In 1959, the Barcelona Municipal Housing Board started building work on the Southwest Besòs housing development, to cater to the severe housing shortage resulting from the mass influx of incomers from the rest of Spain in the 1950s and 1960s. The project created a new residential hub on the boundary between Barcelona and Sant Adrià. By 1968, nearly 5,000 dwellings had been built between Carrer de Llull and Carrer de Bernat Metge, forming a large, high-density urban complex. This growth established the neighbourhood as a blue- collar residential area, although it initially suffered from a lack of public amenities and poor-quality building.