Barcelona blog

Trees in Barcelona

What Barcelona lacks for in parks and green area, it partly makes up for with its trees, particularly those plants along the city’s streets.

According the Council there are:

• More than 151,000 trees on the city’s streets and avenues. Sant Martí and the Eixample, with 30,788 and 22,090 trees respectively, are the districts with most trees in Barcelona. In the rest of the city -with the exception of Ciutat Vella and Gràcia, which have an urban structure that makes planting difficult- there are approximately 12,000 to 15,000 street-lining trees.
• There are 141 species of street- lining trees in Barcelona. 11 main species represent 77% of the total number of specimens. The most common is the London plane (Platanus x hispanica), with 50,000 specimens. These are followed by the European Hackberry (Celtis australis), with 18,460 specimens and further behind -with between 8,000 and 4,000 specimens - by the Japanese pagodatree (Sophora japonica), the Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’), the elm (Ulmus pumila), the tipuana (Tipuana tipu), the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), the bottle tree (Brachtchiton populneus), the chinaberry (Melia azedarach) and, with fewer than 4,000 specimens, the glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) and the box elder (Acer negundo). Lots more information here
• There are also some 5,000 palm trees in Barcelona

Briefs, Natural history, Parks of Barcelona | Tags: Barcelona street trees, Barcelona trees, Barecelona statistics, green Barcelona, London plane, number of trees in Barcelona, palm trees in Barcelona, urban trees|

Allotments in Barcelona

The council has this useful page showing details of allotments in Barcelona. They are aimed at people aged 65 and over and are seriously oversubscribed. Despite the official propoganda the council really haven’t invested enough in allotments. There are 11 sites providing allotments for a few hundred pensioners in the city. They should create more.

Horts Urbans

Briefs, Parks of Barcelona, Restaurants in Barcelona | Tags: green Barcelona, growing vegetables in Barcelona, pensioners In Barcelona, urban allotments|

Parc de la Creueta del Coll

The Creueta del Coll park is a short walk from Parc Guell. It was originally a quarry. There is a small lake in the centre of the park with an island which in summer is turned into an outdoor swimming pool. It is also home to one of two sculptures in Barcelona by Eduardo Chillida entitled Elogi de l’aigua - In Praise of Water. As you can see from the photo, the park has great views of Barcelona. . There is also an interesting hotpotch of informal housing on the park’s northern edge.

Address. C/Mare de Déu del Coll. Transport Metro Penitents

Around the web

• Europa-cities Urban development in practice – that’s what the Parc Creueta del Coll represents. It is situated in the districts Gracia and Horta and stands in place of an old abandoned granite quarry called Pedrera del Coll. The park was opened in 1987 when the Olympics were being plabbed for and the Non Urbanisme movement by the project of the designers Martorell, Bohigas and Mackay and covers about 1.7 hectares.
• A visit to the Parc de la Creueta del Coll

Gràcia, Parks of Barcelona | Tags: Creueta del Coll, Creueta del Coll park, Eduardo Chillida, Elogi de l’aigua, In Praise of Water, Martorell Bohigas and Mackay, Non Urbanisme movement, Parc Guell, Photos by Mónica, quarries in Barcelona|

Barcelona shacks

Most of the shacks built by the waves of immigrants in the 20th century in Barcelona have been demolished or converted, for the better, into more formal, decent housing, but a number of examples still survive in El Carmel, Montjuic and on the edges of Collserola. Many are threatened by bulldozers, but I think the most interesting should be protected as part of the city’s heritage and because they make the edges of the parks where many of them are sited more interesting. These ones below were taken in the Parc de la Creueta del Coll, El Carmel, and show a clear influence of southern Spanish rural architecture. I love the rural air and the chaos. Photos by Mónica.

Architecture, El Carmel, Parks of Barcelona | Tags: barracas Carmel, Creueta del Coll, Creueta del Coll park, informal constructions, Monte Carmel, Photos by Mónica, slums in Barcelona|

Las cabras del Turó de la Rovira

We came across this remarkable scene of Rafael and his flock of six goats in the Turó de la Rovira park, El Carmel last Sunday. The police have told him officially to remove his animals but seem to be turning a blind eye as long as he keeps them on this wilder side of the park. Photos by Mónica.

Animals in Barcelona, El Carmel, Parks of Barcelona, Weird in Barcelona | Tags: cabras en Barcelona, farm animals in Barcelona, goats in Barcelona, Photos by Mónica, Turó de la Rovira, Turó de la Rovira park|