While
Athens is dreaming to be the
new Barcelona by expanding the so-called Athenian Riviera, the Catalunian
capital is making steps forward, leading its
path to sectors out of already shining tourism industry...
Barcelona’s latest stab at urban regeneration can be found at the eastern end of the city’s famous Diagonal Avenue, in a long-neglected district once notorious for its dying industry, poor housing and pollution.
Today, the Poblenou is a cluster of converted factories and striking new buildings that are home to research institutions, high-tech companies, corporate headquarters, government agencies and apartments.
In the heart of the district is the Barcelona Growth Centre, opened just this month, a sculptural, glass-clad edifice that houses business incubators, technology offices and the Barcelona brand base. The neighbourhood has been renamed 22@Barcelona, and markets itself as the city’s innovation district.
The transformation of Poblenou remains a work in progress. Several plots of land have yet to be filled, and the area lacks the vibrancy of other neighbourhoods in the city. Yet, for anyone looking to explore the essence of modern Barcelona, there can scarcely be a better place to start.
The district is the most visible sign of the city’s drive to establish itself as a European hub for technology and innovation. It seeks to blend Barcelona’s traditions as a centre for research, finance and entrepreneurship in an attempt to develop new sources of revenue and growth.
If all goes to plan, the district will one day serve as the city’s economic motor in much the same manner as it did a century ago, when Poblenou housed a thriving textiles industry.
Beyond its economic significance, the area serves as a symbol of Barcelona’s broader obsession with reinvention and regeneration, and its near-permanent campaign to improve the way the city looks and functions.
It is a project that mirrors the historic redevelopment of Barcelona’s clogged-up waterfront in the run-up to the 1992 Olympic Games – and a number of similar grand designs that have taken shape in the years since.
To outsiders, this drive constantly to embellish a city already renowned for its glorious architecture, economic prowess and quality of life may seem puzzling. But locals insist it is a crucial part of Barcelona’s civic spirit.
“We always want to make things a bit better. The Barcelonian is always inquieto [restless],” explains Emilio Cuatrecasas, the head of one of Spain’s largest law firms and the president of Barcelona Global, a private-sector initiative to promote economic development in the city. “We are happy with what we have, but we want more.”
What, then, does Barcelona need more of? The priorities for the city, says a study by Barcelona Global, should be cutting red tape for business, lowering the tax burden on companies and individuals, and boosting the use of English.
Another big concern for locals is the growing dependence on tourism, with critics warning that parts of the city centre are in danger of turning into an overcrowded open-air museum.
Yet such concerns pale into insignificance when set against the great political challenge facing Barcelona, the region of Catalonia and the rest of Spain: how to navigate the growing clamour for the creation of an independent Catalan state.
For some, the push for independence offers the enticing prospect of establishing Barcelona as the capital of a new European nation-state and ushering in a golden age for the city. Others fear the tensions and the political clash with the Spanish government will harm the fabric of a city that has always been more diverse and outward-looking than the region that surrounds it.
To be sure, for the moment there is little sign the independence debate has lessened Barcelona’s focus on modernisation and growth. Indeed, 22@Barcelona is one of several large-scale projects that underline the city’s soaring ambitions: the commercial port has been through a series of massive enlargements that have doubled its capacity. The Port Vell yacht harbour is in the final stage of a redevelopment that will allow it to offer dozens of berths for oligarch-style super yachts. Work is under way to improve links between the harbour port and French border, and there are plans to build a residential neighbourhood for 30,000 people.
Observers point out that funding for projects is less abundant than during the pre-crisis years, let alone the pre-Olympic building boom. But money may ultimately matter less than ambition, says Narcis Serra, Barcelona’s first democratically elected mayor after the Franco dictatorship. “There are fewer resources now, less money, but the spirit is still intact,” says Mr Serra, who now heads a think-tank on strategic affairs located in the city.
Locals are quick to highlight that Barcelona – perhaps uniquely among the great cities of Europe – has managed to flourish over the centuries without the help or even the presence of strong rulers. “Barcelona is one of the biggest cities in Europe. But all the others are capitals or were capitals. All the things you see there were built and financed by kings, queens, dukes or the church. If you look at the things that people come to see here, they were all built by the citizens,” says Mr Cuatrecasas.
It is a remark that is as true as it is poignant, given the current clamour to turn Catalonia into a proper state and Barcelona into its political capital. The outcome of this process is highly uncertain, as is the impact that the creation of an independent Catalonia would have on Barcelona. What is clear is that some civic leaders, especially in the business and financial community, regard the current rise in tensions between Catalans and other Spaniards with growing unease.
A sense of unease is also palpable among some of the city’s writers and intellectuals, who have been drawn to Barcelona’s tradition as a city of Spanish letters with close ties not just to the rest of Spain but also to Latin America.
Enric González, a Barcelona-born writer and journalist, likens the independence debate to a “giant suction machine” that leaves little space for other issues. “The [independence] debate constantly forces you to make a choice. Is your editor in Barcelona or in Madrid? Do you write in Catalan or in Spanish? Everyone asks: where do you stand? What do you have to say about independence?”
There is little doubt that support for independence has risen sharply in Barcelona, even if enthusiasm for a breakaway state remains more muted than in other parts of Catalonia. It is also true that disappointment and frustration with the central government is almost universal, and widely shared even among those who oppose Catalan independence. One thing, however, is clear: given its size and economic importance, it is Barcelona that ultimately holds the future of Catalonia in its hands.
