Abstract

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El Raval is situated to the west of the Gothic Quarter and was once a vital industrial zone with densely crammed blocks of buildings for the laborers. In the 19th century Barcelona expanded and El Raval lost its significance as an industrial center. This led the area to be neglected by the government, becoming a hub for petty crimes, prostitution and drugs. The socialist government in the 1970s strove to improve the social condition by demolishing old unexploited buildings and replacing the old urban fabric with small squares made of concrete, which provide the much needed open spaces yet are easy to maintain. In the 1980s, before the Olympic games, efforts were increased thus public spaces such as Plaçadels Angels and Rambla del Raval axis were developed. The new efforts generated tourism and new developments but also triggered a wave of immigrants to reside in the area, creating an agglomeration of informal settlements. With a population of approximately 37500, it is said that 47% of the inhabitants are immigrants. However the heterogeneity of the El Ravalis not manifested in the public spaces, different ethnic groups do not interact with one another since public spaces are “masculanized” with high rates of pick pocketing and violence that do not inspire children to engage in recreational activities.  Furthermore, public spaces and streets become playgrounds for different gangs where passersby are violated.

Considering the different social, physical and economic patterns that characterize El Raval, we strove to design an element that would motivate children from different ethnicities to interact and bond while at the same time provide a certain extent of safety for pedestrians during nighttime through the LED lighting and spread awareness of the significant number of children living in the streets. The swings are lit at night, through optical fibers that compose them. The swings will be hung in narrow streets between clustered informal settlements where the street may also act as a public space, where homeless children might normally dwell for a night, and where prostitution is also practiced. The swings are there as a constant reminder of the presence of the children. This targets adults to be conscience of the presence of children in neglected spaces who are constantly exposed to drugs and prostitution. The goal is to re-awaken the latent conscience and the responsibility of those adults who happen to be role models to the children. Our aim is to restore the social conscience.