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Introduction


Although extreme residential exclusion and the risk of homelessness affect a relatively small percentage of the population of Barcelona, the criticality of the problem and the diversity of the profile of people and households in increasingly vulnerable situations is a worrying trend in recent years, with the risk further aggravated by the medium- and long-term socioeconomic impact generated by the Covid-19 crisis.

Recognising residential vulnerability as a multifaceted, sometimes transitory phenomenon caused by contingent factors –many of which are difficult to identify quantitatively and on an ongoing basis– this study proposes using the territorial density of aid and actions promoted during the biennium 2017-18 as a tool to identify the areas of the city that are most at risk of residential exclusion.


Risk factors


Where in the city is the risk of residential exclusion greatest?

To identify the areas of the city where the risk of residential exclusion is greatest, the study collects all available information on the various measures and aid lines promoted at the municipal level during the biennium 2017-18. The risk of residential exclusion is analysed by working with the following databases in particular:

    - Addresses of vulnerable households that have been assisted to ensure that their utilities are not cut off (gas, electricity and/or water).
    - Addresses of households recognised as coming under Residential Exclusion by Energy Advisory Points (PAEs).
    - Addresses of households that have received municipal aid for rent payments.
    - Addresses of households that have received aid from the Government of Catalonia for rent payments
   - Addresses of households that have been assisted by the Unit Against Residential Exclusion (UCER) due to the risk of home loss.
    - Households registered in each block (2018 Municipal Register).

This information creates an aggregate risk index for residential exclusion, which is then shown on the map below, according to territory. After dividing the total number of aid payments and/or actions recorded for each block by the number of dwellings registered in it, this Index –through which the results are expressed– is calculated from the deviation of each division from the average sample value and vulnerability levels defined, from the lowest to the highest, depending on the increasing value of the deviation.

This exercise is not expected to provide a complete overview of residential vulnerability in Barcelona, as correspondence between the coverage of municipal aid and the actual size of the problem analysed is likely to be incomplete. In other words, in a context where an increasing number of households are subject to financial strain for housing-related costs, especially rent and electricity , many vulnerable situations are likely to fall outside the reach of public aid and are consequently not reflected in the map, despite the progressive strengthening of municipal efforts against residential exclusion, as evidenced by the annual evaluation of the Barcelona Housing Rights Plan (2018), and the promotion of measures to combat energy poverty to avoid utilities being cut off and ensure access to basic services.

Vulnerable areas


Areas of the city with the largest number of aid payments to maintain housing and basic services

The territorial distribution of the risk of residential exclusion overlaps in part with vulnerability due to unaffordable rent, as discussed in the chapter on the unaffordability of rent . Both in terms of the size of the dwellings and in absolute terms, the Raval in the district of Ciutat Vella is the area with the most blocks in the extreme vulnerability category (47 out of 132, corresponding to 35%). However, in relative terms, five neighbourhoods in the district of Nou Barris report an even higher level of vulnerability. In particular: Ciutat Meridiana (87%), El Turó de la Peira (62%), Ca Peguera (74%), Les Roquetes (57%), Verdun (47%).

Source: Departament de Resiliència de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona i Barcelona Regional


In terms of the population at risk, the following general considerations on the volume of households that have been assisted can be drawn from the different aid lines:

    - Some 10,700 households receive rent support, 79% of them from the Government of Catalonia and 21% from the City Council.

    - 85% of the evictions registered in 2017 (2,139 out of a total of 2,519) were due to non-payment of rent.

  - Some 13,900 households were prevented from having their utilities cut off due to unpaid bills (water, gas and electricity) during the biennium 2016-2017. The most expensive supply and the one most frequently failed to pay is electricity.

Related actions

 
 
 

The risk of residential exclusion threatens the resilience of the city and its neighbourhoods with different levels of criticality and impact according to population volume. The Barcelona Housing Rights Plan (2016-25), and the political commitment derived from it, provides an ambitious strategic framework for addressing the challenges facing the city, and for launching a wide range of measures, projects, actions and regulations – in support of both demand and the supply of new housing– that play a key role in ensuring the right to housing for all throughout the different stages of life. Notable among the measures to prevent residential exclusion are the following.

Prevention and response to residential exclusion

The Unit Against Residential Exclusion (UCER) was established in 2015 with the triple objective of:

    1) Taking action against evictions in the city

    2) Dealing with situations of illegal occupancy

    3) Setting up a discipline for the use of housing.

UCER has been undergone growth to stabilise at assisting around 2,300 cohabitation units at risk of housing loss. A total of 6,371 people were assisted in 2018, 2,354 of them minors. Its action has allowed the progressive development of final housing solutions for those who have been evicted.

There was an increase of 80% in the municipal budget allocated to rent aid between 2015 and 2018, in addition to a similar line of aid managed by the Government of Catalonia. Within this framework, beneficiaries of municipal support have increased from 2,708 households during the 2012-15 mandate to 4,467 households during the 2016-19 mandate. There are three different types of aid:

    1) id for public housing

    2) Accommodation aid for emergency situations

    3) Rent payment aid for housing maintenance.

Last, the municipal policy for the rehabilitation of buildings and homes was relaunched in 2015, with a substantial increase in the budget allocated (+543%), and has gradually increased over the past five years. Notable among the three lines of action are the following: Comprehensive rehabilitation on highly complex properties (FACs) in six neighbourhoods defined as priority neighbourhoods by the Neighbourhood Plan. Rehabilitation of common building elements, with the dual aim of optimising energy efficiency and improving physical accessibility. Renovation of the internal elements for energy improvement, adaptation of utility facilities to current standards and improvement of living and accessibility conditions; up to a maximum of €20,000. All these aid lines include the objective of mitigating household consumption and energy spending, reducing the risk of exposure to situations of energy poverty.

The Barcelona Resilience Programme represents a new opportunity to value the effort to implement both existing and new measures to improve access to housing for all throughout the different stages of life.

Click HERE to see the full study
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