Costanza Tremante

Costanza Tremante

Lavapiés and Tetuán (History and COVID-19)

As I discussed in my last blog, the Lavapiés and Tetuán neighborhoods are regarded to be among Madrid’s most susceptible areas. This week, I’ll discuss the history of both Lavapiés and Tetuán and why the neighborhoods have been labeled as “vulnerable” over the years. I’ll discuss how they coped with the pandemic and how they are currently doing.

 

Lavapiés

History:

The Lavapiés neighborhood, which simply translates to “wash your feet,” was founded in 1658, half a century after Madrid became Spain’s capital. The street layout has remained unchanged over time, and a vast area of farmland still marks the original border. The low rents attracted a large number of people to the region in the 1970s, leading it to become more populated. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was a hub for squatters and drug dealers. In the 2000s, it became a popular destination for immigrants, including Indians, Chinese, Senegalese, and Middle Easterners, lured by the low rent. With it came an influx of ethnic businesses, bringing a wave of hipsters and young people eager to try new dishes despite the neighborhood’s lack of diversity and neglect. The region currently has a new polyglot environment as a result of recent inflows of immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East.

Median household Income in Lavapiés

Lavapiés’ average family income is currently at €11,000 per year. They have some of the fastest-growing property values in the country, aggravating the city’s disparity. The graphic above also shows that after you cross the motorway, your average annual income skyrockets. South of the motorway, typical earnings rise to around €23,000 per year. Along this section of road, the architecture changes as well: the road becomes wider and more gridded, while the buildings get newer (about a century younger) and include basement parking and swimming pools.

 

COVID-19:

Airbnbs, evictions, food banks, and riots have all become routine in Lavapiés. Protests were a common occurrence in Lavapiés before to the COVID 19 pandemic. The COVID-19 epidemic has now worsened all of the inhabitants’ previous difficulties. Neighbors organized a Lavapiés En Pie (Lavapiés Still Standing) march on June 30th, seeking immediate post-COVID-19 social measures. Fourteen organizations marched to the town hall and unrolled their homemade banners, each with different demands, such as an end to gentrification, evictions, homelessness, poverty, institutional racism, police abuse, and more. Chants and vuvuzelas (traditional African horns) were joined by ladies battling domestic violence who banged paella pan lids together like cymbals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an important issue than ever before: to improve social policy. The lockdown has had a significant impact on the neighborhood. Lavapiés is a neighborhood with strong communal ties, which were highlighted even more during the city’s lockdown. Balcony bingo became an evening habit immediately before the nightly ovation for healthcare workers. Residents’ relationships appear to have simply strengthened as a result of their increased enthusiasm for protest.

 

Tetuán

History:

Tetuán is a town in Spain where one of the wealthiest regions meets one of the poorest. Today, it shares an invisible boundary with Cuatro Torres, Madrid’s financial area. The Tetuán neighborhood, named after the Moroccan city, is one of Madrid’s oldest neighborhoods. Even though it began in 1860 as a military camp for troops. Following the victory in the African war, the army was stationed in the region, and business began to grow around the military camp.

 

Tetuán has had a large influx of immigrants from all over the world during the last century. There are clusters of restaurants from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other nations from all around the world. The streets are flooded with mixed residential and commercial buildings, with restaurants or bodegas on the ground level and “pisos” on the higher floors (residential apartments). The ground floor is usually occupied by family-owned enterprises, with the remainder of the building housing the family. Some immigrant families have been displaced by the addition of luxury structures to the original sites. As a result, some families have created informal housing with low rents. Some of Tetuán’s ancient urban fabrics have very little or no open public space. Since there is no place to slow down, sit down, and chat for a long, much of the interaction is merely passing by and greeting each other.

 

COVID-19:

According to the latest report released by the Community of Madrid, the third wave of the pandemic appears to have hit the neighborhood of Tetuán, were registered cases are beginning to grow. The residents of Tetuán rely exclusively on their family’s business. When there was a lockdown, these businesses suffered, forcing the family to seek alternative sources of income. Many of them took to the streets in search of other means of supporting their families and bringing food to the table. Many families were infected with COVID-19 as a result of their hunt for financial resources. Due to the informal housing situation that some residents are faced with, many families got infected by COVID-19 causing the number of COVID-19 cases to skyrocket.  

