Behind Barcelona's success story: Citizen movements and planners' power

Journal of Urban History

Volumn 26, Issue 6, 2000, Pages 793-807

  Calavita, Nico ^a   Ferrer, Amador ^b  

^a SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b NONE   (Spain)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEINDUSTRIALIZATION; MARKETING; URBAN ECONOMY; URBAN PLANNING; URBAN RENEWAL;

BARCELONA; CATALONIA; SPAIN;

EID: 0033786196     PISSN: 00961442     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/009614420002600604     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. Peter Buchanan, "Barcelona, A City Regenerated, "The Architectural Review (August 1992). Llatzer Moix, La Ciudad de Los Arquitectos (Barcelona: Cronicas, Anagrams, 1994).
2. Peter Buchanan, "Barcelona, A City Regenerated, "The Architectural Review (August 1992). Llatzer Moix, La Ciudad de Los Arquitectos (Barcelona: Cronicas, Anagrams, 1994).
3. Exiample is the Catalan translation of expansion. Catalan is the official language of Cataluña. Franco, after his victory in 1936, made Catalan illegal and imposed Castillian (Spanish) on the Barcelonese. In this article, we will use the language as it appears in the literature used or as it was used in a particular period. Ensanche is the Spanish word for expansion. 3. Leonardo Benevelo, The Origin of Modern Town Planning (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1967). The most well known is Baron Haussman's plan for Paris, implemented during the reign of Napoleon III.
4. Robert Hughes, Barcelona (New York: Vintage, 1993).
5. Ibid.
6. Amador Ferrer and Oriol Nel.lo, "Barcelona: The Transformation of an Industrial City, "in Salamom Lester, ed., The Future of the Industrial City (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990).
7. Joan Busquets, Barcelona (Madrid: Editorial Mapfre, 1992). M. Solá-Morales, et al., Las Formas de Crecimiento Urbano (Barcelona: LUB ETSAB, 1974).
8. Joan Busquets, Barcelona (Madrid: Editorial Mapfre, 1992). M. Solá-Morales, et al., Las Formas de Crecimiento Urbano (Barcelona: LUB ETSAB, 1974).
9. Amador Ferrer, Els Poligons de Barcelona (Barcelona: UPC, 1996).
10. Ferrer and Nel.lo, "Barcelona: The Transformation."
11. Busquets, Barcelona, 257.
12. C. Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements, "Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 3 (1985): 31-53.
13. Stuart Lowe, Urban Social Movements: The City after Castells (London: Macmillan, 1986). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." This contingent nature of urban social movements is reflected in the nature of social movements in the United States in the same period, seen as a reaction, not to rapid urbanization, but to urban restructuring, that is, the combination of urban renewal, gentrification, and highway projects that were aimed at creating the postindustrial city. See Susan Fainstein et al., Restructuring the City (New York: Longman, 1983; Cox, 1984). U.S. neighborhood movements were eventually successful in stopping urban renewal and freeway construction in their communities. See J. Mollenkopf, The Contested City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983).
14. Stuart Lowe, Urban Social Movements: The City after Castells (London: Macmillan, 1986). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." This contingent nature of urban social movements is reflected in the nature of social movements in the United States in the same period, seen as a reaction, not to rapid urbanization, but to urban restructuring, that is, the combination of urban renewal, gentrification, and highway projects that were aimed at creating the postindustrial city. See Susan Fainstein et al., Restructuring the City (New York: Longman, 1983; Cox, 1984). U.S. neighborhood movements were eventually successful in stopping urban renewal and freeway construction in their communities. See J. Mollenkopf, The Contested City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983).
15. Stuart Lowe, Urban Social Movements: The City after Castells (London: Macmillan, 1986). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." This contingent nature of urban social movements is reflected in the nature of social movements in the United States in the same period, seen as a reaction, not to rapid urbanization, but to urban restructuring, that is, the combination of urban renewal, gentrification, and highway projects that were aimed at creating the postindustrial city. See Susan Fainstein et al., Restructuring the City (New York: Longman, 1983; Cox, 1984). U.S. neighborhood movements were eventually successful in stopping urban renewal and freeway construction in their communities. See J. Mollenkopf, The Contested City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983).
