Gijón's seafront, previously marked by irregular urban sprawl and poor housing conditions, has undergone a significant transformation thanks to the collaboration between the city council and the Municipal Foundation for Social Services. Programmes such as the Plan de Erradicación del Chabolismo (1984) and the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (1985) have rehoused residents of irregular settlements in decent housing, improving diversity and social integration and revitalising the seafront. In addition, new public spaces have been created, especially in heritage areas such as Cimadevilla, and a transition to a service economy has been promoted, all through effectively integrated planning tools.

The situation of Gijón's seafront was characterised by irregular urban sprawl and poor living conditions. Faced with this panorama, the city council, in collaboration with the Fundación Municipal de Servicios Sociales, implemented a series of programmes aimed at improving the urban fabric and eliminating irregular settlements in the area. These programmes included the Plan de Erradicación del Chabolismo (1984) and the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (1985), both aimed at revalorising the area.

As a result of these strategies, a dynamic of displacement began, re-housing the residents of these settlements in "decent quality" housing integrated into the urban fabric. This process has promoted increased diversity and social integration, as well as improving the city's waterfront.

Likewise, new public spaces have been transformed and created, trying to keep the local population in the same areas, especially in areas with greater heritage value such as the old Fishermen's quarter of Cimadevilla. This intervention has had a multiple impact, managing to eradicate shantytowns, improve living conditions and the habitability of the urban environment, and establish new environments that have renewed the façade of the city.

In addition, the economic transformation of Gijón towards a service economy has begun. All these strategies have been developed through a series of admirably integrated planning tools.