El Carmel
El Carmel, or simply Carmel, is a neighbourhood in the district of Horta-Guinardó, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Carmel is in the municipal district of Horta-Guinardó. The area was developed mainly in the 1960s and 1970s when immigrant workers, encouraged to move to Barcelona by the government of Francoist Spain, they built housing for themselves. The combination of houses, then isolated on the rural hillside of what is now Parc dels Tres Turons, ad-hoc buildings put up without building permits and more planned urban development has given the area its modern appearance of many buildings piled on the hillside.
Carmel became infamous in 2005 when there was a major tunnel construction accident. It brought to a halt the expansion works on line 5 of the Barcelona Metro and led to the evacuation of dozens of buildings in the area. Local residents protested and most of those evacuated to other areas have finally been rehoused and a new school opened. The Barcelona City Council has pledged more investment in the area to improve transport, accessibility and services.
