Valencia’s Wrecking Ball

How a poor community in Valencia fought city development plans — and won.

The above is a picture I took from the beach of a building in Valencia’s old port area, Cabanyal. Cabanyal is full of ornate houses, about 100 years old, built by the port workers who would live in them. Many have art-nouveau windows and walls decorated with mosaics of colourful tiles.

The setting sun was shining through the window in a pretty way, making it look a bit like there was a fire raging inside. This cool effect was possible because the back of the building had fallen off.

Why? Neglect.

Rita Barberá was the conservative mayor of Valencia for 24 years, from 1991 until 2015. Rita, despite her traditional background, was a modernising mayor. During her term the massive Ciutat de les Artes y les Ciencies was built; a sprawling piece of futuristic architecture which takes your breath away. The city also hosted five Formula One Grand Prix. (Although the track now lies abandoned.)

During her later years she waged a bureaucratic war on Cabanyal. The neighbourhood stood in the way of another plan: to extend…