Forging space within the fullness of cities: understanding and adapting the superblocks and inner patios of Barcelona to regenerate the neighbourhood of Surquillo Cercado in Lima

Abstract

The city of Lima suffers from an extreme lack of public space, an essential part of any city and key to its citizens’ wellbeing. The neighbourhood of Surquillo Cercado is a particularly striking case, with the highest population density in the city and almost no green area. The commercially rich and market filled neighbourhood also suffers from overbuilding, overcrowding, crime, inequality and hard borders, as a consequence of the lack of public space and other factors. In spite of being located in the high earning city centre, Surquillo Cercado is heavily segregated from its rich neighbours and at a disadvantage economically and socially, creating a cluster of inequality. Public space is the starting point for regenerating this disadvantaged area.

The public space urban regeneration strategies of the superblocks and the inner patios offer solutions for consolidated cities to create public space within the existing urban fabric in order to regenerate areas. We argue that these strategies are appropriate for an overbuilt and overcrowded South American neighbourhood such as Surquillo Cercado. The regeneration proposal has three parts: a conceptual part that highlights the theoretical importance of public space, a research strategy that analyses Surquillo Cercado and its existing public space, and an urban planning and urban design plan that applies the superblocks and inner patios to the area in different scales.