As residents, members and staff of Fàbrica de Creació La Escocesa, we wish to express our feelings regarding the evictions from homes and workspaces that took place on 10 October and 24 November.
Our association currently operates in two of the buildings on the premises located at Carrer Pere IV 345, through a transfer of use from Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB), which owns these buildings.
For years, we have enjoyed a good relationship with El Ritmo de la Vida and La Pepa, two self-managed artistic associations that occupied two other warehouses (owned by Districte Sant Martí), and are an essential part of the community and mutual support networks on which our association is based. These projects have brought the space to life and cared for it both on a human level and in terms of historical heritage, inhabiting it and maintaining it in good condition for more than five years.
On the other hand, coexistence in general terms has also been good with the migrant communities that historically inhabited the Casetas de Pere IV (owned by Districte Sant Martí, Sareb and also privately managed).
For some years now, we have seen the area around Fàbrica de Creació La Escocesa changing rapidly. This is partly due to the implementation of Plan 22@, an urban development project launched in 2000 to transform the old industrial neighbourhood of Poblenou ‘into a district of innovation and knowledge’, which triggered displacement and land revaluation dynamics with the resulting gentrification processes.
In practice, we find ourselves increasingly surrounded by large buildings and empty offices, while long-standing businesses are closing down and both housing and the neighbourhood networks that sustain daily life are shrinking. In this context, we feel concern and confusion about the lack of clarity regarding the intended uses of the warehouses surrounding the Fàbrica de Creació La Escocesa. The sudden and constant changes in the use and custody of these spaces are directly affecting our daily lives and jeopardising the community fabric, coexistence, diversity and cultural vitality of the neighbourhood, which we have built with dedication and effort.
But what is happening in Poblenou is not an isolated case. Our neighbourhood, like other neighbouring areas such as the city of Sant Adrià del Besòs, or Barcelona in general, is severely affected by evictions and expulsions: current migration and housing policies, poor public management and institutional neglect are displacing entire families and communities, especially precarious migrant communities.
These punitive dynamics do not guarantee security or well-being for anyone; rather, they deepen exclusion and uprooting, eroding the social and cultural fabric. Furthermore, forced irregularity violates fundamental rights and exacerbates precariousness, labour exploitation and social exclusion, pushing many communities into squatting as a means of survival, which we understand as a legitimate practice of resilience and reterritorialisation. In this context, we wish to reaffirm our support for initiatives such as Regularización Ya (Regularisation Now), which defend the dignity and rights of migrants.
Days before the eviction on 10 October, there was a violent confrontation between two communities occupying the Pere IV shacks. In response, the authorities decided to completely evict these dwellings, citing the structural instability of the building, and to install cameras and security measures to prevent them from being occupied again.
We know that this is a very complex situation to address, but at Fàbrica de Creació La Escocesa we believe that the authorities should offer mediation, social support and alternative housing to those who need a home. The experience of recent years shows that cyclical evictions and repressive measures only fragment the social fabric of the area and do not guarantee any kind of security for those of us who live there.
Furthermore, we deeply regret and condemn the evictions carried out on 24 November of the cultural associations El Ritmo de la Vida and La Pepa, neighbours of Fàbrica de Creació La Escocesa for many years. These actions by the institution have dismantled a social and cultural ecosystem built up in the premises and the neighbourhood, replacing it with security mechanisms for empty spaces, which only generate more insecurity and isolation.
For years, we have maintained a safe coexistence based on mutual care and support, building networks that have been essential in difficult situations. For this reason, we consider it necessary to grant a transfer of use to the people who have cared for and inhabited these spaces, as long as there is no concrete plan for their future.
As part of the affected community that inhabits the site, we are speaking out about these events to refute the spread of fake news and rumours that have presented this situation in a confusing manner and with the aim of criminalising poverty and other forms of discrimination. In this regard, we call for greater responsibility on the part of the media to avoid the political exploitation of vulnerable communities and the negligent use of information.
Residents, members and the team at Fàbrica de Creació La Escocesa reaffirm our commitment to the above and to the construction of neighbourhoods based on solidarity and mutual respect.
We will continue to strive for a present and future based on interdependence, where care and cooperation shape creative, sustainable, ecofeminist ways of life that integrate culture, art, nature and the active participation of all neighbours, human and non-human.
We believe that these models not only strengthen the community, but also offer real alternatives to speculation, exclusion and precariousness, demonstrating that another way of cohabiting cities is possible.