Barcelona, barri a barri A living atlas of the 73 neighbourhoods

Nou Barris · 47

Can Peguera

Can Peguera is, according to the City Council, the last living example of Barcelona's cases barates (“low-cost houses”): about 650 single-storey houses built between 1929 and 1932 to rehouse workers from the Montjuïc shacks, saved from the demolition planned since 1976 by a change of planning in 2015.[1][2][3][4]

Walk along Carrer de Vila-seca and count the front gardens: the houses are a single storey and, according to the City Council, measure 40 or 60 square metres. The street runs about 524 metres between Carrer de Travau and Carrer de Capsec.[1][3][4][5]

Can Peguera is a small neighbourhood of Nou Barris at the foot of the northern slope of the Turó de la Peira, between the Turó de la Peira park and Parc Central de Nou Barris. Its single-storey houses form one of the four groups of cases barates that the Patronat Municipal de l'Habitatge built around the 1929 International Exhibition, to relocate workers who lived in shacks on Montjuïc.[2][3][5]

Of the four groups, Eduardo Aunós (Sants-Montjuïc) and Baró de Viver (Sant Andreu) had already been replaced by blocks when the City Council wrote its history page, and Bon Pastor's was being replaced; that left Can Peguera as the last living example of this kind of building in Barcelona.[2]

Can Peguera (neighbourhood 47) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, el Turó de la Peira, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.

Where the name comes from

Etymology: certain[2][5]

The name comes from the pitch (pega) made in the pine woods around the old Can Peguera farmstead, according to the history page of the Nou Barris district.[2]

For many years the estate was known as Ramon Albó; according to Viquipèdia, the City Council restored the name Can Peguera in 1998 at residents' request.[2][5]

Can Peguera lies between the Turó de la Peira park and Parc Central de Nou Barris, and borders the Turó de la Peira, la Guineueta and Horta.[3][5]

Before the neighbourhood

The land was the farmland of the old Can Peguera farmstead, among pine woods. On 28 March 1928 the Marquesa de Castellbell sold 10.47 hectares of it for 1.5 million pesetas, and the following year the housing estate that came to be called Ramon Albó was built on it.[5][2]

How the streets were made

The street list counts about 650 single-storey houses with front gardens, built between 1929 and 1932. Viquipèdia credits the design to the architect Xavier Turull and adds 116 houses of 60 m² along Passeig d'Urrutia in 1947 and a block of 31 flats on the farmstead's plot in 1949.[1][5]

Current figures depend on date and source: press coverage of the 2015 agreement spoke of 657 homes, and the City Council counted 616 public rental homes, of 40 and 60 m², in 2022.[3][4]

Dates that changed it

  1. 1928: the Marquesa de Castellbell sells 10.47 hectares of farmland where the estate will be built.[5][2]
  2. 1929–1932: about 650 single-storey low-cost houses to relocate workers from the Montjuïc shacks.[1][2]
  3. 1945: the streets, numbered until then, are given the names of Girona and Tarragona towns.[5][1]
  4. 1976: the Metropolitan General Plan provides for the houses to be demolished.[3][4]
  5. 1998: the City Council replaces the name Ramon Albó with Can Peguera, at residents' request.[2][5]
  6. 28 January 2015: an agreement, after four years of participation, lifts the demolition provision for 657 homes.[3][4]
  7. 2 November 2022: agreement with residents for a rehabilitation pilot on eight houses.[3][6]
  8. 7 May 2025: presentation of the Pla de Barris 2025-2028 for Turó de la Peira and Can Peguera.[7][8]

People and collective life

Pep Ortiz

Pep Ortiz spoke for the Associació de Veïns de Can Peguera: in 2015, as its president, he said the neighbourhood was now safe from demolition but that residents wanted decent homes; in 2024 he presented the 900-signature initiative.[4][9]

Pla de Futur monitoring commission

Resident monitoring body for the neighbourhood’s future plan; party to the 2022 pilot rehabilitation agreement.[3][6]

People behind the buildings

Xavier Turull

According to Viquipèdia, the architect Xavier Turull designed the houses of the Ramon Albó estate, completed in 1931.[5]

