Las Palmeras is a residential neighborhood on the periphery of Córdoba, Andalusia, built in the 1980s and 90s. Recognized as the fourth most deprived neighborhood in Spain, Las Palmeras has struggled over 50 years with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage.
A Prussian railway workshop, a Cold War industrial wasteland, a contemporary socio-cultural center in the heart of Berlin Friedrichshain. The area is emblematic of collective and informal processes of creative transfomation reinventing Berlin’s urban landscape. The R.A.W. in Berlin-Friedrichshain was originally serving as a railway workshop in the XIX century. After being damaged during World War II and undergoing various transformations, it became a neglected wasteland in post-unification Berlin. In 1999, the RAW-Tempel association repurposed the site for artistic and cultural activities, aiming to create a vibrant hub for creativity and community engagement. In 2015, the Kurth Group acquired ownership of R.A.W. and recognized its potential for investment and urban development. Unlike other financial actors, the new owner aimed to respect the site’s identity and socio-cultural programs, giving long-term residents more control over their pre-existing properties. Establishing a participatory approach to urban planning, new plans for the R.A.W. Tower, a 100-meter-tall building, was set to be constructed starting in 2024. The project is intended to blend with older activities, integrating new offices, green areas, markets, and other services, with the R.A.W.’s role as a cultural institution. However, concerns about power dynamics and possible future compromises between top and bottom interests revolving around the R.A.W. might still challenge the current collaborations between the community and external investors.
The former Colonia Costanzo Ciano, today renamed Parco San Laise, is large complex of buildings in the neighbourhood of Bagnoli owned by a foundation depending on Campania Region. Originally a colony for disadvantaged children, the area was used for almost 50 years as militar headquarters of NATO. When the lease ended, the area has been neglected for years, before starting to transition again towards the original vocation of a place for social and cultural use.