THE URBAN II CIP FOR SANT ADRIÀ DE BESÒS

URBAN II is a Community Initiative financed by the European Regional Development Fund for the economic and social regeneration of troubled urban areas.

The Community Initiative URBAN II Programme for Sant Adrià de Besòs (SAB) constitutes the action plan approved by the European Commission for the promotion of sustainable urban development in Sant Adrià de Besòs by means of the priority action in the district of La Mina.



THE DISTRICT OF LA MINA

The urbanistic, economic and social characteristics and conditions of the district of La Mina make this geographical area a ‘natural’ candidate for those actions co-financed by the Community Initiative URBAN.

This district was born in a rapid fashion in order to re-house settlers from slums. Thus, the environment has never been the best one for the development of co-operation relations and a ‘gradual approach’ between social groups that would be expected for the ‘natural’ construction of a district-like social tissue. All this led to the reproduction (in a new environment) of the situations of marginality and the exclusion dynamics existing in the districts where the new population came from.

Despite all actions and investments carried out up to date, no effective change has been achieved regarding the social situation of the area. This is due to the difficulties in articulating a global action that is provided with the necessary resources and the coordination of all public administrations. The area has experienced an ongoing and progressive deterioration up to date. The current situation is characterised by:

• The physical and social isolation of the district and its inhabitants. 

• A serious degradation of urbanistic and environmental surroundings.

• Des déficits de formation importants, faible qualification et manque d'habitudes de travail d'une partie importante de la population. 

• Considerable training deficits, poor qualification and lack of working habits in a relevant group of population. 

• Other serious social problems: the high density and poor quality of the housing; the lack of resources or regular income; the high number of women as heads of single-parent families; the links with delinquency, often associated to drug dealing and consumption, etc.

• The appropriation of public space on the part of groups showing uncivic behaviour.

• The weakness of the social and family networks.



OBJECTIVES

The strategic objectives set for the URBAN II CIP as an answer to the problems detected are:

• To revalue the urbanistic environment of the district of La Mina and to improve housing conditions in order to turn the district into a ‘place of residence‘ and not into a shelter or a temporary abode to those who intend to leave the district looking for areas with better prospects.

• To improve the perception of the district and its residents, both in La Mina and in the rest of the Metropolitan Area, particularly in the other districts within Sant Adrià de Besòs.

• To recuperate underused plots, removing uncontrolled waste and encouraging its selective gathering and recycling, as well as setting the basis for civic behaviour on the part of the residents in urbanistic and environmental terms.

• To structure, in a coherent way, the urbanistic actions already existing in the district, by using a suitable tool of urbanistic planning – the Special Reordenation and Improval Plan (Plan Especial de Reordenación y Mejora, PERM) – and generating different reference points (by means of public building), in social terms and in terms of ‘landscape’.

• To connect – in a urbanistic and social sense - the district of La Mina with the rest of the Metropolitan Area and, particularly, with the rest of the municipality of Sant Adrià de Besòs.

• To consolidate the already-existing economic activity, both as a potential source of employment and due to its capability when it comes to social structuring.

• To improve the employability factors of the active, or potentially active, population in the district, by making insertion into the labour market easier, particularly for the less favoured collectives.

• To reduce the incidence of the currently existing marginalisation and exclusion dynamics, paying special attention to those collectives that are potentially more exposed.

• To fight delinquency in the district, both from the point of view of prevention and penal mediation and also of the coordination and improval of the State security forces’ answer.

• To promote civic and solidary behaviour in the district by forming a Community Work Network that includes neighbours associations and NGOs and involves the residents in the flux of social life and coexistence in the district of La Mina.



PRIORITIES AND MESURES

These objectives are reflected in the programming of the URBAN II CIP for SAB according to the following priorities and measures.


Priorities and measures
PRIORITY 1. MIXED USAGE AND REURBANIZATION
Measure 1.1. Recuperation of abandoned and polluted plots. Rehabilitation of public spaces, including green spaces.
Measure 1.2.: Building, renovating and endowment of buildings in order to develop social, cultural, leisure and sport activities.
PRIORITY 2. EMPLOYERS AND PACTS FOR EMPLOYMENT
Measure 2.1. Support to business activities, to the trade and the crafts, to social economy, to cooperatives, mutual benefit societies and services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Measure 2.5. Creation and improval of health services and other social services, particularly those for the elder and children (nursery schools) and other disfavoured collectives.
Measure 2.7. Training actions for the unemployed and the employed in order to update their training and their adaptation to the new working organisation and information technologies and communications, giving priority to integrated itineraries for professional insertion and to the development of new sources of occupation.
PRIORITY 3. INTEGRATION OF MARGINALIZED PERSONS AND ACCESS TO BASIC SERVICES
Measure 3.5. Creation of workshop schools and training centres. Conditioning and improval of those already existing.
PRIORITY 5. WASTE TREATMENT AND REDUCTION; WATER MANAGEMENT AND REDUCTION OF NOISE; REDUCTION OF HYDROCARBUR CONSUMPTION
Measure 5.1. Promotion of waste reduction, total recycling, gathering and selective treatment.
PRIORITY 6. DEVELOPMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF THE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Measure 6.1. Promotion of the use and access to information technologies and communication among citizens, particularly for purposes of training, employability, education and culture.
Measure 6.2. Development of public interest services, particularly in the fields of education and training, health, information about the environment and support to SMEs, especially when it comes to e-commerce and proximity services.
PRIORITY 7. ASSESSMENT, MANAGEMENT AND FOLLOW-UP. IMPROVAL IN THE URBAN GOVERNMENT
Measure 7.2. Information and publicity campaigns, key actions to improve access to information (especially in terms of environment) and citizen participation in the decision-making processes.
Measure 7.3. Promotion of networks for the exchange of experiences and good practices, as well as the development of a community database about good practices in management and sustainability of cities.
Measure 7.5. Expenses deriving from management, monitoring and control tasks.