88 results
Search Results
2. Strategies for adapting the dense Italian cities to the climate change.
- Author
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Ingaramo, Roberta and Negrello, Maicol
- Subjects
CITIES & towns ,CLIMATE change ,VALUATION ,URBAN climatology ,PUBLIC spaces ,ARCHITECTURAL designs ,QUALITY of life - Abstract
The urban fabric of European cities is subject to significant pressures from human activity and climate change. The devastating effects of climate change on urban environments threaten the quality of life of citizens and ecosystems. In particular, historic and dense-tissue cities face challenges in adapting their established urban fabric devoid of green areas. The lack of green spaces for social gatherings becomes a critical issue in addressing the climate and environmental crisis. Dense cities such as Barcelona and Copenhagen are promptly responding to the climate emergency through adaptation plans. This essay identifies the 19th-century neighbourhood of San Salvario in Turin, as a case study to develop a morphological analysis aimed at proposing nature-based strategies to improve the adaptation potential and resilience. The design elements identified in the two best practices cities inspire hypothesizing replicable architectural solutions in dense urban contexts such as the study area under consideration. Finally, the paper addresses the limitations arising from the lack of holistic strategic planning, which in the case of Turin is based on fragmented interventions disconnected from the existing ecological network rather than on a long-term plan. The paper also reflects on the need to include additional assessments of ecosystem services, taking into account their economic valuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. THE CONCEPT OF SMART CITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE EXAMPLE OF KRAKÓW AND BARCELONA - CITIES COMBINING TRADITION WITH MODERNITY.
- Author
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Jankowicz, Bogdan
- Subjects
CITIES & towns ,URBAN growth ,SMART cities ,COVID-19 pandemic ,CITY dwellers ,PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
The concept of a smart city is still being developed despite the lack of a single universally accepted definition. It is implemented through different approaches in different cities around the world. The presented study concerns the improvement of this idea and the possibility of applying the solutions from Barcelona to the city of Kraków. This paper is based on the author's experience and observations during a trip to Catalonia and its capital - Barcelona - as well as a study of literature on the smart city. The author takes into account the specific topographical and environmental conditions of each city and the human-environment interactions that have shaped both cities over the centuries. The paper continues to focus on the challenges to smart cities following the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has demonstrated the need to modify ICT (Information and Telecommunications Technologies) applications related to the functioning of the city. Preliminary conclusions drawn from the pandemic also indicate that further development of smart cities should be based not only on ICT applications in public services and public spaces, but also on guaranteeing individual spaces for citizens to live in long-term isolation. In addition, attention was drawn to the need to improve both direct and electronic communication, especially by telephone with the authorities of Kraków, to enable "co-governance" in areas where the voice of the city's residents can be very valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. Dwelling on the move: Negotiating home and place with resident communities.
- Author
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Russo, Antonio Paolo
- Subjects
CITIES & towns ,PUBLIC spaces ,DOMESTIC space ,LIGHTWEIGHT construction ,SOCIAL evolution ,COLLECTIVE memory - Abstract
This paper explores how places are culturally constructed through the practices, bodily performances and memories of dwelling in the context of places that stand out as destinations of temporary mobilities. To do this, I narrate my own personal experiences of finding my way and respectively make or contest personal roots, in two autoethnographic accounts of my city of origin, Venice, where I return occasionally, and in Barcelona, where I settled in the 2000 decade. In these memoirs, I excavate on the nexa between domestic home spaces and public life in the urban space, focusing especially on my experiences of homing, on the assemblage of domestic spaces as unfolding in a negotiation between my old and new self, my family (past and present), and other place users, including friends and passers-by in the spaces in questions. My own navigation and mooring in those cities is analysed as a collective, relational process that calls in affinity and distancing, serendipitous engagements and purposeful disengagements. In this way I hope to shed more light on the cultural construction of two cities that stand out as 'touristed' places, and contribute to debates on translocal urbanism and the need for an embodied, grounded understanding of the social and cultural evolution of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Unearthing the political: differences, conflicts and power in participatory urban design.
