De-densifying Spanish cities
Social fragmentation and urban sprawl in light of the COVID 19 crisis.
Spanish culture has suffered greatly at the hands of the COVID 19 quarantine. Neighbours no longer greet each other with a kiss on each cheek. Their state sanctioned masks act as a physical barrier against this instinctive gesture, which has ratified social interactions in Spain for centuries. Grandparents, who once featured as the nucleus to family life, are now completely excluded from it. City streets are filled with an empty hum from the residents who once roamed its sidewalks, but now resort to the safety of their homes as their haven for the evening.
Without oversimplifying Spanish culture, these rituals were symbolic of daily life in Spanish cities, pre quarantine. These customs and interactions made up the backbone of the Spanish lifestyle. So what will exist post quarantine? From the moment which I write, Spain is beginning to emerge from its slumber. We are beginning to measure the implications of 48 days in lockdown, and consider what the new normal might become.
Intergenerational interaction: prioritising health concerns over social vulnerability
After one of the strictest lockdown’s which Europe has seen, one of the first measures to be reintroduced was the practice of exercise outdoors. Many Spaniards have breathed a sigh of relief, but for many this has served as a reminder that isolation will persist. Exercise regimes have introduced an age designated schedule where active individuals, vulnerable elderly populations and children navigate the city at different points of the day. This new timetable intends to limit the frequency of intergenerational encounters. It seems that intergenerational interaction will continue to suffer in our post quarantine world.
In a society where intergenerational solidarity has social prestige, these kinds of regulations are especially disruptive. This solidarity creates stability in all aspects of an individuals life. Children compensate for the limited care capacity of the state, by caring for their parents until an old age. In a similar manner, grandparents often act as essential carers for their grandchildren. Since the relaxation of quarantine, intergenerational interaction has been actively inhibited. Perhaps this interaction can be maintained digitally, through online programs such as ‘Adopta un abuelo’ (Adopt a grandparent), which encourage digital interaction between elders and the youngest in society. However, how long must the most elderly in society endure this physical separation?
Urban Housing Density; is de-densification inevitable? Is it desirable?
Since citizens have once again been able to enjoy the outdoors under scheduled intervals, they have been reminded why small apartment blocks were previously an attractive housing option. For decades residents have opted for smaller, affordable high density housing, with the view that most of their daily activities can be performed ‘al fresco’. Public Spaces in Spain, such as parks, offer a multitude of different uses. Pre quarantine, ‘Jardin del Turia’ in Valencia catered to various uses, hosting a range of different events from birthday parties, festival celebrations, music events and yoga classes. However, quarantine has demonstrated that whilst we progress through an increasingly uncertain 21st century, residents access to these spaces cannot be guaranteed.
As a country with one of the highest urban population densities per square meter, Francesc Munoz (2003) noted that a pattern of suburbanisation was already emerging in Spanish cities at the turn of the 21st century. An emerging preference towards low density housing was beginning to push some residents to suburban areas, forcing urban sprawl.
Perhaps the pungent memory of quarantine will accelerate the suburbanisation of Spanish cities further. The uncertainty around access to public space during quarantine could push many city dwellers to seek lower density housing. The security of indoor and private outdoor space could lure many Spanish citizens into this housing market, allowing residents to conduct a larger portion of their social lives in the confines of their own homes. Though we are yet to measure the effects of quarantine, it seems plausible that it will have a significant effect on favoured housing typologies.
The question we must ask is, is this kind of urban sprawl desirable in cities which have been previously defined by their compactness and metropolitanism? The rapid spread of COVID 19 in urban areas has consequently led to avid debate among proponents of de-densification, and those who value urban density. The latter argue that de densification is not desirable if we consider the climate crisis, and the detrimental effects urban sprawl will have on the environment. But ultimately it won’t be the decision of public health experts or urban planners, it will be the choice of the consumer.
Reimagining Spanish ‘street life’.
For those who continue to welcome the density of Spanish cities, the routines of people on the street may alter. This is something which we have already encountered, with restrictions placed on the movement of residents outside their homes. The whole world watched in admiration as neighbours created new social interactions which traversed balconies. Neighbours played music, sang, danced, clapped, chatted and instructed exercises classes. Some even got married.
Here in Montolivete, a residential neighbourhood in the south of Valencia, neighbours were brought together through art. Residents across the neighbourhood elaborately decorated their balconies around one central theme, summertime. They replicated a day at the beach through a mirage of blow up palm trees and beach towels slung over balcony railings.
The balcony has been repurposed as a social realm. Moving forward, how can we incorporate this concept into the design of buildings, to provide spaces which allow physical density and interaction between residents, whilst limiting physical proximity? As sociologist Richard Sennett (2020) notes, we don’t necessarily have to create less concentrated cities. However, he asks a pertinent question; ‘how can we find other forms of physical density which allow people to see their neighbours and participate in the life of the street, although they are temporarily separated?’ Perhaps we need to take a more focussed approach, de-densifying residential blocks, minimising interaction between residents in communal areas and stair wells, whilst optimising the distanced interaction which balcony spaces foster.
Cities and their residents have endured hardship during quarantine. As one of the first European countries to emerge from lockdown, Spain sets a precedent, that European’s should be prepared to adapt to a new normal. Intergenerational interaction will continue to be discouraged, and neighbours will proceed cautiously into their post quarantine world, with ample amounts of social distancing. The vision of the archetypal city, which celebrates density and vibrancy, may be completely turned on its head. All these factors will disrupt the lives and routines of Spanish city dwellers, who have embraced this physical and social proximity with open arms. However, we have also been offered an opportunity to transform our cities to be more responsive to future crises, whilst ensuring the reason that we love cities remains central to the way in which we plan them.