 

 

Lavapiés and Tetuán

In cities, landmarks are extremely significant. It must be a feature, site, or thing unique to a certain neighborhood or city. The Eiffel Tower, for example, is a major landmark in Paris, France. The Lavapiés and Tetuán neighborhoods of Madrid, Spain, are regarded to be among the poorest in the city. Both Lavapiés and Tetuán have their own set of sights, ranging from their primary marketplaces to their historic locations. I’ve been investigating these areas for the past two weeks, trying to figure out why they’re considered “vulnerable.” Having the opportunity to travel and observe firsthand how each neighborhood operates and the many relationships amongst its residents gave me a sense of belonging.

 

Understanding what each neighborhood entails was critical for my study. By looking at the land’s border, you can spot objects that aren’t visible to the naked eye. By simply looking at the map, the Tetuán neighborhood was readily apparent. The area stood out on the map because the cluster of brown houses appeared to be stacked on top of each other. The neighboring areas had a more orderly sense of planning, demonstrating the distinction between Tetuán and a middle-class community. In-person, this area appeared to have been heavily gentrified. There were antique structures stacked on top of one other and new buildings that created an odd contrast.

Neighborhood of Tetuán

On the other hand, Lavapiés is an old neighborhood that has managed to retain its original qualities. The map appears like it was well-planned, and the area is located near one of Madrid’s most famous parks and museums. This area appeared to be well-kept, and the streets were lined with tourist stores.

Neighborhood of Lavapiés

Participative Culture

This past week, I had the opportunity to travel to Madrid, Spain. In just one week, I was able to see how people interact with one another, understand their day-to-day routine, as well as how much they care about their city. As the City of Madrid is over 900 years old, I can tell the difference from the modern to the old part of the city. I believe the City of Madrid has been able to maintain its old enchantments as well as integrate contemporary architecture and infrastructure.

With this in mind, I am brought back to Paisaje Transversal’s motto “Listening and Transforming the City.” All their projects are based on how the city functions with its residents and how they have been able to maintain a culture of giving back to their community. By listening to the needs and wants of the citizens, Paisaje Transversal has been able to create cohesive solutions for the different characteristics that the city has.

As I ask myself what “field” means for my research, it is hard to pinpoint one thing. I think it incorporates years of traditions and the vast cultures that the City of Madrid has been able to maintain throughout the years. While this field may not be widely discussed, I have found that numerous groups are doing this work. Like Madrid Ciudad de los Cuidados, Experimenta Distrito, and Federación Regional de Asociaciones de Vecinos de Madrid (FRAVM). They all have incorporated the concepts of neighborhood activism, collective care, and give back to those that are in need. It is encouraging to reflect on the reality that these practices are not new and that it is a part of how the city and its people functions. They are able to continue their culture as well as illuminating day-to-day problems that they may be dealing with at the moment.

This is why I believe that the term field in my research is a concept that other cities around the world can learn from. In the next following weeks, I want to be able to do just that, to show just how people can learn from the City of Madrid and its culture.

Escuchar y Transformar la Ciudad

Throughout my research with Paisaje Transversal, I have relied primarily on documentation provided by them which include their 3rd edition to their book “Escuchar y Transformar la Ciudad” and their blog. With these resources, I have been able to analyze the complexities of their projects that pertain to the gamification approach. As well as, understating the different neighborhoods of the City of Madrid and how they have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

I first began reading their new edition of their book that was released this year, “Escuchar y Transformar la Ciudad: Urbanismo colaborativo y participación ciudadana,” (Listening and Transform the City: Collaborative Urbanism & Citizen Participation). The book was first published in 2018 and since then it has received amazing feedback. The book is divided into three chapters, each describes issues and opportunities on different scaled. The first is at the neighborhood level, such as a public plaza. The second chapter focuses on a mid-level initiative, such as community or city transformation. Finally, the third chapter examines a large-scale initiative that focuses on the regeneration and design of a whole region or territory in a given area.