- Author
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Calderon, Camilo
- Subjects
URBAN planning ,PARTICIPATORY design ,PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
This paper aims to advance the development of participation in urban design from a substantive standpoint. It departs from a prevailing focus on ideals of participation and describing participatory methods and processes. Instead, the paper stresses the need to acknowledge 'the political' nature of public spaces and how this challenges participatory urban design processes. This leads to a substantive exploration of differences, conflicts and power in the planning and design of public spaces, i.e., unearthing the political. The case of a participatory process in a neighbourhgood of Barcelona illustrates the theoretical discussion. This helps bring forward a much-needed critical and reflective, rather than idealistic, theorization and practice of participation in urban design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. Qualità vs quantità. È possibile quantificare la qualità dello spazio pubblico?
- Author
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Dessì, Valentina and Astolfi, Lisa
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,SUSTAINABILITY ,URBAN planning ,URBAN ecology ,ENVIRONMENTAL quality - Abstract
Copyright of TECHNE: Journal of Technology for Architecture & Environment is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. DIVERSIDAD RELIGIOSA, POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS Y GENTRIFICACIÓN EN PARÍS Y BARCELONA.
- Author
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Albert Blanco, Víctor
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,CITIES & towns ,RELIGIOUS literature ,GENTRIFICATION ,RELIGIOUS diversity ,NEIGHBORHOODS - Abstract
Copyright of Papeles del CEIC is the property of Centro de Estudios sobra la Identidad Colectiva, Facultas de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
8. The social construction of touristification. Residents' perspectives on mobilities and moorings.
- Author
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Milano, Claudio, González-Reverté, Francesc, and Benet Mòdico, Ariadna
- Subjects
HOME prices ,CITIES & towns ,HOUSING market ,DIGITAL nomads ,MARKET prices ,PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
One of the last decade's major challenges faced by tourist cities has been dominated by the increasing tourism flows that have harmed the quality of life of residents, the neighbourhood's sense of belonging, and the stakeholders' concerns regarding reliance on tourism. However, tourism mobilities are not the only drivers of structural change in cities. The advent of temporary residents, digital nomads, international students, short-stay expats, and creative workers have shaped the way cities have evolved together with tourism mobilities. This paper will present research conducted in the Vila de Gràcia neighbourhood in Barcelona, which has undergone a thoughtful transformation in terms of tourism-oriented businesses specialisation, housing market prices, sociodemographic changes, the use of public space and nightlife leisure. Gradually, the Vila de Gràcia neighbourhood has become an emblematic area of leisure and tourism consumption experience in Barcelona. Based on ethnographic fieldwork begun in 2017 and in-depth semi-structured interviews with lifelong and new residents, the research analyses residents' attitude toward touristification processes related to social discontent, nightlife noise, the rise in housing market prices and overcrowding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Whose is that square? Cruise tourists' mobilities and negotiation for public space in Barcelona.
- Author
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Brandajs, Fiammetta and Russo, Antonio Paolo
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,TOURISTS ,PUBLIC transit ,CRUISE industry - Abstract
This paper investigates how different human mobilities negotiate public space and with which results. The case in point is that of cruise tourism in Barcelona, a city where the relentless growth of visitors and the expansion of accessibility gateways like the cruise port may well be behind the rise of "anti-tourism"™ voices in social and political circles. Our work focuses on the transits of cruise passenger groups in two exemplary public spaces of the city, analysing how they come to fence off, engage with- or feed the mobility of other collectives. This research provides fresh insights on the processes that may generate disaffection among different "place users"™, eliciting a revision of the expectations on the quality of public space. On a more technical level, this paper introduces a complex but cost-effective methodology, involving a mix of geo-analytic and qualitative methods, which manages to track the "mobility clash"™ in public space and make sense of the response tactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
