The Urban Imprint of Immigrant Communities: Understanding the Built Environment of Lavapiés

Published 02/04/2025 in Scholar Travel Stipend

Written by Ayan Rahman | 02/04/2025

This year, I have the honor and privilege of living in Madrid while I teach English at a local primary school. It has been an incredible experience so far, and I have been exploring many of the different enclaves and corners of this city while here.

I. Introduction

I’ve been lucky enough to snag an apartment in an ethnically diverse and culturally rich neighborhood in the center of the city called Lavapies. Lavapies stands as one of the most vibrant and multicultural neighborhoods of Madrid -- I’ve found it to be an incredible case study into the profound impacts that immigrant communities have on urban spaces in Spain and Europe at large.

It has been nothing short of an inspiring experience getting to call this place my home for the last several months, and I’ve been moved to develop a project to study some aspects of the community here. With the help of the Milken Scholars program, I’ve been able to develop and execute a project for the last couple of months centered around understanding how communities from Asia, Africa, and Latin America have shaped the built environment of Lavapies. I’ve particularly focused on aspects of streetscapes such as signage, public space utilization, and commercial practices. I’ve combined several research methods including participatory observations, ethnographic notes, and visual documentations to highlight and parse out particular themes surrounding the neighborhood's unique urban character. While conducting this project, I’ve heavily leaned into and reflected upon my experiences doing field work in cities like Dhaka, Jakarta, and New York and have drawn many parallels especially in how Lavapies evokes similar senses of ethnic cosmopolitan dynamisms. I’ve particularly reflected on the Milken Institute’s mission of fostering social and economic mobility as a framework towards approaching my work here, especially when thinking of how immigrant communities have contributed to a resilient and inclusive urban ecosystem in Lavapies.

Designed and structured by architects and urban planners, urban spaces are often seen as stagnant or static. With Lavapies, on the other hand, immigrants have taken participatory approaches to actively reshaping their environments, showcasing a far more dynamic reality. In Lavapies, a slew of different cultural practices, economic ventures, and social interactions converge to craft an evolving urban fabric that transcends simple categorization. This study, thus, has focused on documenting these elements to highlight immigrant agency in cultivating a vitality in Madrid.

II. Plaza de Lavapiés as a Social Hub

Plaza de Lavapies is at the very center of the neighborhood, it is a space I pass through everyday and sometimes sit in to read, scroll through my phone, etc. To me, it has quickly become apparent that this is a space that defies traditional Western conceptualizations of public plazas. Without the transactional expectations typically tied to urban spaces in Madrid, this area particularly flourishes. As you walk through the space, you’ll notice immigrant men from Bangladesh, Senegal, and Latin America gathering throughout the day. The plaza can sometimes be a resting point, a meeting area, or even just a refuge from a demanding workday. Typically, seating and the general use of space is contingent on patronage at nearby cafes and bars in other commercialized spaces of the city. Plaza de Lavapies, however, is accessible without such strings attached.

The style of the use of public space really reminded me of community gathering areas in Dhaka and New York. Both cities have plazas and hubs for social connection and sorts of informal economies. With the structure of Plaza de Lavapies, a hub for social connection, a shared space has been formed that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers. While analyzing the structure of this plaza I hearkened back to the Milken institute’s emphasis on empowering communities through spatial and social equity. Witnessing this as a site of equalization between constituents from vastly different backgrounds, as well as a melting pot where spatial dynamics are not as governed by outside forces, to me, seemed very in line with this particular aspect of the Milken Insitute’s mission. I was happy to develop these findings with these thoughts underpinning them.

The plaza is also a site of cultural negotiation, in the evenings it transforms into a leisure and festivities space. Locals, visitors and vendors alike all occupy the space during these hours and demonstrate aspects of coexistence, adaptability, and fluidity. To me, this made Plaza de Lavapies a space driven by community oriented dynamics.

III. Signage and Linguistic Landscapes

The only way to describe the walk through Lavapies would be a passage through a linguistic mosaic that is adorned by the numerous storefronts. There’s signage in Bangla, Arabic, Urdu, and many other languages that is prominent among shop windows and restaurant banners. These can be considered visual markers of cultural identity, tools that immigrant communities have utilized to carve out familiar spaces in a foreign urban environment. For example, a Bengali-owned travel agency boldly promotes its advertisements for trips to African countries, which in itself is a demonstration of interconnectedness between immigrant experiences. Beyond the functionality of these signs, they are cultural statements that assert presence and visibility of immigrants in the urban fabric.

