for official housing in Barcelona, prove a historical registration stating that they have always resided in the cheap houses and then in one of the new ones homes and that the new family unit is made up of at least two people who have lived together for two years, who do not necessarily have to be a couple, also mother-daughter, siblings... In a second phase, homes will be awarded to neighbors also registered in the same registration that have been registered in other areas of Bon Pastor for at least six months. Reservations will apply for young people, single-parent families and people with disabilities. It is estimated that more than 500 family units will meet these requirements, and will participate in a draw.
The homes that remain to be awarded, already from the fifth phase, will be drawn in the same way as the rest of the public park in Barcelona, with the same reservations for neighborhood residents, young people, single-parent families, people with disabilities... A of the four buildings to be designed and built will be a housing block with services for the elderly.
The replacement of small houses with blocks of flats has generated large public spaces that bring an urbanistic quality to this part of Bon Pastor that stands out. The large area for pedestrians stands out with huge draining flowerbeds populated by multiple plant species that are spread over all the streets and squares. A pneumatic garbage collection network has also been installed.