10. Public space and the green city: Conflictual narratives of the superblock programme in Poblenou, Barcelona.
- Author
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Frago, Lluis and Graziano, Teresa
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,PUBLIC opinion ,SPACE perception - Abstract
This paper aims to critically scrutinise the competing perceptions of sustainability-oriented actions in urban public spaces by exploring the case of the Barcelona semi-central district of Poblenou, where a programme of green-driven regeneration has recently been developed as a pilot test for the whole city. We focus on some elements of the Superillas (Superblocks) programme, such as pedestrianisation and the green-driven regeneration of public spaces, in order to explore to what extent pro-green urban agendas and sustainability-oriented planning approaches are embedded in the 'green ethical commitment' of the 'green' city, whose narratives tend to overemphasise the benefits of urban green, disregarding compelling perceptions of public spaces. In so doing, the paper aims to provide new insights into the debate about public spaces, urban green and public perceptions, which can often mirror asymmetric power relations and competing visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. Adolescents' daily places to discover nightlife in Barcelona, Spain.
- Author
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Mecca, Margot
- Subjects
NIGHTLIFE ,TRANSITION to adulthood ,PUBLIC spaces ,TEENAGERS ,SPACE exploration ,NIGHTCLUBS - Abstract
The paper explores the connections between nightlife leisure, everyday places and young people in the transition towards adulthood. When thinking about the discovery of nightlife, the places where leisure takes place are central: they are often places of confidence and belonging – features that offer both young people and families the conditions for the first autonomous explorations of urban space at night. These places also give young people the possibility for new practices and interactions with peers, that are in key in identity processes. The analysis is based on qualitative data collected in Barcelona, Spain, with young people (14–16 years old). The paper will focus on three dimensions: the neighbourhood, the 'legitimate spaces' of consumption and the ephemeral places of festivals. I argue that these places' specific features play an important role in how adolescents progressively build autonomous practices of space and new social networks during the night. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
12. Socially embedding the food system: the role of alternative food initiatives to build sustainable food models.
- Author
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Sato, Futoshi, Calvet-Mir, Laura, and Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio
- Subjects
- *
MUNICIPAL government , *INDUSTRIALISM , *METROPOLITAN areas , *GREEN marketing , *PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
The current industrial food system is failing in all aspects of sustainability. Alternative Food Initiatives (AFIs) and the industrial green food market (iGFM) both claim that they are building sustainable food models. This study looks into common strengths and challenges of AFIs in relation to iGFM. The research conducted a comparative case study of AFIs in the city of Sant Cugat del Vallès in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Spain) through a combination of qualitative methods. The results show that strengths reside in their socially embedding characteristics with decommodification and commoning aspects, whereas the biggest challenge for AFIs is to manage being competitive while keeping their principles. The paper concludes that AFIs contribute more to building sustainable food models than the iGFM, as the latter only partially green the system for profit. For AFI models to prevail, public sector support to shift the power imbalance of the market is significant. Key Policy Highlights: Alternative food initiatives (AFIs) are socially embedding sustainable food models. AFIs need help to compete within the current industrial green food market. The city government can play a counterbalancing role in favour of AFIs. Examples of city government measures include the cession of public space or providing farmland to AFIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
13. Overtourism: análisis de las protestas ciudadanas de Barcelona en verano de 2017.
- Author
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Romero-Lecrivain, Andrea and Pablo Micaletto-Bleda, Juan
- Subjects
URBAN tourism ,MASS tourism ,COMMUNICATIVE action ,SOCIAL facts ,PUBLIC demonstrations ,PUBLIC spaces ,PUBLIC sphere - Abstract
Copyright of Question (1669-6581) is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
14. Anti-social behaviour in the square. Differentiation mechanisms among non-native groups in a peripheral neighbourhood of Barcelona.
