NOTE ON THE AMENDMENT OF THE PLA GENERAL METROPOLITÀ PER A LA MILLORA URBANÍSTICA I AMBIENTAL DELS BARRIS DE GRÀCIA.
On March 4th of 2022, the agreement for the Amendment of the Pla general metropolità per a la millora urbanística i ambiental dels barris de Gràcia was published in the Official Journal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC). The aim of the Consistory is to preserve the uniqueness of this historic centre and protect its heritage in order to maintain the traditional urban design.
The area covered by the amendment includes almost 190 hectares within the District of Gràcia, encompassing practically the whole of the Vila de Gràcia neighbourhood and part of the Camp d’en Grassot – Gràcia Nova, La Salut and Vallcarca-Penitents neighbourhoods.
The new regulation aims to respond to the urban and building dynamics that are leading to a process of transformation of the neighbourhoods of Gràcia through the progressive replacement of its traditional buildings.
By adapting the urban planning parameters to the particular physical conditions and urban typology of these neighbourhoods, the MPGM aims to preserve its own character and identity. On the other hand, the new development also aims to increase the biodiversity and green areas of this nucleus through the implementation of parks and gardens, and the expansion of green areas and open spaces.
To achieve the urban and environmental improvement of the neighbourhoods, the modification proposes actions both for the built spaces, preserving and improving their consolidated framework, increasing social housing and promoting the coexistence of housing, activities and facilities, and for the open spaces, incorporating new environmental requirements that increase its biodiversity.
This amendment must be related to the Pla Especial de Protecció del Patrimoni historicoartístic dels barris tradicionals de la Vila de Gràcia (PEPPHA), which was definitively approved prior to the approval of this MPGM, on December 23th 2020, with the aim of preserving the urban design, identity and specificities of the historical center of the neighbourhood.
Specifically, the MPGM comprises actions relating to the maintenance, rehabilitation and improvement of the urban landscape of the fronts and the building framework, and includes urban planning regulations for the integration into the traditional urban landscape. By way of example, in the case of new building works, comprehensive rehabilitation and renovation of fronts, the building project must include a study with a drawing of the fronts of buildings located at a distance of less than 30 metres. In addition, any building intervention must be designed in accordance with the formal characteristics of the existing buildings and their typology, and the amendment foresees the possibility of drawing up Urban Improvement Plans or Special Development Plans to specify these aesthetic conditions in greater detail is envisaged.
The new regulations also restructure the dwelling stock, given the lack of vacant plots or sectors in transformation in the neighbourhood for the construction of social housing. In this sense, the municipality’s general regulations stipulate a 30% of social housing must be reserved for developments on plots of land with a ceiling of over 600 m2, while in the case of Gracia, this minimum surface area is now 400 m2.
Another example of this kind of measure can be found in the case of developments that allocate the ground floors for residential use where it was not developed, facing the residential street system (code 5r) and in which the compatibility of commercial, tertiary or similar uses on the ground floor is foreseen, in which only the use of subsidivided housing in the form of generic social housing will be allowed.
Lastly, with regard to the division of so-called large dwellings, those with a cadastral surface area equal to or more than 160 m2 built surface area, this will only be allowed when at least half of the dwellings resulting from the potential subdivision are intended for generic social housing. However, it should be noted that this measure will not apply to divisions carried out by first-degree heirs which are directly related to the mortis causa transfer of the heirs.
With regard to the protection of buildings, the MPGM has incorporated a large number of elements into the heritage catalogue, which are added to the buildings protected by the PEPPHA, so that up to three out of every four buildings in the area will be protected. The aim of this measure is to identify and protect the most relevant buildings and ensembles which, considered separately or as a whole, constitute the historical identity of the Vila de Gràcia.
On the other hand, Barcelona City Council also wants to promote the local commerce, encouraging the implantation of shops and tertiary uses on the ground floors of buildings. For this reason, residential use is not allowed on the ground floors of buildings facing the urban streets of special civic character, identified as a system of activity (key 5e) and which make up the core of the Vila de Gràcia, except in cases where the protection of the heritage, individual or as a whole, does not allow it.
Finally, several actions are established for the creation of new green areas and facilities, providing for an increase of 3,800 m2 in the case of open spaces and green areas, and 12,300 m2 in the case of public and private facilities. Likewise, measures are incorporated for the maintenance and improvement of spaces with existing trees and vegetation, and for the evaluation of the capacity of streets, squares and island interiors, in order to structure an efficient and environmentally sustainable urban system.
The new regulation has not been exempt of controversy, especially with regard to the expropriations foreseen in the initial approval document, which provoked strong opposition from the neighbourhood. In this sense, the urbanistic disaffectations foreseen in the new document finally approved can be emphasized, as in the case of the Frígola passage, in which the neighbours have celebrated the significant reduction of the expropriations foreseen in the initial approval of the MPGM, going from 42 to the 9 that have ended up being included in its final version.
The amendment, which came into force on the day of its publication, can be appealed before the contentious administrative jurisdiction until May 4th of 2022.
The documentation relating to the MPGM is available at the following link of the Registry of Urban Planning of Catalonia:
