Special heritage protection plan for Sant Andreu

The Special Heritage Protection Plan for the Historic Core (Poble Antic) of Sant Andreu del Palomar was drafted in response to the grassroots citizen campaign “Salvem el Casc Antic” (2009). Although a modification to the 1976 Metropolitan General Plan (PGM) was introduced in 2011, it failed to satisfy local residents, who demanded a higher level of conservation. Consequently, a new regulatory modification and an expanded heritage listing were driven forward in 2013. This new phase included iconic streets and the entire “Poble Antic” sector, successfully shielding the historic fabric. Approved that same year, the initiative was widely welcomed. The project encompassed targeted special plans and the institutional protection of the urban core dating prior to its annexation in 1897. This comprehensive process (2012–2015) culminated in final administrative approval in 2016.

This intervention was structurally characterized by a distinct change of scale in urban planning: it shifted from the traditional listing of individual monuments to the comprehensive definition of the “Poble Antic” sector, legally protecting an area of 27 hectares (a third of the neighborhood’s total surface area). Furthermore, the plan regulated zoning and building conditions for all plots while promoting the recovery of private backyards as biological corridors—permitting vertical extensions (remontas) of one additional story, provided these interior open spaces were cleared and restored.

Due to its innovation and urban sensitivity, this project was granted the prestigious international European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention (2017) in the Planning category.