- Author
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Mata-Codesal, Diana
- Subjects
IMMIGRANTS ,DELINQUENT behavior ,ETHNOLOGY ,PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
This paper analyses differentiation processes between non-native groups in a stigmatized peripheral neighbourhood of Barcelona. Its more established dwellers – internal migrants from the South of Spain – have set in place differentiation processes between them and the more recently arrived international migrants. To substantivize differentiation processes, in a context where race has been largely silent, they appropriate the "civic terminology" that has become popular in the city in the last decade. In the global context of hyper-regulation and increasing privatization of urban public spaces, this group's discursive strategies, based on the civic/non-civic divide, aim to ensure control over accessible open public space, a resource that is locally scarce. Using the ethnographic example of the tensions around "proper behaviour" in the area's main square, the article explores processes of identification and differentiation in a context where autochthony cannot be unproblematically called upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
15. How Agent-based modeling can help to foster sustainability projects.
- Author
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Sánchez-Maroño, Noelia, Rodríguez-Arias, Alejandro, Dumitru, Adina, Lema-Blanco, Isabel, Guijarro-Berdiñas, Bertha, and Alonso-Betanzos, Amparo
- Subjects
SUSTAINABILITY ,PUBLIC spaces ,SOCIAL change ,SUSTAINABLE development ,POLITICIANS ,SOCIAL innovation - Abstract
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations require relevant social changes that sometimes involve the development of innovative projects that cause rejection and confrontation. Agent-Based Models (ABM) are powerful tools to represent the behavior of systems, and they have become valuable for the social sciences as they can simulate the behavior of a society under different conditions. Superblocks are innovative city projects that reorganize urban space and minimize private motorized transport. In this paper, we present an ABM that simulates the implantation of superblocks in two Spanish cities: Vitoria-Gasteiz and Barcelona. The interest of this model is to provide policymakers with relevant scientific information that can be used to support their planning and decision-making processes by running possible alternative policy scenarios. This paper presents the details of the designed model and the simulation of different policy scenarios to increase the acceptability rates of citizens about the project, demonstrating how the model takes into account local differences and its usefulness for those political leaders from other cities interested in implementing this type of project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
16. Inmigración y vivienda durante el confinamiento domiciliario: el caso de las habitaciones subarrendadas.
- Author
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Orozco-Martínez, Carolina, Bayona-i-Carrasco, Jordi, and Gil-Alonso, Fernando
- Subjects
HOME detention ,LOW-income housing ,PUBLIC spaces ,METROPOLITAN areas ,LIVING rooms - Abstract
Copyright of Migraciones is the property of Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Instituto Universitario de Estudios sobre Migraciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
17. La prossimità nei progetti urbani: una analisi comparativa fra Parigi, Barcellona e Milano.
- Author
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Alberti, Francesco and Radicchi, Antonella
- Subjects
URBANIZATION ,PLAZAS ,PUBLIC spaces ,CRITICAL analysis ,COMPARATIVE studies - Abstract
Copyright of TECHNE: Journal of Technology for Architecture & Environment is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
18. MOBILITIES AROUND US: SOCIAL SPATIALITIES AND NEW TOURIST SURROUNDINGS IN BARCELONA.
- Author
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Brandajs, Fiammetta
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,FUNCTIONAL analysis ,WATERFRONTS ,OLYMPIC Games ,SOCIAL change ,SOCIAL processes ,URBAN renewal ,TOURISTS - Abstract
Copyright of Cuadernos de Turismo is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
19. Spanish Constitutionalism in Catalonia: An anthropology of civic nationalism.
- Author
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Pinho dos Santos, Raquel
- Subjects
PUBLIC opinion ,NATIONALISM ,CONSTITUTIONALISM ,POLITICAL science ,PUBLIC spaces ,ETHNOGRAPHIC analysis ,WHITE nationalism ,SPACE perception - Abstract
This paper explores the nationalist conflict in Catalonia and how it is lived and experienced by actors within it. It focuses on the people mobilised against independence who see themselves primarily as defenders of the Spanish Constitution and not of Spanish nationalism. Critics of civic nationalism in political theory and Nationalism Studies argue that anti‐nationalist rhetoric tends to be the expression of structural or hegemonic nationalism. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Barcelona, I look at how the conflict has influenced discourse and language used in everyday life, how participants negotiate their identity, why people do (and do not) get involved in organisations that defend their political ideas, how they see themselves within the conflict and their perceptions of public space and its significance in relation to the constitution. An ethnographic approach explores these issues and discovers that although anti‐independence actors base their mobilisation in nationalism, civic nationalism cannot be reduced to just another form of nationalism. I aim to go beyond critics of civic nationalism to explore how my interlocutors act within and against nationalism, reproducing nationalist discourse in some aspect (boundaries of the nation) in order to challenge it in others (content and relevance of nationalism in everyday life). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
