Despite the temperatures of this hot May, on Maestrazgo street in the Cabanyal neighborhood, the shade offered by the trees tempers the space. The sea breeze is noticeable, which can be seen a few meters away, in a redoubt named Cabanyal Horta, a plot full of urban gardens that functions as a space where the residents of this fishing neighborhood of Valencia weave complicity. “It is a place where we can come to chat, to dialogue, without having to consume. Here we can talk about what worries usâ€, explains Helena, a member of Cuidem Cabanyal-Canyamelar.
Housing is a palpable problem throughout the city, and here too. The latest report from the UPV Housing Observatory regarding the first quarter of 2023 places the average rental price in the Poblats MarÃtims district at 1,388 euros, where this neighborhood with colorful facades that kisses the sea is located. In the real estate of the neighborhood they assume that the rent is “through the clouds” and they relate it to the arrival of tourists. “They come, rent and raise the price of homes,” says a commercial technician from the area. In her portfolio there is not a single house to put up for rent because she, she assures her, “rents are passed from neighbor to neighbor, from friend to family member… That does not reach us here.” A quick search on Idealista houses not a rental home for less than 600 euros… and from there up.
Tourism is a snack for them, come to say the neighbors consulted. It is explained by Chus, from Cabanyal Horta, who explains how all the houses that border the green area that occupies them are already tourist apartments. “The last one, that door that a neighbor has blocked us so that we cannot pass. And with tourist homes it is very difficult to live together, tourists come on vacation and have parties, they leave the door open all the time… â€, he details.
However, it is not the only thing that worries him, since he maintains that local businesses are also at risk, which he foresees will disappear if real estate firms buy them – “as they already do” – to set up apartments or the like. “With the prices that there are, it is almost impossible to open a fruit shop,” he adds. On Calle de la Reina, the most important artery in the neighborhood, one-bedroom apartments renovated with the best style are for rent for around 500 euros on the weekend. They are accessible from Booking, and meanwhile, in Airbnb the Cabanyal-Canyamelar search leaves 532 accommodations. In the pipeline there is a new Hilton hotel in the neighborhood and a coworking, an attraction for digital nomads.
For the sources consulted, touristification is already a problem, especially from Eugenia Viñes street towards the sea. “As long as you don’t visualize the city model you want for 20 or 30 years from now, there is another model that is being imposed. And that is what is happening hereâ€, maintains Chus. Santi agrees, from the Barri Cabanyal Union, who speaks of gentrification. “People from other parts of the city come to eat at bars and restaurants that the neighbor himself cannot afford. Leisure is created that is based on the consumption of passing people, who do not stay to build the neighborhoodâ€.
They know the neighborhood. Opposite Cabanyal Horta is the Dock Building, which the City Council plans to demolish as its rehabilitation is unfeasible. The municipal plan is to rehouse its inhabitants in another building that will be built in the area. “They have let it dieâ€, they point out, “instead of taking the bull by the horns and rehabilitating, the buildings have been left to be kept by investorsâ€, points out another.
When they talk about investors, they bring up the hotel provided for in the Cabanyal Special Plan (PEC) and that these days is also fodder for the electoral campaign in Valencia. The General Directorate of Coasts, dependent on the Government, has given the go-ahead to the PEC after the City Council has corrected issues raised by that department and has made modifications, including the reduction from 15 to 6 heights of the hotel establishment in question.
“The hotel is going to be very violent towards the historicity of the neighborhoodâ€, laments Satya. She is not the only one who thinks so: on the Change.org platform there is a petition, which 5,000 people have signed, so that the future of Cabanyal moves away from more hotels and is only green. The neighborhood knows about struggles, since its ‘Salvem el Cabanyal’ managed to avoid the demolitions proposed by the last popular government of Rita Barberá, but now it maintains that there is still much to do. “It continues to be worrying, El Cabanyal is not yet saved and must be saved,” she pointed out.
