How we work
In contrast, the Bon Pastor Residents' Association (AVV) states that proponents of keeping the cheap houses are a minority and do not represent the will of the majority of families residing in the neighbourhood who demand the completion of the different phases of the remodelling plan that will allow them to acquire a new-build flat. On June 1, 2010, the Catalan Association of Public Land and Housing Developers awarded the AVS Catalonia Social Housing prize to the urban transformation project of Bon Pastor. This award, organized every two years, aims to recognise the best integrated action in Catalonia, considering residential action and the participation of the different stakeholders. Even so, there is still no consensus on whether the process has been fair and participatory enough. Funding for the third phase of the project arrived in December 2012, following an agreement between the Barcelona City Council and Banco de Santander. Under neighbourhood pressure, which demanded the definitive execution of the third phase of the remodelling, work began in the summer of 2013 on two of the three planned blocks. This was two years later than the initial deadlines. Two of the apartment blocks in this phase were expected to be completed in 2015. The 15 million euro investment was not enough to tackle the third projected block. The AVV expressed its displeasure and demanded the start of works on the third block planned in the third phase, urging the City Council to execute the agreed constructions. A new agreement with Banco de Santander allowed its construction to begin in May 2014, and it is expected to be completed in the final months of 2015. Like other factories in the area, shortly after the start of the Civil War, La Maquinista was collectivised and dedicated to the production of armaments and armour. At that time, the company had a total of 1,300 workers – 850 in Barceloneta and 450 in Sant Andreu.