20. RETHINKING THE "BARCELONA MODEL": MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE CITY.
- Author
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Viera Fernandes, Ana Maria and Duarte Paes, Maria Tereza
- Subjects
CITY dwellers ,QUALITY of life ,PUBLIC spaces ,COST of living ,TOURIST attractions ,URBAN planning - Abstract
Copyright of Geo UERJ is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
21. Urban opportunities and conflicts around street musicians: the relationship between the configuration of public space and outdoor acoustics in Ciutat Vella, Barcelona.
- Author
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Clua, Álvaro, Llorca-Bofí, Josep, and Psarra, Sophia
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,STREETS ,ACOUSTICS ,AEROACOUSTICS ,MUSICAL performance ,SOUND recordings ,MUSICIANS - Abstract
The practice of busking and street music performance is becoming key to the identity of cities. However, although the spatial configuration and acoustics of historic city centres are interrelated, few rigorous studies have been undertaken on this area. The paper presents the results of a quantitative and comparative analysis of the space syntax configuration and on-site sound recordings in four main open environments within the inner core of Barcelona. The aim of this work is to highlight the conflict points between outdoor acoustics and movement flows in order to inform future designs and management of those public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
22. Semiotic landscapes and discourses of protest in Barcelona: Tourism Kills.
- Author
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CANTERO-EXOJO, MONICA
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,TOURISM ,LANDSCAPES ,FRANCOISM ,DISCOURSE ,SOCIAL conflict ,SELF-interest - Abstract
This paper considers how the homogeneity of the capitalist narrative of "tourism is good for the economy," that has been sponsored and perpetuated by the official governmental institutions since the 1960's Francoism's desarrollismo period to present day, did not transfer its economic blessings to all social actors. On the contrary, it has generated social conflict, a border of self-interest between the institutional agencies and the local, which has elided possibilities of home-grown prosperity for the locals. The narrative of a homogeneous economic bonanza has created a fantasy that has irrevocably affected the city's authenticity as an urban space. It has also codified its struggle under pintadas callejeras (written graffiti): "Tourism Kills" written all over the city. This declaration of confrontation presents the citizens of Barcelona with a simple metaphor that represents global mass-tourism as the equivalent of the beginning of the end for the local way of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
23. THE COMPLEXITY OF URBAN PUBLIC SPACE AND SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF BARCELONA.
- Author
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Casakin, Hernan and Valera, Sergi
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,SOCIAL network analysis ,ARCHITECTURAL design ,ENVIRONMENTAL psychology ,EMPIRICAL research - Abstract
Public space is the component of the urban environment where spontaneous and unexpected social interactions take place. In this paper, the public space was explored as a complex system from the perspectives of environmental psychology and architectural and urban design. To this aim, systematic observation and Social Network Analysis were employed as an innovative empirical approach. The Three Chimneys Park, a characteristic location in the city of Barcelona, was used as a case study. Results showed that Social Network Analysis is an efficient and practical tool for describing, exploring, and understanding the socio-spatial dynamics of the urban public realm. The availability of structured data represented by visual patterns has important implications in support of architectural and urban design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
24. Conceptualising the commons as a relational triad: Lessons from the grant of use cooperative housing model in Barcelona.
