Blocks & High Density living in Spanish cities

[Lindemann]

For a huge collection of Madrid's commieblocks visit this new thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1395454

Here are some blocks from other cities around Spain.

Bellvitge, Barcelona metro area:

[Lindemann]

Many of these pics were taken from this thread on the Spanish sub-forum.

Valladolid:






Sevilla:








Zaragoza:















Valencia:












Santa Cruz de Tenerife:




Jerez de la Frontera:






Bilbao:










Málaga:










Burgos:




Alicante:

[IMG]http://i35.************/jzhedv.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i36.************/2r3b020.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i34.************/2v29j4x.jpg[/IMG]


Vigo:




León: (my little town )






For Madrid blocks there is a new thread with lots of aerial pics.

Check it out: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1395454

[Lindemann]

A Coruña:












Vigo:




Valladolid:




Logroño:




Pamplona:







Málaga:













Sevilla:

[Iluminat]

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/6203/bellvitgewn8.jpg
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3...andres3zl0.jpg
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1...afloresba6.jpg

This is some of the worst c'block planning I've ever seen
Was it even legal to build them so close to each other?

[Lindemann]

Most of those blocks were built under Franco's regime or in transition-to-democracy years, so I think it's complicated to talk about legality or urban planning laws in that situation.
Also, corruption between regime officials, contractors and urbanists was something very common in those years.
I've read somewhere that those Barcelona blocks in first picture were a result of rampant corruption; the contractors modified the initial 'normal' project many times until it became one of the largest and densest commuter towns in Europe.

[Iluminat]

After I saw this thread title I wanted to correct you that it's a stupid stereotype and modernist housing is not so high density at all but after seeing those pictures I have to bite my tongue...

[Lindemann]

So... I think you'll love this thread that I was working on during this evening. Really

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1395454

[Lindemann]

Gijón

[Lindemann]

A very good post by forumer Telecom with some pics from Málaga, copied from a new commieblock thread in Spanish subforum.

Originally Posted by Telecom

Te invito a un paseito por Málaga.




Estas dos se podrían titular "Encuentra la calle" xd




































La misma de lado







Los 60 y 70 hicieron estragos aqui. Donde habia un hueco se planto un commieblock, algun dia habrá que tirar barrios enteros o hacer algo.

Por lo general la gente no se imagina que Málaga sea tan densa. Viendola desde arriba gran parte de la ciudad es un mazacote continuo. Al menos el metro, que atraviesa varios de estos barrios, tiene el exito asegurado.

[joshsam]

Damn! There are a lot of commies in Spain. And some of them are so freaking close to eachother! Loving these pics! feel sorry for the people whol lives in those insanely close togheter block though...

[Iluminat]

I noticed that commies in South European countries in general tend to be much denser than in the north. It gets extreme in Athens which from what I heard is mostly a modernist city in terms of architecture but there is hardly any modernist planning at all.

[joshsam]

Yes here there are housing blocks to, but lots of green area's are in between them...

[Ribarca]

Originally Posted by Lindemann

Most of those blocks were built under Franco's regime or in transition years, so I think it's complicated to talk about legality or urban planning laws in that situation. Also, urban corruption was something very common in those years.
I've read somewhere that those Barcelona blocks in first picture were a result of corruption, where the contractors modified the initial 'normal' project many times until it became one of the largest and densest commuter towns in Europe.

In a way it's similar to what you see in huge housing developments in Hong Kong. There was a mass migration from Andalucia and other regions to Barcelona in those years to work in the industry. Similar to how people fled China to migrate to Hong Kong. Commieblocks were a sensible solution. The alternative was shantytowns. In both cities these were prevalent in the hills.

[Victhor]

Amazing thread

[kmbr]

makes everything more palatable.

[Lindemann]

A better aerial pic (from Bing Maps) of one of the largest high density developments in the whole of Europe.

Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona commuter town).

There are 100+ high rise blocks in that small area. When it was built in the 60's it resulted an urbanistic failure, but since the democracy arrived to Spain (mid 70's) the neighborhood has developed many kind of infrastructures and social facilities, making its standard of living as high as in any neighborhood in the urban core.

[Lindemann]

Some neighborhoods from Seville, the capital of Andalusia.

Like in most Spanish cities, many of these developments were built under Franco's regime.
The lower density ones are presumably from the 1940's and 50's.

Originally Posted by Nolke

La aportación de Sevilla a estas cosas puede parecer más provinciana que la madrileña o la barcelonesa, pero en realidad es exquisita.

Introduzco con una serie de fotos y otro día me dedicaré a presentar maravillas con más detalle. Pongo los nombres porque entre las páginas de sucesos y los programas de callejeros muchos barrios de estos se conocen en to'Spaña.

Ilustrísima barriada de Los Pajaritos







Barriada de la Oliva



Las Letanías



Muy chunga, muy ilustre, e invicta (porque aquí en una batalla aún no ha ganado ni el ejército) barriada de Martínez Montañés, localmente conocida como Las Vegas y universalmente famosa por ser el núcleo chungo de las TresMil Viviendas. Fijaos en cómo no hay un puto coche aparcado.




Ciudad-dormitorio de Montequinto, en Dos Hermanas



Fijaos en que son tres edificios puestos a lo largo y con ramificaciones, ni Nuevos Ministerios. Estilo años 50, con ese blanquito tan sufrido.





Commies del Aljarafe





Commies de Triana, siempre commies



La ilustre Avda de Kansas City, que recibe a los norteños que llegan por la A4, por el AVE o por el aeropuerto, bien podría llamarse Avda de Volgogrado.









Polígono Norte
























Y ya estoy harto...

Ese blanco reluciente que hace que destaque mejor la m¡erda, los colores chillones que la fachada contenga, los aires acondicionados, los cerramientos, las macetas, los azulejos que no pegan nada en los portales, todo el resto de ornamento; esos bloques bajitos (cuatro-cinco plantas, lo justo para ahorrarse el ascensor) que crean barriadas enormes y dan una sensación más humana, y por ello más chunga aún si cabe. Ahí quea la cosa.

[Skopje/Скопје]

Don't get me wrong, but it seems a bit inhumane to live in such dense blocks.

[Lindemann]

If you refer to that Barcelona commuter town... yep, indeed it was, until it developed better in recent decades. :/

Here I explained the reason for that monstrosity:

Originally Posted by Lindemann

Most of those blocks were built under Franco's regime or in transition-to-democracy years, so I think it's complicated to talk about legality or urban planning laws in that situation.
Also, corruption between regime officials, contractors and urbanists was something very common in those years.
I've read somewhere that those Barcelona blocks in first picture were a result of rampant corruption; the contractors modified the initial 'normal' project many times until it became one of the largest and densest commuter towns in Europe.

[Skopje/Скопје]

Yes, I've read your explanation before, but I think that the buildings are just too close. When I say inhumane, i mean that everyone has the right to see the sky from his window, to have green area around his home, and not to be afraid that the neighbors are spying him through their windows... things like that. I prefer commieblocks with a lot of space between them.