El Campo de Cebada

These are my photos from El Campo de Cebada which is a collective formed by neighbors who decided to take a position on the degradation of this empty lot situated right in the city center of Madrid, Spain.I used to live was two minutes away so I would frequently stop by and participate in the events: open air movie nights, and urban design exhibits, salsa classes open to the public, DIY furniture workshops etc.

At El Campo de Cebada it is believed that public space should originally reflect the wishes and desires of the society that creates it. And it’s working! The project has been a finalist of the European Prize for Urban Public Space, an initiative of the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona. I’m really interested in following up on the story of this initiative, especially since the municipality is planning to use this central location to build another shopping mall…