- Author
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Leyva del Río, Santiago
- Subjects
COOPERATIVE housing ,HOME ownership ,HOUSING ,COMMUNITIES ,SUBURBS ,PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
• Housing commons are imperfect, hybrid social processes embedded in contingent politico-economic contexts. • The commons is a 'relational triad' involving a common resource, a community and a form of self-organisation/management/governance. • My approach assumes that most housing commons are surrounded by exclusionary boundaries and aims to understand how they can be softened. • Horizontal self-management is a contradictory process in the context of a social reproduction crisis. • Certain forms of public-common partnerships can make housing commons more inclusive. The current crisis of housing affordability in urban environments has drawn the attention of geographers to housing commons. This paper provides a conceptual and operational framework for an empirical study of housing commons. In thinking about the commons as a 'relational triad' involving a resource (the object), and community (the actors) and a form of organisation (the activity), I argue that housing commons are hybrid, imperfect social processes that escape binary scrutiny. Drawing on the findings of a research project that took place between 2017 and 2021, I focus on an emerging form of self-managed cooperative housing in the city of Barcelona, known as the 'grant of use model'. I dwell on the contradictory nature of self-management in the context of a social reproduction crisis. Housing commons can be conducive to solidaristic communities and non-individualist subjectivities outside the financialisation of everyday life via mortgaged homeownership. However, the time and emotional investment required to self-develop housing projects in highly regulated, neoliberal urban spaces are not available for everyone. Housing commons require a favourable political context, economic resources, social connections and technical knowledge, which prevent democratic access. I analyse the origin and causes of exclusionary boundaries surrounding these housing commons to understand how these boundaries can be softened. Departing from disembedded conceptualisations of the commons, I show what type of public-common partnerships and innovative policies can make housing commons more inclusive without renouncing principles such as self-organisation and autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
25. Greenery in urban morphology: a comparative analysis of differences in urban green space accessibility for various urban structures across European cities.
- Author
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Łaszkiewicz, Edyta, Wolff, Manuel, Andersson, Erik, Kronenberg, Jakub, Barton, David N., Haase, Dagmar, Langemeyer, Johannes, Baró, Francesc, and McPhearson, Timon
- Subjects
- *
URBAN morphology , *COMPARATIVE anatomy , *PUBLIC spaces , *COMPARATIVE studies , *URBANIZATION , *SUBURBS - Abstract
The understanding of urban social-ecological systems requires integrated and interdisciplinary methods. This paper explores differences in the accessibility of urban green spaces (UGS) based on urban morphology. In contrast to other comparative analyses that followed simplified quantification of UGS provision and/or omitted the impact of morphological properties of urban space, this study proposes three improvements. First, it uses the share of UGS in the service area of 300 m walking distance around each residential building in a city as a measure of UGS provision. Second, it includes the potential physical accessibility of UGS as warranted by key actors, such as owners or managers, who decide whether UGS are open or not to potential users. Third, it links UGS accessibility and heterogeneous urban structures. We developed a mixed-methods analysis that combines multiple data sources regarding UGS, the spatial distribution of residential buildings, and street networks. We conducted our analysis in five case-study cities (Barcelona, Halle, Lodz, Oslo, and Stockholm). Our findings suggest that the urban structures where the human-environment interaction transformed the space (such as in the core city areas) are characterized by limited UGS in the service area. Urban structures that are less transformed by human activity (especially suburbia) have the highest share of selected UGS in the service area. In addition, even if the share of UGS in the service area is high, many of them might have limited physical accessibility. In the broader sense, this highlights that social-ecological processes are linked to urban form and cannot be separated in an analysis. Therefore, social-ecological systems could be better understood through the lens of urban morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
26. Regenerar el antiguo barrio industrial del Poblenou (Barcelona). ¿Hacia una ciudad post-COVID-19?
- Author
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Camerin, Federico
- Subjects
CITIES & towns ,PUBLIC spaces ,BICYCLE lanes ,COVID-19 pandemic ,URBAN planning ,STRATEGIC planning ,ECONOMIC development - Abstract
Copyright of Bitácora Urbano/Territorial is the property of Bitacora Urbano/Territorial and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
27. Urban Design, Public Space and the Dynamics of Creative Milieux: A Photographic Approach to Bairro Alto (Lisbon), Gràcia (Barcelona) and Vila Madalena (São Paulo).
