Rebranding
Cities: urban rebranding strategies and their impact
Location: Barcelona: El Raval or 22@ New Technologies district
Travel time: 45 minutes
Study time: full day
The transformations taking place in Barcelona’s urban
landscape in the last 20 years have given place to what is now internationally
known as the Barcelona model. In the process, old industrial districts have
disappeared to make room for a new, glossy city. As Barcelona has reinvented
itself, there has been a transition from an industrial to a postindustrial city
and tourism has become one of its most defining industries.
22@ New Technologies district
The city used two high-profile international events as a
catalyst for its radical urban renewal. The 1992 Olympic Games led to the
beginnings of change in Barcelona's once infamous El Raval inner-city district
and the transformation of a blighted coastline of abandoned factories and toxic
beaches. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures enabled the completion of the
seafront remodelling, and in the process created a strong legacy momentum.
Growing levels of private investment have gone hand in hand
with increasing levels of infrastructure development and the city is currently
undertaking some of the biggest development projects in Europe. For example, the
old inner-city industrial area of Poblenou, is being redeveloped to create a new
technologies zone, 22@, designated for media, marketing and other
service-related activities.
Field studies focus on the impact and evaluation of a range of
urban rebranding strategies in two contrasting areas: El Raval and the 22@ New
Technologies, Media Park and Forum districts.
Location: Barcelona: 22@ New Technologies Zone, Media Park,
Olympic Village, Diagonal Mar, Universal Forum and La Mina
Travel time: 45 minutes
Study time: full day
Barcelona's 1992 Olympics and 2004 Forum events were the
catalysts for the reclamation of its waterfront west of the River Besòs, an
area formerly known as the 'Catalan Manchester' for its predominance of old
manufacturing industry. Redevelopment has transformed the district, adding the
Olympic Village and Port, new beaches, a riverside park, Diagonal Mar, the
Forum, the 22@ New Technologies zone and Media Park. Other major developments in
the area are in progress, including a high speed rail link and the sinking of
Gran Via, a major avenue, below ground.
This district forms an excellent case study of city rebranding for a sustainable
future, with a range of examples of sustainable city planning strategies and new
infrastructure that meet many social, environmental and economic criteria, as
well as the use of a range of legacy facilities.
The transformation has not been without conflict. The origins
of the Barcelona model go back to a period where local governments made
decisions on urban planning in close consultation with its people, with the aim
of creating a fairer city for its less privileged citizens and in the public
interest. Solutions to conflict often resulted in the creation of more social
and public spaces. Solutions today are less easy when the choice is between
preserving engineering workshops or replacing them with clean buildings housing
new technologies.
Rebranding for a sustainable
future: 22@ High-Tech Zone, Media Park, Olympic Village, Diagonal Mar, Universal
Forum and La Mina
Torre de Agbar - 22@ High Tech zone
La Mina - a district of high social deprivation
Impact of urban renewal and
brownfield regeneration schemes west of the River Besòs.
Renewal of an old industrial quarter into a technological district (22@).
The Universal Forum of Cultures 2004 legacy facilities facilities include
hotels and commercial centre facilities, new beaches, residential areas and an
urban park.
These developments lie adjacent to La Mina, the most socially deprived
district in the city.
Case study of the impact of these
developments, including land use conflicts.
Application of urban
models and impact of sustainable city planning. The Eixample is a utopian garden
city development dating from 1859 which grew between outlying industrial towns
across what was then Barcelona's military exclusion belt.
The City Council is gradually restoring public gardens to the Eixample
blocks as part of its ProEixample sustainable city planning.
Application of the Hoyt
and Burgess models to the Eixample district of Barcelona. Its growth between
outlying industrial districts is reflected in its land use patterns. more
The social, environment and economic impact of the new ProEixample garden
project developments. more
The Mayor of Barcelona,
Joan Clos, has blamed low density planning for the lack of social and economic
life in Barcelona's Olympic Village. There are few people on the streets and
public space, shops or bar terraces are little used by the neighbours.
In the Mayor's defence of the compact and dense city – building upwards rather
than outwards – the Eixample of Ildefons Cerdà is seen as a success. The
Eixample has 150 dwellings per hectare, creating a district “where yes, there
is life”. For Clos, the Olympic Village with 60 dwellings per hectare is an
example of what should not be done in city planning.
The study compares land use, environmental quality, economic data and
perceptions for sampled Eixample and Olympic Village blocks. The recording of
pedestrian counts and noise decibel levels assists hypothesis testing and
analysis.
Managing Rural Rebranding: Les
Garrigues
Travel time:
1½ hours
Study time: full day
Olive trees
L'Albi, Les Garrigues
Vilosell, Les Garrigues
Les Garrigues is a
predominantly rural county situated 100 kilometres from Barcelona.
It is a region traditionally dedicated to almonds and olives, but the farmers
of Les Garrigues are no longer cultivating some 36 per cent of the available
farmland according to data from the Department of Agriculture. One of the causes
of this situation are the low profits gained from cultivation in the unirrigated
zones, a result according to the farmers, of a difficult climate and the lack of
irrigation infrastructure.
This leads to rural depopulation, very evident in some villages with the loss
of services, the number of abandoned fields and growth of second homes.
The EU's LEADER Initiative for integrated rural development has helped
facilitate some 'grass-roots', local development initiatives. Rural tourism is
promoted, focusing on the cultivation and farming of olive trees. Extra virgin
olive oil with the Les Garrigues designation of origin is produced using the
high quality Arbequina olive. Wind farms are a very recent and growing feature
of the Les Garrigues countryside.
The field study focuses on the impact and evaluation of rural rebranding
strategies in two contrasting villages, one remote, the other more accessible.
The day will include a visit to the Les Garrigues Interpretative Centre at Borges
Blanques.
All fieldwork studies are supported with a wide range of secondary data.
