Horta historic core and Plaça Bacardí

In 2017, the City Council driven forward a modification to the Metropolitan General Plan (PGM) focusing on the historic core of Horta and Plaça Bacardí. This plan implemented tactical urbanism and urban ecology policies, rooted in extensive fieldwork and active community participation. The primary objectives were to preserve the historic urban fabric, balance nature and the city, improve quality of life, catalog newly identified heritage assets, and curb gentrification through the strategic promotion of social housing.

The plan reduced allowable building densities and established the “Vila d’Horta” protected area (encompassing 13 hectares), which shielded 90% of the area’s heritage assets and over 300 properties while adding 65 new entries to the municipal heritage register. Furthermore, the plan protected the Can Travi water gallery (mina d’aigua) as a vital hydrological resource, incentivized public housing development, and regulated backyards, private green areas, and existing water wells throughout the neighborhood to maintain ecological and environmental balance.