Bilbao sees return of shanty towns 70 years on

Bilbao: the return of shanty towns 70 years later

The phenomenon of shanty towns is not new in Bilbao, but its current scale has nuances that set it apart from the past. According to a report by El Confidencial, the city council estimates that around two thousand people are living in makeshift settlements in abandoned factories, tents and shacks in the hills surrounding the city. The real figure, however, could be higher: no one carries out an exhaustive census of substandard housing.

Comparison with the migration wave of the 1950s and 1970s is inevitable. Back then, thousands of people arrived from other regions of Spain to work in industry, and they crowded into shanty neighbourhoods such as Ocharcoaga. But the residents of that era themselves recall a key difference: "people slept with their doors open". The conflict and sense of insecurity surrounding the new settlements — thefts reported by the residents themselves — paint a different picture.

Why now? Accumulating factors

The housing crisis is the obvious trigger. With rental prices soaring and insufficient public housing, the most vulnerable groups — including newly arrived immigrants — find no alternative to shanty towns. Added to this is the perception, widespread in part of the public debate, that the benefits system acts as a magnet. Some point to YouTube tutorials in Segarro Darija or Pakistani Urdu explaining how to apply for benefits in the Basque Country. The Basque administration, for its part, has not presented a rehousing plan or even a verifiable official census.

The demographic lesson nobody wants to see

The debate has also shifted towards Basque demography. Historical arguments intersect with analysis of data from Eustat. The Basque baby boom generation — those born between 1960 and 1975 — did not reproduce as expected. Instead of a population surge, there was mass emigration of Basques and a drastic fall in the birth rate. Today, a significant portion of Basques aged between 47 and 66 are single or childless, according to official figures. This generational gap leaves a void that immigration is filling, but in precarious conditions.

From the iron belt to the cardboard belt

The irony of Bilbao's transformation is not lost on anyone. The city that moved from the iron belt of heavy industry to a model based on services and tourism now sees its hills filling with shacks. The expression "cardboard belt" has been repeated as a summary of a paradox: while the centre shines with the Guggenheim, the periphery deteriorates.

Some voices recall that shanty towns never completely disappeared: in the 1980s there were still settlements in El Serantes, behind Barakaldo. But the profile of the occupant has changed, and with it the necessary policies. As long as the city council and the Basque government do not offer reliable data or structural solutions, the question hanging in the air is whether the phenomenon is a temporary crisis or the announcement of a new permanent reality in the Bilbao metropolitan area.