Special plan for interior improvement in La Chanca. Almeria, Spain

Abstract

The district of La Chanca, which was founded in the 10^th century and in a state of abandonment and oblivion since the close of the 19^th century, endured a situation of 'unsustainable misery', as denounced by the writer Juan Goytisolo at the beginning of the sixties in his book 'La Chanca ', forced to be spread secretly and incomplete[y and eventually published in Spain almost twenty years later. The Special Plan for Interior Improvement of La Chanca (PERI), drawn up to meet the demands of social movements in the district of La Chanca and passed in its definite version in 1990, fries to go beyond a mere intervention and improvement of the physical conditions of the neighbourhood and it establishes a proposal with a capacity to intervene in problems of a community of people and in externa1 problems that may cause situations of vulnerability: The Plan was conceived as un integrated Urban Program which not only operates on the habitat -the physical structure- but also on the inhabitants -the people who live there- from the perspective of sustainable development. From the beginning, the Plan was set up to include participation, as it was inspired by the resident association La Traiña, which also cooperated actively in its drafting. The PERI plan deals with general action in infrastructure, housing, equipment and free space, while ir maintains the resident population within its own community. Coordinated with urban-development intervention it applies Social Programs which attempt to eradicate poverty, contributing to social and labor integration of groups of people from the neighbourhood at risk of being socially excluded. Likewise, initiatives are set forth which pay attention to social and cultural variety and which promote ethnic equality. dedicated particularly to the gypsy community and Maghrebi immigrants. At the same time, intervention programs are developed for women, health prevention and sexual education. Having access to decent housing, health, will be the first objetive