16. Stuart Lowe, Urban Social Movements: The City after Castells (London: Macmillan, 1986). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." This contingent nature of urban social movements is reflected in the nature of social movements in the United States in the same period, seen as a reaction, not to rapid urbanization, but to urban restructuring, that is, the combination of urban renewal, gentrification, and highway projects that were aimed at creating the postindustrial city. See Susan Fainstein et al., Restructuring the City (New York: Longman, 1983; Cox, 1984). U.S. neighborhood movements were eventually successful in stopping urban renewal and freeway construction in their communities. See J. Mollenkopf, The Contested City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983).
17. Manuel Castells, The City and the Grassroots (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983).
18. Jordi Borja, "Urban Movements in Spain, "in M. Harloe, ed., Captive Cities (New York: John Wiley, 1977). Castells, The City and the Grassroots.
19. Jordi Borja, "Urban Movements in Spain, "in M. Harloe, ed., Captive Cities (New York: John Wiley, 1977). Castells, The City and the Grassroots.
20. Manuel Naya, "The Neighborhood Assocations, "in Josep Lluis Mateo, ed., Comtemporary Barcelona 1856-1999 (Barcelona: Centre de Cultura Contemporania, 1996), 191.
21. Ibid.
22. Josep Huertas and Marc Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita: El Moviment Urbá 1965-1996 (Barcelona: Federació d' Associacions de Veins de Barcelona, 1996).
23. Manuel Vázquez Montalban, "La lluita necessaria, "in Barcelona en Llutia: El Moviment Urbá 1965-1996.
24. The Comarcal Plan was prepared by a small group of planners with the city of Barcelona for the entire Comarca, an administrative unit that comprised twenty-seven municipalities, with Barcelona being the dominant city. While technically adequate, the plan could not resist the population pressure that followed its adoption and became quickly obsolete, merely a reference for the partial plans that ignored its guidelines.
25. Ton Salvadó and Josep Miró, "The Appendages of the City of Kidneys, "in Josep Lluis Mateo, ed., Contemporary Barcelona 1856-1999 (Barcelona: Centre de Cultura Contemporania, 1996), 143. This ability of landowners to modify plans in their interests confirms Borja's (1997) representation of the local state as weak and open to external domination of the propertied classes. This weakness is reflected also in the local government being "the least repressive sector of the state, "Borja, "Urban Movements in Spain, "190.
26. Ton Salvadó and Josep Miró, "The Appendages of the City of Kidneys, "in Josep Lluis Mateo, ed., Contemporary Barcelona 1856-1999 (Barcelona: Centre de Cultura Contemporania, 1996), 143. This ability of landowners to modify plans in their interests confirms Borja's (1997) representation of the local state as weak and open to external domination of the propertied classes. This weakness is reflected also in the local government being "the least repressive sector of the state, "Borja, "Urban Movements in Spain, "190.
27. Hughes, Barcelona; Howard Hughes is the flamboyant former art critic of the New York Times. We assume that he uses "termitaries" or termites' nest, to portray dramatically the high densities of those buildings.
28. Hughes, Barcelona; Howard Hughes is the flamboyant former art critic of the New York Times. We assume that he uses "termitaries" or termites' nest, to portray dramatically the high densities of those buildings.
29. Such a term is still used in contemporary Barcelona. For example, a recent interview of a Barcelona architect critical of the present administration had the title: "A Sort of Porciolismo Is Returning, "in Beth Galí, "Vuelve una especie de porciolismo, "El Pais, July 24, 1998. Cataluña section, 4.
30. Busquets, Barcelona.
31. In Europe, and particularly in Italy and Spain, architectural schools have generally also taught urban planning, and practically all architects consider themselves planners as well. In this article, architects will be considered, as in Spain, architect-planners. For a commentary on a similar situation in Italy, see Nico Calavita, "Viewpoint, "Planning 50, no. 11 (1984).
32. Ricard Pié, "El Projecte Disciplinar: La Versio de 1974 Pla General Metropolita, "in Els 20 Anys del Pla General Metropolitá de Barcelona, 1996.
