Sant Andreu · 63
Navas
Navas is the newest neighbourhood of the Sant Andreu district: it became official in 2006 on both sides of the Meridiana, on old land of el Clot and la Sagrera, and it is now debating whether to keep the name Navas or become Torrent de la Guineu.[1][2][3][4][5]
On Plaça de Ferran Reyes, the centre of the neighbourhood, the church of Sant Joan Bosco that presides over it has a roof the City Council singles out as original. A few streets away, Carrer del Torrent de la Guineu recalls the stream that once crossed the neighbourhood.[1][6][3]
Navas is the newest neighbourhood of the district. It covers part of the old territories of el Clot and la Sagrera, on both sides of Avinguda Meridiana, and Carrer de las Navas de Tolosa is its central street.[1][2]
Being young does not mean having no history: Passatge d'Aloi keeps houses of 1878, the Cases del Governador date from 1944, and the will of residents organised in their association was decisive in making Navas a neighbourhood distinct from la Sagrera.[7][1][2]
Navas (neighbourhood 63) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sant Andreu: la Trinitat Vella, Baró de Viver, el Bon Pastor, Sant Andreu, la Sagrera, el Congrés i els Indians.
Where the name comes from
The name comes from Carrer de las Navas de Tolosa, dedicated to the battle of 1212. The street has existed since 1879, when the council of Sant Martí de Provençals decided to give some streets the names of Spanish military exploits.[3][4][5]
From the street it passed to the metro station, opened in 1953, and since the late 1970s the area has been known as Navas; the name became official in 2006, with the present 73 neighbourhoods. The renaming now under debate initially aimed to remove its warlike character.[3][4][5][1]
Navas lies on both sides of Avinguda Meridiana. Carrer de las Navas de Tolosa separates it from el Camp de l'Arpa del Clot (the south pavement belongs to that other neighbourhood) and Carrer de Felip II marks the threshold with la Sagrera.[4][1]
Before the neighbourhood
The land belonged to the historic areas of el Clot and la Sagrera. Carrer de Bofarull, below today's Meridiana and now partly pedestrianised, was one of the old main axes of la Sagrera.[1][2]
The Aloy family, who were brickmakers, laid out an estate in 1877 and opened three passages. Before the Cases del Governador (1944), their site was a brickworks.[7][1]
How the streets were made
One part of the neighbourhood keeps the grid of the Cerdà extension. The other is the Cases del Governador: three larger blocks and three smaller ones, built on an old brickworks by the Obra Sindical del Hogar in 1944 and opened by Governor Correa Veglison, from whom they take their popular name.[1]
Plaça de Ferran Reyes, over the Meridiana, is the centre of the neighbourhood, presided over by the church of Sant Joan Bosco. The remodelling of the Meridiana and of Plaça d'Islàndia has renewed the image of the neighbourhood.[1][6]
Dates that changed it
- 1878 Pere Aloy builds the 11 houses of Passatge d'Aloi.[7]
- 1879 The council of Sant Martí de Provençals names the street after Las Navas de Tolosa.[3][4][5]
- 1944 The Obra Sindical del Hogar builds the Cases del Governador on an old brickworks.[1]
- 1953 Navas metro station opens.[3][5][1]
- 2006 Navas becomes an official neighbourhood, in the present division into 73 neighbourhoods.[3][4][5]
- 2025 On 5 March the district plenary approves starting the procedure to rename the neighbourhood.[2][4]
- 2026 In June the steering group for the participatory process on the name is formed.[3][2][4]
People and collective life
Institutions
Struggles that left a mark
Becoming a neighbourhood of its own
Demand: Residents, organised in their association, fought for Navas to stop being a part of la Sagrera.[1][2]
Outcome: Navas has been an official neighbourhood since 2006.[3][4][5]
Saving Passatge d'Aloi
Demand: The houses have been blighted for almost fifty years by a planning reservation; according to Junts councillor Ximena Gadea, this prevents renovation or access to grants. The residents' association asked for the group of 11 houses to be preserved.[7]
Outcome: On 14 May 2025 the district plenary voted unanimously to begin lifting the reservation.[7]
What can still be seen
Passatge d'Aloi
Eleven houses of 1878, six large and five small, beside Passeig de Maragall, built by Pere Aloy on an estate laid out by his father, the brickmaker Jaume Aloy.[7]
Cases del Governador
A group of three larger blocks and three smaller ones built by the Obra Sindical del Hogar in 1944 on an old brickworks.[1]
What disappeared
The Aloy farmhouse
When Carrer de Sant Antoni Maria Claret was opened, some houses of Passatge del Porvenir came down, and the Aloy family's farmhouse disappeared in the 1990s.[7]
The neighbourhood today
In 2026 Navas had 22,607 residents, 533.2 residents per hectare, a 2023 mean census-section income of €23,517, 42.4 hectares, and 20.6% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 20.6%
What is changing
The name of the neighbourhood, under debate (October 2026)
The City Council has called the participatory process A Navas, parlem del nom del barri, from 15 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, with three debates (civic centre, CEM Espronceda and the senior citizens' community centre) and two walks through the neighbourhood. The options are Torrent de la Guineu, Torrent de la Guineu-Navas or keeping Navas. If there is no agreement, a referendum could not be held before the municipal elections of 23 May 2027.[3][2][4]
The houses of Passatge d'Aloi (May 2025)
On 14 May 2025 the district plenary voted unanimously for the city government to begin the modification of the Pla General Metropolità that would lift the planning reservation, in force since 1976, on the 11 houses.[7]
What the guides leave out
A stream under the avenue
The Torrent de la Guineu rose at the Font del Cuento in el Guinardó and crossed Navas by Passatge d'Artemís, Carrer del Torrent de la Guineu and the Meridiana to the lagoon of the Poblenou.[3]
Read it on foot
Start: Maragall (L4/L5) · End: Navas (L1)
Walking (excluding stop time): 15 min · 1160 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 45 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.
Navas (neighbourhood 63) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sant Andreu: la Trinitat Vella, Baró de Viver, el Bon Pastor, Sant Andreu, la Sagrera, el Congrés i els Indians.
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Ajuntament de Barcelona (Districte de Sant Andreu) (2026). Història de Navas. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Tot Barcelona (Jordi Subirana) (2026-07-27). Navas engega un procés participatiu pel canvi de nom amb posicions veïnals oposades. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] Tot Barcelona (Jordi Subirana) (2026-09-30). Verdun i Navas, dos barris barcelonins que poden canviar de nom. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] Viquipèdia (2026). Barri de Navas. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Viquipèdia (2026). Estació de Navas. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona (Guia de Barcelona) (2026). Parròquia de Sant Joan Bosco. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [7] Tot Barcelona (Jordi Subirana) (2025-05-17). Barcelona salvarà les cases centenàries del passatge d'Aloi de Navas. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [9] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [10] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 10 sources consulted