The Mayor of Barcelona, Joan Clos, has blamed low density
planning for the lack of social and economic life in Barcelona's Olympic Village
and Diagonal Mar districts. There are few people on the streets and public
space, shops or bar terraces are little used by the neighbours. This has led to
plans for a greater density of dwellings in the two new districts that the City
Council is designing, in Zona Franca and Nou Barris.
Olympic Village: empty streets
In the Mayor's defence of the compact and dense city building
upwards rather than outwards the Eixample of Ildefons Cerdà is seen as a
success. The Eixample has 150 dwellings per hectare, creating a district where
yes, there is life. For Clos, the Olympic Village with 60 dwellings per hectare,
is an example of what should not be done in city planning. The adjacent Diagonal
Mar hyper-community with even lower densities - 48 dwellings per hectare - is
seen as an urban development disaster, despite winning an Urban Land Institute
Award for Excellence. According to Clos, such areas do not contribute to
building a sense of the city. Density determines the nature of community life
and the kind of city created. Future projects should involve the recovery of
higher levels of density.
Diagonal Mar: empty streets
The British architect Richard Rogers has pointed out the
difficulty of achieving high density in city centres when housing markets value
low density. He stresses the tension that exists in urban development between
money, power and democracy.
Joan Clos was therefore guarded in his voicing his opinion,
since The Diagonal Mar project is supported by powerful developers and
home-building industry, as well as by public authorities earning their share in
the process.
Compact v Dispersed City Models:
There are two contemporary models for cities based on level of density: the
compact city and the dispersed city. Density affects the quality of urban life
and how public spaces are used. In low-density cities, these spaces undergo a
process of gradual privatization, are neglected or are used to extend the road
network. The dispersed city is also less efficient in terms of energy
consumption, transport and water use.
Issue:
In the USA, 50% of the population live in low density suburban areas. This trend
is also affecting the European city model.
Conflict:
High residential building densities can help create social and economic vibrancy
in a neighbourhood. The housing market, however, values low density. Tension
exists in urban development between money, power and democracy.
Best practices:
Land recycling is an effective strategy for cities that have run out of land
that can be developed. This involves giving land new uses through urban renewal
and regeneration processes.