Pol Morillas, an analyst at IEMed, a think-tank based in the city, says: “If Barcelona does not buy the argument, you can forget about independence.”
Today, the Poblenou is a cluster of converted factories and striking new buildings that are home to research institutions, high-tech companies, corporate headquarters, government agencies and apartments.
In the heart of the district is the Barcelona Growth Centre, opened just this month, a sculptural, glass-clad edifice that houses business incubators, technology offices and the Barcelona brand base. The neighbourhood has been renamed 22@Barcelona, and markets itself as the city’s innovation district.
The transformation of Poblenou remains a work in progress. Several plots of land have yet to be filled, and the area lacks the vibrancy of other neighbourhoods in the city. Yet, for anyone looking to explore the essence of modern Barcelona, there can scarcely be a better place to start.
The district is the most visible sign of the city’s drive to establish itself as a European hub for technology and innovation. It seeks to blend Barcelona’s traditions as a centre for research, finance and entrepreneurship in an attempt to develop new sources of revenue and growth.
If all goes to plan, the district will one day serve as the city’s economic motor in much the same manner as it did a century ago, when Poblenou housed a thriving textiles industry.
Beyond its economic significance, the area serves as a symbol of Barcelona’s broader obsession with reinvention and regeneration, and its near-permanent campaign to improve the way the city looks and functions.
It is a project that mirrors the historic redevelopment of Barcelona’s clogged-up waterfront in the run-up to the 1992 Olympic Games – and a number of similar grand designs that have taken shape in the years since.
To outsiders, this drive constantly to embellish a city already renowned for its glorious architecture, economic prowess and quality of life may seem puzzling. But locals insist it is a crucial part of Barcelona’s civic spirit.
“We always want to make things a bit better. The Barcelonian is always inquieto [restless],” explains Emilio Cuatrecasas, the head of one of Spain’s largest law firms and the president of Barcelona Global, a private-sector initiative to promote economic development in the city. “We are happy with what we have, but we want more.”
What, then, does Barcelona need more of? The priorities for the city, says a study by Barcelona Global, should be cutting red tape for business, lowering the tax burden on companies and individuals, and boosting the use of English.
Another big concern for locals is the growing dependence on tourism, with critics warning that parts of the city centre are in danger of turning into an overcrowded open-air museum.
Yet such concerns pale into insignificance when set against the great political challenge facing Barcelona, the region of Catalonia and the rest of Spain: how to navigate the growing clamour for the creation of an independent Catalan state.
For some, the push for independence offers the enticing prospect of establishing Barcelona as the capital of a new European nation-state and ushering in a golden age for the city. Others fear the tensions and the political clash with the Spanish government will harm the fabric of a city that has always been more diverse and outward-looking than the region that surrounds it.
To be sure, for the moment there is little sign the independence debate has lessened Barcelona’s focus on modernisation and growth. Indeed, 22@Barcelona is one of several large-scale projects that underline the city’s soaring ambitions: the commercial port has been through a series of massive enlargements that have doubled its capacity. The Port Vell yacht harbour is in the final stage of a redevelopment that will allow it to offer dozens of berths for oligarch-style super yachts. Work is under way to improve links between the harbour port and French border, and there are plans to build a residential neighbourhood for 30,000 people.
Observers point out that funding for projects is less abundant than during the pre-crisis years, let alone the pre-Olympic building boom. But money may ultimately matter less than ambition, says Narcis Serra, Barcelona’s first democratically elected mayor after the Franco dictatorship. “There are fewer resources now, less money, but the spirit is still intact,” says Mr Serra, who now heads a think-tank on strategic affairs located in the city.
Locals are quick to highlight that Barcelona – perhaps uniquely among the great cities of Europe – has managed to flourish over the centuries without the help or even the presence of strong rulers. “Barcelona is one of the biggest cities in Europe. But all the others are capitals or were capitals. All the things you see there were built and financed by kings, queens, dukes or the church. If you look at the things that people come to see here, they were all built by the citizens,” says Mr Cuatrecasas.
It is a remark that is as true as it is poignant, given the current clamour to turn Catalonia into a proper state and Barcelona into its political capital. The outcome of this process is highly uncertain, as is the impact that the creation of an independent Catalonia would have on Barcelona. What is clear is that some civic leaders, especially in the business and financial community, regard the current rise in tensions between Catalans and other Spaniards with growing unease.
A sense of unease is also palpable among some of the city’s writers and intellectuals, who have been drawn to Barcelona’s tradition as a city of Spanish letters with close ties not just to the rest of Spain but also to Latin America.
Enric González, a Barcelona-born writer and journalist, likens the independence debate to a “giant suction machine” that leaves little space for other issues. “The [independence] debate constantly forces you to make a choice. Is your editor in Barcelona or in Madrid? Do you write in Catalan or in Spanish? Everyone asks: where do you stand? What do you have to say about independence?”
There is little doubt that support for independence has risen sharply in Barcelona, even if enthusiasm for a breakaway state remains more muted than in other parts of Catalonia. It is also true that disappointment and frustration with the central government is almost universal, and widely shared even among those who oppose Catalan independence. One thing, however, is clear: given its size and economic importance, it is Barcelona that ultimately holds the future of Catalonia in its hands.
Pol Morillas, an analyst at IEMed, a think-tank based in the city, says: “If Barcelona does not buy the argument, you can forget about independence.”
Source: FT.com
