El Raval & Medieval Barcelona, April 14th 2011

Unfortunately I had to miss this field trip because I planned a flight leaving on this day but I still wanted to include it in my blog so I'll cover a little bit of the information we discussed in class about El Raval. This neighborhood was known and famous for it's high rates of crime and prostitution. There was a huge debate over whether to privately or publicly reconstruct the area to try and lessen both the crime and prostitution so they settled on redoing the North publicly and the South privately. I think that this is a great concept and an interesting way to experiment with the best way to restructure. This area now holds many landmarks of the city of Barcelona. In the North there is UB University which I really like and seems like a pretty place to attend classes.

http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0024774

 Also, the area surrounding the University seems devoid of the negative aspects that used to dominate El Raval. When I was around the university I noticed mostly students our age grabbing food or coffee, lots of skateboarders, or other individuals who did not seem set on crime or prostitution. As Xavi discussed in class bringing in this public university makes people from all over have to come to this area thus making these other types of individuals feel more uncomfortable in their previous "stomping grounds". The north also holds the MACBA museum, the Modern Art Museum of Barcelona, the Boqueria market, and CCCB, the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona.
I have become absolutely obsessed with the Boqueria since coming here choosing to make trips there whenever possible in order to pick up ingredients for my dinners. Here are some personal pictures from the market.

Finally the Southern area of Raval was redone privately adding lots of hotels and nice restaurants to attract tourists and to disperse the crime and prostitution. The main attractions from this are the Hotel Barcelo as well as the Rambla del Raval. Behind the Hotel Barcelo used to me the highest rate of prostitution. I have never visited this area unfortunately so I do not know how much it has changed but I know that the North has changed a lot!