Poll
BILBAO - EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION FROM THE INDUSTRIAL CITY INTO AN ATTRACTIVE CULTURAL CENTER
 | CONVRSION OF FORMER INDUSTRIAL SITES |
| BILBAO - EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION FROM THE INDUSTRIAL CITY INTO AN ATTRACTIVE CULTURAL CENTER | |
| Location | Spain Bilbao |
| Ownership | Mixed |
| Finance | Public - private partnership,Mixed |
| Projects readiness | Finished project |
| Internet links | www.wikipedia.org/.../Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao; www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/; www.guggenheim.org/bilbao; |
Bilbao was founded on June 15, 1300 on the Nervion River. It was a small commercial and fishing village in the Middle Ages. In 1511 Bilbao became part of the Spanish State. This makes Bilbao major commercial and financial center of Spain. The city port became the biggest port in Spain, trading with America and northern Europe. In 1602 Bilbao became the capital of Basque country.
During the XVII and XVIII century, the town marks the highest growth rate due to open large deposits of iron in the surrounding hills. At the end of XVII century Bilbao overcame the economic crisis affecting the whole of Spain, due to deposits of iron and trade with England and Holland. In XVIII century the town continued to grow in territory and population, reaching high levels of overcrowding. New metropolitan areas emerge. For 20 years, the population nearly doubled from 216,000 in 1950 to 410,000 in 1970. Under the dictatorship of Franco (1939-1975) serious social conflicts emerge - suppression of the Basque population, banning the Basque language.
Urban renewal of Bilbao has been complex and multifaceted process:
In the first half of 1980 on all levels of government - central, regional, provincial and city it has been recognized that action must be taken to reverse the negative effects of de-industrialization in Bilbao. A crucial step is the preparation of a strategic plan in the second half of 1980. The plan creates a regulatory framework for the recovery of Bilbao. Strategic plan to revitalize the Metropolitan Bilbao is finally adopted during 1991. The plan promotes an integrated approach to regeneration. A specialized agency Metropolitan Bilbao – 30 has been created.
Renewal of the four main areas is done by “Bilbao RIA 2000” between 1997 and 2006, a total of € 560 million have been invested. Initially, the territorial plan identifies four "Possible areas”:
- Abandodoibara: The territory occupied by the port and railway infrastructure along the riverside of Nervion River in central locations. The project aims at creating a new urban heart of Bilbao, with a focus on new investments
- Sorosaure: Peninsula with a lower value of land and with mixed functions - a port, industrial buildings and some residential buildings and recreational activities. The project provides for restructuring of the territory
- Amechola/Eskurche: The area south of the center of Bilbao, dominated by dense construction of residential buildings. The project aims to overcome the natural divisions such as deep cracks for train rails
- Miribiya and Moro: Abandoned mining areas of hill slopes to the southeast of the central parts of Bilbao. The project plans to restructure these areas by building new homes
- Significant investment in transport infrastructure in Bilbao in order to improve accessibility, including on international level
- New system with subway stations designed by architect Norman Foster. The project is crucial to the process of regeneration in Bilbao - the first major project completed
- Modernization of the system of railway companies RENFE and Fève in the metropolitan area
- New tram line as public transport, connecting central areas of Bilbao on the regenerated waterfront (opened in 2002.)
- Bus transport is also modernized - 30 lines of public buses in the city and 100 in the municipality
- Investment for modernization and upgrading of transport over long distances, including the airport – upgraded by architect Santiago Calatrava
- Port receives significant expansion, new facilities are built at sea in exchange for most of the older facilities along the river
- High-speed railroad between Madrid and Bilbao is scheduled to be ready in 2015.
- The purpose behind these investments is to improve the accessibility of Bilbao for passengers and for all types of goods.