Sea Gateways – Poblenou cemetery
The main objective of the Sea Gateways projects is to improve accessibility and connection to the sea on foot and by bicycle, to create spaces for sea-city interrelation through the main vertebral thoroughfares and secondary transversal corridors capable of linking the spaces of the city with the spaces of the coast, and proposing, if necessary, a new arrangement of the open spaces that facilitates physical and visual access to the sea.
The urban fabric of Barcelona, from Montjuïc to Besòs, is characterised by streets that go all the way to the seafront, although there is only a continuity of road traffic, as the ring road and railway lines act as a barrier. There is a lack of transversal links (mountain-sea) that connect the city to the coast, on foot and by bike. The main theme is to give continuity and fluidity to the “vertical” routes with the “horizontal” routes of the coastal corridor, addressing above all the crossroads and the points of contact and intersection between the two routes. It is a case of making the public space for movement and relaxation as continuous and easily accessible as possible. The rationale of these projects is to physically determine and signpost the routes of public spaces, accessible on foot or by bicycle, that lead from the city to the sea and vice versa.
The main objective of the Poblenou cemetery Sea Gateway project is to reinforce Carrer de Badajoz and Carrer de la Ciutat de Granada as connections on foot and by bicycle to the sea and also to promote public transport in these accesses to the seafront. The key target to be achieved is the physical arrival of the two thoroughfares to the Passeig Marítim.
The problems in this area are particular, and are largely determined by the presence of the large blocked-off part of the cemetery, the area occupied by the educational and sports facilities on the city side and the area occupied by the petrol station and the McDonald’s restaurant, which lies between the ring road and the road running alongside it. This layout creates a barrier and a significant separation between the sea and the façade of the city that needs to be overcome.
