Barcelona is committed to cohousing as a viable option to boost affordable housing. The City Council of Barcelona has already invested 10.6 million euros in the first cohousing projects being carried out on public land, and is determined to continue with this model.
“We are creating a Barcelona cohousing model,” explained Josep Maria Montaner, councillor for Housing and Renovation of the Barcelona City Council, at the Cohousing Meeting held this Saturday, September 29. The event served to present the cooperative housing projects being developed by the Barcelona City Council.
The meeting, which was informal and festive, was held at the building site of Espronceda 131-135, in the neighbourhood of Poblenou, where the construction will soon begin on one of the four cooperative housing developments that resulted from the City Council’s public tender to build cooperative housing on municipal lots.
The basic premises
Cohousing is a means of access to housing that allows a community of people to live in a building without being owners or landlords, for a long period of time – 75 years – and at a lower-than-market price.
It consists of the cession, by the City Council, of an unused property or lot to a neighbourhood cooperative. The members pay an entrance deposit and a monthly fee for the use of their home, but they will never be the owners: the property belongs to the cooperative.
As Montaner explained, the Barcelona model “is evolving” but it has some basic premises. The first is that “public land must remain public” in order to avoid speculation. Secondly, transparency is sought, offering the available flats through open public competitions. There is also a great deal of importance given to the architectural quality of the projects.
The City Council has created a cooperative housing committee to discuss with the whole sector “how to define this cohousing model that is under construction”. As Montaner explained, the objective “is to draft the model and open a new call for cohousing projects before the mandate ends.”
Six projects underway
Currently, there are six cohousing projects underway in Barcelona:
- Princesa, 49 – Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera (Ciutat Vella), managed by the cooperative Sostre Cívic.
- Constitució, 83-89 – la Bordeta (Sants-Montjuïc), managed by the cooperative La Borda.
- Espronceda, 131-135 – el Poblenou (Sant Martí), managed by the cooperative Sostre Cívic.
- Ulldecona, 26-28 – la Marina del Prat Vermell (Sants-Montjuïc), managed by the cooperative Llar Jove Prat Vermell.
- Pla dels Cirerers, 2-4 – les Roquetes (Nou Barris), managed by the cooperative Sostre Cívic.
- Joan de Borbó, 11 – la Barceloneta (Ciutat Vella), managed by the cooperative La Xarxaire.
A new model for social participation
During the Cohousing Meeting, the first deputy mayor of Barcelona, Gerardo Pisarello, stated that the six cohousing projects underway “are very innovative projects that will add 134 homes, and that have been made possible thanks to the insistence, obstinance, and patient impatience of the cooperatives.”
Pisarello highlighted the collaboration between the City Council and the cooperative world as “another way of understanding social participation in the construction of the economy”.
The manager of Housing and Renovation, Javier Burón, highlighted the “tremendous social and public energy” that exists in Barcelona, a city that is moving towards a “transformation of the relationship between the market and the administration in terms of housing.”
“The cohousing model is being born without an instruction manual, building on the historical tradition of other cities and countries” such as Austria, Denmark and Uruguay, said Burón.
On the other hand, the cohousing organisations in Barcelona were very active in the event, which also served to continue collecting views on the cohousing model being developed.
The Balearic Islands experience
During the Cohousing Meeting, the Balearic Islands cohousing project of the Balearic Housing Institute (IBAVI) was presented.
IBAVI technicians Lucas Pol Bonnín, Lara Fuster and Carles Oliver explained that they have been working for a year and that a first call is being prepared for the tendering of five sites that already have projects.
Carles Oliver explained that “there will be a transparent public competition” and that the aspects to be considered will be based on ethical, social and environmental elements. “Social involvement is valued, with the neighbourhood, with local organisations, and proposals for environmental improvement,” added Lara Fuster.
Exhibition and recreational activities
During the Cohousing Meeting, people could visit an exhibition about the six cohousing projects being developed by the municipal government, and the organisations related to cohousing also had a space to disseminate their activities, explaining their projects to those who were interested.
Children and families were able to enjoy different recreational activities, such as face painting and craft workshops. Among the activities was a workshop inviting children to imagine where they would like to live, in order to guide them to reflect on the right to housing.