The case study site is situated within the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat in the neighbourhood of Sant Cosme, which was built in its entirety as social or public housing in a 7-phase process. Within this specific neighbourhood we can find the 7th phase on the left side, being the latest addition to the construction and renovation plan finalized in 2005.
El Prat de Llobregat is a municipality in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, located at the mouth of the Llobregat River along the Mediterranean coast. It’s well known for hosting Barcelona–El Prat Airport, one of Spain’s busiest. The town combines industrial activity, natural spaces like the Llobregat Delta, and its closeness to the agricultural park.
Sant Cosme is known for its strong community identity and history of social activism. Built in the 1960s to address housing shortages, it has undergone significant urban renewal in recent decades. Today, Sant Cosme is recognized for its cultural diversity and active local associations shaped by a long history of resilience, yet it continues to face a complex set of struggles that affect daily life for many residents. Economic vulnerability remains one of the most persistent challenges: a significant share of households have limited income, which restricts access to opportunities and reinforces cycles of social disadvantage. This economic strain also influences food habits. With few local shops offering fresh or healthy produce, many families must travel outside the neighbourhood to buy basic ingredients, while others rely on cheaper, less nutritious foods. As a result, food insecurity and diet-related health risks, such as obesity and diabetes, have become pressing concerns.
Urban improvements over the past decades have brought better housing and public spaces, but social vulnerability continues to shape Sant Cosme’s reality. Community initiatives, including projects aimed at strengthening food access and local participation, are active and important, yet the structural issues they respond to remain deep-rooted.
Another source of difficulty is the neighbourhood’s relationship with safety. Police operations targeting drug-related activity, along with occasional incidents of violence, contribute to an atmosphere of insecurity that weighs on residents and complicates community-building efforts. These tensions coexist with a strong sense of identity and solidarity among many neighbours, who continue to engage in local projects and collective initiatives.
Overall, Sant Cosme is a community balancing longstanding challenges with ongoing efforts toward renewal. Its struggles—economic precarity, limited access to healthy food, and concerns around safety—intersect and reinforce one another, but so do the neighbourhood’s strengths, reflected in the commitment of local groups working to improve quality of life and build a more equitable future.
The “7th phase” or “seventh phase” is described as the last area to be renovated within the neighbourhood and includes the area sometimes informally called “sector 801.” It was ostensibly meant to provide re-housing to the most vulnerable families — those who had been left out of earlier rounds of relocation.
3D image of the seventh-phase area from the northern angle.