33. Ibid.
34. Joan Antoni Solans, "El Plá Metropolitá, "in Josep Lluis Mateo, ed., Contemporary Barcelona 1856-1999 (Barcelona: Centre de Cultura Comtemporania, 1996), 202.
35. Land forpublic facilities at the subdivision level was to be obtained through the subdivision process; at the neighborhood level, land for facilities was to be expropriated. Spanish legislation allows expropriation of land at below market value.
36. Josep Huertas, "El moviment ciutada a Barcelona I l'aparició del Pla General Metropolitá, "in Amador Ferrer, ed., Els 20 Anys del Pla General Metropolita de Barcelona (Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Metropolitans de Barcelona, 1996).
37. Jan Antonio-Samaranch quoted in Huertas, "El moviment ciutada."
38. Ramón Trias Fargas, quoted in Huertas, "El moviment ciutada, "65.
39. Huertas, "El moviment ciutada"; Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita.
40. Huertas, "El moviment ciutada"; Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita.
41. Busquets, Barcelona.
42. Huertas, "El moviment ciutada"; Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita.
43. Huertas, "El moviment ciutada"; Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita.
44. Quoted in Huertas, "El moviment ciutada, "68.
45. Albert Serratosa, "LaRevisió del Pla Comarcal de 1953, "in Amador Ferrer, ed., Els 20 Anys del Pla General Metropolitá de Barcelona (Barcelona: Institut d'Estudius Metropolitans de Barcelona, 1996), 14.
46. Joan Antoni Solans, "Barcelona 1977-1978, "ARQUITECTURAS BIS, no. 3 (1979): 51-2.
47. Peter Buchanan, "Regenerating Barcelona: Projects versus Planning - Nine Parks and Plazas, "The Architectural Review (June, 1984). Moix, La Ciudad de Los Arquitectos.
48. Peter Buchanan, "Regenerating Barcelona: Projects versus Planning - Nine Parks and Plazas, "The Architectural Review (June, 1984). Moix, La Ciudad de Los Arquitectos.
49. Ibid.
50. Castells, The City and the Grassroots; Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements."
51. Castells, The City and the Grassroots; Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements."
52. Quoted in Huertas, "El moviment ciutada"; and Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita.
53. Quoted in Huertas, "El moviment ciutada"; and Andreu, Barcelona en Lluita.
54. P. Dunleavy, Urban Political Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1980). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." Lowe, Urban Social Movements. R. Fincher, "Defining and Explaining Urban Social Movements, "Urban Geography 10 (1987): 604-13. Kirian McKeown, Marxist Political Economy and Marxist Urban Sociology (London: Macmillan, 1987). Mark Purcell, "Ruling Los Angeles: Neighborhood Movements, Urban Regimes, and the Production of Space in Southern California, "Urban Geography 18, no. 8 (1997): 684-704.
55. P. Dunleavy, Urban Political Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1980). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." Lowe, Urban Social Movements. R. Fincher, "Defining and Explaining Urban Social Movements, "Urban Geography 10 (1987): 604-13. Kirian McKeown, Marxist Political Economy and Marxist Urban Sociology (London: Macmillan, 1987). Mark Purcell, "Ruling Los Angeles: Neighborhood Movements, Urban Regimes, and the Production of Space in Southern California, "Urban Geography 18, no. 8 (1997): 684-704.
56. P. Dunleavy, Urban Political Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1980). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." Lowe, Urban Social Movements. R. Fincher, "Defining and Explaining Urban Social Movements, "Urban Geography 10 (1987): 604-13. Kirian McKeown, Marxist Political Economy and Marxist Urban Sociology (London: Macmillan, 1987). Mark Purcell, "Ruling Los Angeles: Neighborhood Movements, Urban Regimes, and the Production of Space in Southern California, "Urban Geography 18, no. 8 (1997): 684-704.
57. P. Dunleavy, Urban Political Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1980). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." Lowe, Urban Social Movements. R. Fincher, "Defining and Explaining Urban Social Movements, "Urban Geography 10 (1987): 604-13. Kirian McKeown, Marxist Political Economy and Marxist Urban Sociology (London: Macmillan, 1987). Mark Purcell, "Ruling Los Angeles: Neighborhood Movements, Urban Regimes, and the Production of Space in Southern California, "Urban Geography 18, no. 8 (1997): 684-704.
