Huerto Rey Moro

Objective

El Huerto del Rey Moro es, desde 2004, el mayor espacio público del Casco Histórico de Sevilla no urbanizado ni mercantilizado. Un espacio verde autogestionado por y para el disfrute y el esparcimiento de los vecinos y vecinas del barrio, donde la agricultura urbana actúa como elemento aglutinante de personas, ideas, aprendizajes y convivencia.

Description

The Huerto del Rey Moro is an open urban space of 5000 square meters located in the historic center of Seville, between Calle Sol and Calle Enladrillada, two of the most densified streets of the city. It’s the biggest public space into the historic center and it is part of an old vinculated building – Casa del Rey Moro, a gothic-mudejar house – and its courtyyard, builded during the 15th century. In 1985 the regional goverment decided to declare the house Good of Cultural Interest – Bien de Interás Cultural (BIC) – as “Monument”, together with the open space as heritage reserve zone.

This area was abandoned for many years and after several attempts to privatize this space , the neighbors decide to occupy and protect it with a sort of actions. They claimed it to the public administration – Junta de Andalucía and Ayuntamiento de Sevilla – proposing many projects and activities. The Asociación Amigos del Huerto del Rey Moro La Noria promoted archaeological studies and was involved in the legal defense of this site against urban planning changes, as a consequence of this struggle, on February 15th, 2004, the Huerto del Rey Moro was inaugurated as a neighborhood space for the use and enjoyment of the neighborhood. The Huerto currently works as a urban meeting place, with many public activities like as: community gardens, bakery lab, playground for children, exhibition space, cinema during the summer, theatrical performances, painting workshops, market and first of all an open site of urban agriculture, promoting a rural model of ecological development where agricolture is a way of aggregation, learning and social sharing.

Now it’s a dynamic organism that has been able to overcome the concept of object, evolving towards a sense of the whole of natural, social and intangible good, generator of quality of life, social and cultural benefits. The purpose of planning a patrimonial awareness project would be to transfer the meaning of the space back to the users, satisfying the existing needs and shortcomings, which would also imply protection of the resource and maintenance of its proper use.