Photographing these signs quickly became central to my work in this project. To me, I felt that each one told an individual story -- you can feel the narratives surrounding migration, adaptation, and the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants in western countries. Not only do these signs and linguistic landscapes service immigrant customers, but they also create certain entry points for cross cultural exchange. Furthermore, these signs as part of the physical dimensions of the built environment cultivate senses of security, familiarity, and comfort for immigrants who may experience sentiments of alienation in other parts of Madrid. Witnessing their native languages in public spaces has a certain psychological impact and fosters fondness and reduced cultural isolation. Again, this served as a reinforcement of the Milken Institute’s commitment to social inclusion and cultural empowerment -- to see inclusive infrastructure that promoted senses of familiarity in Lavapies from such a grassroots level was astounding.

IV. Bazaar Phenomenon and Street-Level Engagement

Street-level engagement between pedestrians and shop-owners was another striking characteristic of Lavapies. Perhaps “passive” storefront culture would be an appropriate way of describing what’s prevalent in other Madrid neighborhoods as Lavapies thrives on direct interaction between consumers and sellers. Restaurant owners stand outside their spaces and invite passerbys to come in and try their freshly prepared foods. I couldn’t help but associate this with bazaar culture in South and Southeast Asia, where commerce and community intersect seamlessly. This mode of interaction broke down many social and physical barriers between businesses and members of the public, crafting an environment that was both robust yet welcoming. It reflected greatly the entrepreneurial adaptability and economic resilience of immigrants in Madrid. Moreover, the street-level interaction also constructed more entry points for community members to engage in informal conversation and establish individual senses of trust and mutual support in micro-networks, fostering community resilience. Much of this bazaar phenomenon also reminded me about the Milken Insitute’s focus on empowering local economies through small business innovation. I was very pleased to see these were grassroots level efforts on behalf of community members and their very entrepreneurial spirits.

V. Challenges and Perceptions

Despite the vibrancy of Lavapies, it has several negative connotations to outsiders. While talking to some teachers at my school, I’ve quickly grasped how people often see the neighborhood as dirty, unsafe, and chaotic. Part of me feels like these biases exist in a racial context, and that these narratives fail to encapsulate the richness and culturally significant socio-economic systems that thrive on the streets of Lavapies.

On the contrary, my experiences in Lavapies have been nothing short of comfortable and marked by familiarity. The sensory overload, hustle and bustle of the streetscapes, and constant motion reminds me of New York and Dhaka. I feel as though my experiences stand as contradictions and highlight the imporntance of reframing the narrative surrounding immigrant spaces, understanding their great contributions to the cultural and economic landscape of cities as a whole. I feel negative perceptions are often fueled by a lack of understanding or exposure to the realities of life in these kinds of neighborhoods, and media representations/systemic biases are what lead to perpetuated stereotypes. This makes sharing firsthand observations and experiences all the more important.

VI. "No Puede Lavapiés Morir": A Symbol of Resilience

During my fieldwork, I photographed a poster on a weathered wall that read, "No Puede Lavapiés Morir" (Lavapiés Cannot Die). This statement showcases a defiant resilience rooted in diverse immigrant communities that Lavapies embodies.

The poster, I’ve found, serves as both a declaration as well as a plea. It symbolizes the neighborhood's fight against forces such as gentrification and general erasure. It portrays the victories of hardworking immigrant populations who have each left their marks in the creation of the space of coexistence and cultural vibrancy that is Lavapies. This resilience also reflected a lot of the Milken Family Foundation’s commitment to creating lasting social impact and empowering marginalized communities -- again, I was happy to see this was an autonomous effort by the community for the community. Seeing Lavapies embody these values in turn situated my research well within the context of the Milken Foundation’s goals and aspirations, which excited me greatly.

VII. Conclusion, Future Directions, and the Milken Foundation

Through this project, I explored how immigrant communities in Lavapiés reshape and are reshaped by the built environment. From the informal social networks in Plaza de Lavapiés to the linguistic tapestries of storefronts and the bazaar-like street-level interactions, every corner of this neighborhood tells a story of resilience, adaptation, and coexistence.

This research not only sheds light on the importance of inclusive urban spaces but also highlights the potential for policy interventions that center immigrant voices in urban planning. Moving forward, I plan to build upon this project through a photo series and further collaborations with local organizations.

In alignment with the Milken Institute and Milken Family Foundation's missions, this study emphasizes the value of social inclusion, cultural empowerment, and equitable urban development. Lavapiés serves as a powerful example of how immigrant communities can shape cities into spaces of resilience, vibrancy, and collective identity.

"No Puede Lavapiés Morir."