Assessment of the residential building stock in the vulnerable areas in the city of Barcelona

Abstract

In the framework of addressing the geographical redistribution of wealth, the council of the city of Barcelona has undertaken several studies on the urban and residential impact of the raising economic and social inequalities after the finantial crisis of 2008. The most vulnerable areas of the city of Barcelona, described in previous studies, are located in a set of geographically and historically very different neighborhoods, with heterogeneous urban tissues and constructive typologies. The present research focuses on the assessment of the vulnerable building stock, focusing on the current state of the residential buildings regarding their rehabilitation needs and existing damages. The analysis of the results which include the elaboration of cartographies stand out as a contribution in the understanding of deprived areas in the city of Barcelona being an accurate description of a heterogeneous reality within an already complex urban tissue. The observation of common damages according to building typologies in different neighborhoods becomes a helpful tool for the design of future polices of improvement and maintenance of the residential building stock. Those polices can address the necessary rehabilitation of the currently degraded buildings as well as the prevention for future degradation of more extended areas, in the scope of improving living conditions in the most vulnerable residential areas.