 

This book has become a go-to guide to understand Paisaje Transversal’s methodologies and strategies towards their urban regeneration projects. The authors of the book discuss how cities have taken a central role in global geopolitics and the future of humanity. This is why they believe it is essential to rethink the way we plan and transform cities around the world. The book functions as a review of the origin of urban issues, as well as to understand and apply new ways to fix the issues in a more participatory perspective. This book has been very helpful in understanding how the gamification approach was successful in their projects.

 

Another resource that I have relied on has been their blogs. Paisaje Transversal has been able to post about the base of their current projects on urban issues and their solutions. Having little knowledge on Madrid, Spain, their blog. has helped me navigate through their neighborhoods and view their perspective about it. In the next couple of weeks, I will still be using their book as a reference as well as their blog in order to understand more about vulnerable communities in Madrid, Spain.

Escuchar y Transformar la Ciudad

Gamification and Public Space Part 2

This week I have been looking at past projects that Paisaje Transversal has been successful at using the gamification approach. In this post, I will explain the two other games that Paisaje Transversal partook in different neighborhoods in Spain. 

Virgen de Begoña (VdB)

As I mentioned last week, Paisaje Transversal used a game called Trivial Pursuit in the neighborhood of Virgen de Begoña. They also created a second game called “¡Conquista el espacio público!”(Conquering public space!).

For the second game, Paisaje Transversal manufactured a new giant board game that would serve as an urban pedagogy tool. It included different types of games: Gymkhana, Pictionary, Taboo, Mimicry, or general questions. All the games were related to the VdB neighborhood and its public space. The objective of the game is not for one team to win, but rather for the whole neighborhood and its community to win. Additionally, the game included intergenerational activities, so that there were different types of activities aimed at different age groups. Therefore, it was convenient for the team to include insights from older people, adults, young adults, and children.

The objectives of “¡Conquista El Espacio Público!” and “Trivial VdB” games consisted of generating awareness for the need to establish strategies and actions of
appropriation for the improvement of residents’ closest shared environment. It is a strategy aimed at promoting citizen participation and emphasizing that the neighborhood can only regenerate when the people who live in it collaborate.

 

 “¡Conquista el espacio público!” game (source: Paisaje Transversal)

Sant Miquel

Sant Miquel is a neighborhood in the City of Olot that, while having valuable resources and significant potential, has had a negative reputation among the rest of the City of Olot. For many of the residents, the neighborhood is now unappealing since it is one of the areas with the highest immigrant populations. Sant Miquel has suffered neglect during the last decades that has caused deterioration in the quality of the public space, due to infrastructures like large commercial and industrial parts. This has resulted in making it a comparatively unattractive neighborhood.

Joc de Barri (a game that Paisaje Transversal conducted) functioned as a recreational activity with the primary goal of raising awareness for the Sant Miquel project. Simultaneously, the game detected the neighborhood’s major value elements: its significant spaces and its elements of identity. These aspects, like the people and local events, are what give Sant Miquel its character. Residents learned more about the history of Sant Miquel, its locations, and the people that reside thereby answering these questions. As a result of the improvement activities, the participants began to collaborate and collectively decide on neighborhood suggestions.

Some of the main conclusions that were gathered from the Joc de Barri activity are explained below:

  • Mobility appears to be one of the most important issues.
  • Due to their scarcity and lack of adaptability, open spaces are another pressing concern.
  • Avinguda Girona reappeared on other occasions, considering it necessary to improve the commercial activity of this street.

At Paisaje Transversal, they began to consider and be innovative with the gamification approach. This allowed them to handle their communities’ urban changes from an integrative and participative viewpoint. The gamification approach can transform the physical, environmental, and social reality of a neighborhood. At the same time, it can help to incentivize citizens to understand that they can be the protagonists of their neighborhood regeneration projects.