Institutions

IMHAB

Can Peguera neighbourhood

IMHAB, the municipal housing body, meets the residents' association every two months to follow the empty homes and the rehabilitation.[10]

Consell de Barri de Can Peguera

Casal de Barri La Cosa Nostra

The district's participation forum; its session of 11 December 2024 covered the Pla de Futur and the municipal nursery in the Can Carreras farmhouse.[10]

Casal de Barri La Cosa Nostra

Carrer de Biure 1

Neighbourhood facility at Carrer de Biure 1; the first phase of the Balcó d'Equipaments improved its access.[11][9][10]

Struggles that left a mark

The fight not to disappear

Demand: The 1976 Metropolitan General Plan provided for the houses to be demolished. After four years of participation, an agreement on 28 January 2015 lifted that provision for 657 homes; the residents' association president said the neighbourhood was now safe from demolition but that residents wanted decent homes.[3][4]

The 900-signature initiative (May 2024)

Demand: In May 2024 residents took full rehabilitation to the Nou Barris plenary, where every group voted to ask for a Pla de Futur timetable. The association said the process had stalled, that eight families were waiting to learn when they must leave their homes, and that the neighbourhood's air-raid shelter was still awaiting rehabilitation.[9]

What can still be seen

Carrer de Vila-seca

Carrer de Vila-seca

Carrer de Vila-seca runs about 524 metres lined with single-storey houses with front gardens; the street list presents them as the last vestige of the cases barates districts.[1]

Església de Sant Francesc Xavier

Plaça de Sant Francesc Xavier 21

Begun around 1930 beside the old farmhouse, it has a neo-Gothic façade; during the Civil War it served as the CNT's Casa del Poble, and the square was renovated in 2003.[5][12]

What disappeared

The Can Peguera farmstead

Viquipèdia describes the old farmhouse as gone; in 1949 the Patronat Municipal de l'Habitatge built a block of 31 flats on its plot.[5]

The name Ramon Albó

For many years the estate was known as Ramon Albó; in 1998 the City Council changed it to Can Peguera, at residents' request.[2][5]

The neighbourhood today

In 2026 Can Peguera had 2,122 residents, a density of 178.3 people per hectare, a €15,994 mean census-section income in 2023, 11.9 hectares, and 10.2% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.[13][14][15][16]

Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 10.2%

What is changing

Rehabilitation pilot: eight houses (as of Oct 2026)

In November 2022 the City Council agreed with residents a pilot on eight houses of about 60 m² on the block bounded by Bellcaire, Darnius, Espinauga and Cistellet, with a budget of almost one million euros. The latest municipal document we could read, the Consell de Barri minutes of 11 December 2024, still listed it as in preparation: an update from the steering group planned for April 2025 and a temporary-stay building not before 2028. We found no public document confirming that works have begun.[3][6][17][10]

Pla de Barris 2025-2028 (announced May 2025)

On 7 May 2025 the City Council presented the third edition of the Pla de Barris as a single plan for Turó de la Peira and Can Peguera, with a budget above 10 million euros. The projects include the renovation of Parc del Turó de la Peira and phases II and III of the Balcó d'Equipaments in Can Peguera; phase I improved access to the neighbourhood community centre. These are programme announcements, not delivery reports: we could not confirm the state of each project in October 2026.[7][8][9][10]

What the guides leave out

One of four

Barcelona built four groups of cases barates for the 1929 Exposition: Ramon Albó (Can Peguera), Eduardo Aunós, Baró de Viver and Bon Pastor. The City Council presents Can Peguera as the last living example of this kind of building.[2]

Streets named after towns

The streets were at first numbers; in 1945 they took the names of Girona and Tarragona towns, and Vila-seca was dedicated to the town in the Tarragonès in the 1980 street list.[5][1]

A church that became a Casa del Poble

The church of Sant Francesc Xavier, begun around 1930, was still unfinished during the Civil War and served as the CNT's social premises.[5][12]

Read it on foot

Start: Metro L4 Via Júlia · End: Església de Sant Francesc Xavier[5][12]

Walking (excluding stop time): 9 min · 660 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 43 min

The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the four marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.

