El Raval

El Raval

El Raval neighborhood in Barcelona was at one point a rather run down, sketchy, and somewhat dangerous neighborhood full of drug dealers and prostitutes.  Originally it was the area of town that navy men passing through Barcelona would stay in and go to in order to partake in actions that were simply not possible while out at sea.  The sailors would stay in the Raval neighborhood and would drink, get high, and have sex with prostitutes.  It was a way for them to obtain the aspects life that were simply just not possible while at sea.  It was their opportunity to cut loose but unfortunately this made this neighborhood a neighborhood ran by drug dealers and prostitution.  However during the times of Model Barcelona in the late 80’s and 90’s the city decided to attempt to clean up this neighborhood and turn it around.  The way they went about this was actually very innovative and turned out to be very successful.  Instead of cracking down on the drug dealers and prostitution with police the city decided to build new urban buildings and plazas to make the people of the city care more about the neighborhood.  

  Urban development such as moving the University of Barcelona from the outskirts of town to the center of town in the Raval neighborhood brought a lot of younger people to the area.  The fact that these younger people were University students meant that the area was know full of critical thinkers and innovative ideas.  Also the creation of more open spaces and areas for people to play and skateboard motivated people to clean up this area of the city and then keep it clean.  When walking around the Raval neighborhood today one can find a multitude of little skate shops, small and affordable restaurants and bars, lots of students, and a neighborhood that is very much alive and thriving.