58. P. Dunleavy, Urban Political Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1980). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." Lowe, Urban Social Movements. R. Fincher, "Defining and Explaining Urban Social Movements, "Urban Geography 10 (1987): 604-13. Kirian McKeown, Marxist Political Economy and Marxist Urban Sociology (London: Macmillan, 1987). Mark Purcell, "Ruling Los Angeles: Neighborhood Movements, Urban Regimes, and the Production of Space in Southern California, "Urban Geography 18, no. 8 (1997): 684-704.
59. P. Dunleavy, Urban Political Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1980). Pickvance, "The Rise and Fall of Urban Movements." Lowe, Urban Social Movements. R. Fincher, "Defining and Explaining Urban Social Movements, "Urban Geography 10 (1987): 604-13. Kirian McKeown, Marxist Political Economy and Marxist Urban Sociology (London: Macmillan, 1987). Mark Purcell, "Ruling Los Angeles: Neighborhood Movements, Urban Regimes, and the Production of Space in Southern California, "Urban Geography 18, no. 8 (1997): 684-704.
60. P. Ceccarelli, "Politics, Parties and Urban Movements: Western Europe, "in N. Fainstein and S. Fainstein, eds., Urban Policy under Capitalism (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage), 264.
61. Federació d'Asociaciones de Vecinos Barcelona (FAVB), La Barcelona de Maragal (Edicions Sibilla).
62. Eduard Moreno and Manuel Vásquez Montalban, Barcelona, cap a on vas? Index Barcelona, 1991.
63. Saskia Sassen, The Global City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991). John Eade, ed., Living the Global City: Globalization as Local Process (London: Routledge, 1996).
64. Saskia Sassen, The Global City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991). John Eade, ed., Living the Global City: Globalization as Local Process (London: Routledge, 1996).
65. Steven French and Mike Disher, "Atlanta and the Olympics: A One-Year Retrospective, "Journal of the American Planning Association 3, no. 3 (1997): 379-92.
66. Xavier Casas, "La Transformacio del litoral del pla de Barcelona com a motor de la renovacio de la ciutat, "Ajuntamen de Barcelona, April 19, 1997, 5.
67. Ibid. New housing projects publicly promoted by PROCIVESA (Promocio Ciutat Vella, S.A.) have broken up the social-age-income uniformity existing in the historic center, by making it possible for middle-class, upper-class, and younger families to live in an area that was dominated by a lower-class, older population. New housing projects near the sea have also pursued income integration, and in the urban periphery, programs are in place to avoid ghetto formation.
68. Oriol Ne.lo, et al., La transformacio' de la ciutat metropolitana (Barcelona: Area Metropolitan de Barcelona, Diputacio' de Barcelona, 1998), 120. We do not want to give the impression of Barcelona as the "City on a Hill." Obviously, problems in Barcelona persist. High housing costs are pushing the younger generations to seek housing in the more affordable towns outside of Barcelona. The FAVB is critical of how long the process of rehabilitation of some of the peripheral neighborhoods is taking, and others still lament the destruction of historic buildings in the historic center and of industrial buildings throughout the city. See Calavita, "Viewpoint." The point is that, all in all, Barcelona has done an excellent job in balancing economic growth and quality of life.
69. Oriol Ne.lo, et al., La transformacio' de la ciutat metropolitana (Barcelona: Area Metropolitan de Barcelona, Diputacio' de Barcelona, 1998), 120. We do not want to give the impression of Barcelona as the "City on a Hill." Obviously, problems in Barcelona persist. High housing costs are pushing the younger generations to seek housing in the more affordable towns outside of Barcelona. The FAVB is critical of how long the process of rehabilitation of some of the peripheral neighborhoods is taking, and others still lament the destruction of historic buildings in the historic center and of industrial buildings throughout the city. See Calavita, "Viewpoint." The point is that, all in all, Barcelona has done an excellent job in balancing economic growth and quality of life.
70. Barcelona City Council, "RIBA Awards Gold Medal to Barcelona, "Barcelona Bulletin, no. 162, July 1999.