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June 1, 2021The social and health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the consequences of the housing shortage in Barcelona and the great obstacles to growth that local entrepreneurs encounter in the city. In this context, CO-HABITEM BARCELONA has been developed. The aim of the project is to improve the management of “urban reuse” and increase resilience in the temporary needs of inhabitants, to respond more efficiently to emergency situations, and to become a space with opportunities for sustainable local development.
To achieve this objective, a new model of creating the city is promoted based on mapping underused spaces and buildings, drawing up an index of reuse and accounting for these spaces with different temporary and mixed activities such as start-ups, housing, laboratories, artists’ residencies, etc. This will bring life to new experimental, innovative centres that can house and share a wide range of uses.
As part of CO-HABITEM BARCELONA, a mapping study of five underused buildings and spaces in the Ciutat Vella neighbourhood (Duanes, Correus, Estació de França, Museu Martorell and Castell dels Tres Dragons) has been carried out, for which reuse proposals have been made so that these spaces can coincide with other activities.
Participants in the project include researchers from the Rehabilitation and Architectural Restoration (REARQ) research group and VIMAC. The budget for CO-HABITEM BARCELONA is 99,680 euros. The project began in January 2021 and will end in December 2022.
CO-HABITEM BARCELONA has received the award for Scientific Research into Urban Challenges in the City of Barcelona 2020, given by Barcelona City Council for providing solutions to the challenges of Covid-19 and rethinking the model of the city in general.
Related news: The Scientific Research Awards recognise four UPC research projects to face the challenges of COVID-19 in Barcelona
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- Barcelona is characterised by a high consumption of bottled water (55% of the population drinks it regularly). The reasons for this behaviour tend to be dissatisfaction with the organoleptic characteristics, perceived health risks and distrust of the quality of tap water.
- A team of researchers from the Acoustic and Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (LEAM) in the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Mechanics (CATMech) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is participating in the development of a method that can generate and update noise maps for cities via mobile acoustic sensors.
- Cities are responsible for 80% of global energy consumption, 70% of total waste generation and 60% of greenhouse gas emissions of the planet. For this reason, measures need to be taken to transform cities into more sustainable, circular ecosystems.
- Researchers at the Centre for Land Valuation Policy (CPSV), from the research group Quality of Urban Life: Innovation, Sustainability and Social Engagement (QURBIS) at the UPC, have participated in the design of the theoretical model of the Building Renovation Passport based on BIM and Blockchain for the public administration.