Can Peguera (neighbourhood 47) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, el Turó de la Peira, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.

1
Casal de Barri La Cosa Nostra
Casal de Barri La Cosa Nostra, carrer de Biure 1
Notice how you reach the community centre: the first phase of the Balcó d'Equipaments rebuilt its access with a new ramp.[9][10]
The Consell de Barri met here on 11 December 2024. The ramp is one of the works of phase I; the 2025-2028 Pla de Barris plans phases II and III, and a resident told the Consell the ramp is quite steep.[9][10][7][8]
Coordinates
41.43356, 2.16784 · OpenStreetMap
2
Carrer de Darnius
Carrer de Darnius (block between Bellcaire, Darnius, Espinauga and Cistellet streets)
300 m · 4 min
Look at the houses of the block enclosed by Bellcaire, Darnius, Espinauga and Cistellet streets: eight homes of about 60 m², each with three bedrooms.[3][6]
It is the block the City Council chose in November 2022 for the pilot, because it has the fewest residents over 75 and the fewest vulnerable households. In the December 2024 minutes the pilot was still being prepared.[3][6][17][10]
Coordinates
41.43512, 2.16616 · OpenStreetMap
3
Carrer de Vila-seca
Carrer de Vila-seca 17
110 m · 2 min
Observe the single-storey houses with front gardens lining the street, which runs about 524 metres between Carrer de Travau and Carrer de Capsec.[1]
The street list places about 650 houses here, built between 1929 and 1932, the last vestige of the cases barates districts. The street was dedicated to Vila-seca in the 1980 list.[1][5]
Coordinates
41.43445, 2.16661 · OpenStreetMap
4
Església de Sant Francesc Xavier
Plaça de Sant Francesc Xavier 21
240 m · 3 min
Look at the church's neo-Gothic façade facing the square, which was enlarged and renovated in 2003.[5][12]
Building began around 1930 beside the old farmhouse. During the Civil War, unfinished, it served as the CNT's Casa del Poble.[5][12]
Coordinates
41.43451, 2.16435 · OpenStreetMap

Sources for this page

Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.

  1. [1] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Nomenclàtor (n.d.). Carrer de Vila-seca. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
  2. [2] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Districte de Nou Barris (n.d.). Història de Can Peguera. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
  3. [3] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Districte de Nou Barris (2022-11-02). Acord amb el veïnat per començar la rehabilitació de les cases barates de Can Peguera. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
  4. [4] betevé (2015-01-28). Acord per desafectar 657 habitatges de les cases barates de Can Peguera, a Nou Barris. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  5. [5] Viquipèdia (2024). Can Peguera (barri de Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  6. [6] betevé (2022-10-31). Primer pas per rehabilitar les cases barates del barri de Can Peguera. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  7. [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Servei de Premsa (2025-05-07). Pla de Barris del Turó de la Peira i Can Peguera 2025-2028. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  8. [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Districte de Nou Barris (2025-05-08). El Pla de Barris 2025-2028 impulsa la revitalització del Turó de la Peira i de Can Peguera. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
  9. [9] betevé (2024-05-20). Èxit de la iniciativa ciutadana al ple de Nou Barris per rehabilitar integralment Can Peguera. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  10. [10] Districte de Nou Barris (2024-12-11). Consell de Barri de Can Peguera: resum dels punts de l'ordre del dia i acords (11 de desembre de 2024). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  11. [11] Ajuntament de Barcelona (2026). Casal de Barri La Cosa Nostra (fitxa d'equipament). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  12. [12] Ajuntament de Barcelona (2026). Arxiu Parroquial, Parròquia de Sant Francesc Xavier (fitxa). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  13. [13] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  14. [14] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  15. [15] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  16. [16] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Població per nacionalitat i sexe. Barris. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  17. [17] betevé (2023-04-25). Les cases de Can Peguera començaran a rehabilitar-se el 2024. Accessed: 2026-10-03.

Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 17 sources consulted

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