Current Watch Site

North of the Port of Valencia and just three kilometers from that city’s historic center, the lively architecture of the Barrio del Cabanyal-Canyamelar dots the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The coastal settlement, famously depicted by the Dutch painter Anthonie Van Den Wijngaerde in 1563, was once a fishermen’s village with rows of thatched cottages and farmhouses parallel to the sea, multiplying as the coastline was extended with infill from port improvements. A fire in 1875 caused great destruction to the site, after which the urban landscape was rebuilt on the original street grid. The buildings were designed using an eclectic approach, their styles ranging from historicist to modernist and later rationalist designs. The barrio was landmarked in 1993.

Years of municipal neglect and lack of inclusive urban planning have left the district in a vulnerable state. Today, over 500 buildings within the landmarked district are in danger of being demolished to give way to an extension of Blasco Ibáñez Avenue, which is intended to provide direct vehicular access from Valencia’s urban center to the coast and port. The Asociación de Vecinos Cabanyal-Canyamelar and other local organizations are advocating for an open dialogue about the impacts on the barrio. It is hoped that inclusion on the Watch will foster the development of alternative access options, to avoid the displacement of so many families and businesses, and to preserve the neighborhood’s historic environment.

Download a 2012 Watch poster of this site (see download instructions).

IN THE MEDIA

• La norteamericana WMF declara el Cabanyal en riesgo
  El País, October 5, 2011
• El Cabanyal en Valencia y el Berrocal de Trujillo, considerados patrimonio cultural en peligro (video)
  RTVE, October 5, 2011
• Génesis y éxodos de El Cabanyal
  Público.es, October 8, 2011
• Poison lingers from Spain's property binge
  Reuters.co.uk, November 11, 2011
• Deben decidir si quieren un Venice Beach o un Benidorm en El Cabanyal
  El País, December 19, 2011
• Cabanyal 2012: ¿Año 0?
  El País, January 6, 2012
• Una historia que se repite: La prolongación de Blasco Ibáñez puede encallar como la Torre Pelli de Sevilla
  El País, February 5, 2012

SEE ALSO

• Informe sobre la situación del Barrio Cabanyal-Canyamelar (PDF)
  Comisión de la Universitat de València para el estudio del Cabanyal‐Canyamelar (CUVECAB)