- Author
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Costa, Pedro and Lopes, Ricardo
- Subjects
URBAN planning ,PUBLIC spaces ,CULTURAL districts ,BUILDINGS - Abstract
Drawing on some results of a broader research project, this paper aims to discuss the relation between urban design and creative dynamics in cultural districts. Appropriation and production of public spaces in three ‘creative quarters’ are analyzed, through a photographic approach, covering material aspects, human appropriation and symbolic dimensions in these areas. Discussing the boundaries of public spaces and their relevance for creative activity (through the conviviality and sociability they promote), it is argued that urban design characteristics and specific place morphologies significantly influence the appropriation of these areas and the development of specific creative dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
28. Por trás da vitrine de um megaevento: remoções, despejos e reassentamento de comunidades.
- Author
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Vasconcelos de Lima, Ernandy Luis
- Subjects
URBAN research ,STRATEGIC planning ,PRODUCTION planning ,PUBLIC spaces ,SEMI-structured interviews ,CAPITAL cities - Abstract
Copyright of Revista Ateliê Geográfico is the property of Revista Atelie Geografico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
29. The Superblock model: A review of an innovative urban model for sustainability, liveability, health and well-being.
- Author
-
Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark, de Nazelle, Audrey, Pradas, Marta Cirach, Daher, Carolyn, Dzhambov, Angel M., Echave, Cynthia, Gössling, Stefan, Iungman, Tamara, Khreis, Haneen, Kirby, Nicolina, Khomenko, Sasha, Leth, Ulrich, Lorenz, Florian, Matkovic, Vlatka, Müller, Johannes, Palència, Laia, Pereira Barboza, Evelise, Pérez, Katherine, Tatah, Lambed, and Tiran, Jernej
- Subjects
- *
URBAN health , *WELL-being , *PUBLIC spaces , *CLIMATE change , *CITIES & towns , *ENVIRONMENTAL exposure , *ENVIRONMENTAL gentrification , *GENTRIFICATION - Abstract
Current urban and transport planning practices have significant negative health, environmental, social and economic impacts in most cities. New urban development models and policies are needed to reduce these negative impacts. The Superblock model is one such innovative urban model that can significantly reduce these negative impacts through reshaping public spaces into more diverse uses such as increase in green space, infrastructure supporting social contacts and physical activity, and through prioritization of active mobility and public transport, thereby reducing air pollution, noise and urban heat island effects. This paper reviews key aspects of the Superblock model, its implementation and initial evaluations in Barcelona and the potential international uptake of the model in Europe and globally, focusing on environmental, climate, lifestyle, liveability and health aspects. We used a narrative meta-review approach and PubMed and Google scholar databases were searched using specific terms. The implementation of the Super block model in Barcelona is slow, but with initial improvement in, for example, environmental, lifestyle, liveability and health indicators, although not so consistently. When applied on a large scale, the implementation of the Superblock model is not only likely to result in better environmental conditions, health and wellbeing, but can also contribute to the fight against the climate crisis. There is a need for further expansion of the program and further evaluation of its impacts and answers to related concerns, such as environmental equity and gentrification, traffic and related environmental exposure displacement. The implementation of the Superblock model gained a growing international reputation and variations of it are being planned or implemented in cities worldwide. Initial modelling exercises showed that it could be implemented in large parts of many cities. The Superblock model is an innovative urban model that addresses environmental, climate, liveability and health concerns in cities. Adapted versions of the Barcelona Superblock model are being implemented in cities around Europe and further implementation, monitoring and evaluation are encouraged. The Superblock model can be considered an important public health intervention that will reduce mortality and morbidity and generate cost savings for health and other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
30. Social inequality and residential segregation trends in Spanish global cities. A comparative analysis of Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia (2001-2021).
- Author
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Mazorra Rodríguez, Álvaro
- Subjects
- *
RESIDENTIAL segregation , *EQUALITY , *CITIES & towns , *PUBLIC spaces , *GENTRIFICATION , *INCOME inequality - Abstract
Over the last three decades, the most populated Spanish cities have experienced significant spatial, social, and economic changes. The new urban economies have played an essential role in the acceleration of such transformations, entailing a range of both positive and negative impacts at the spatial, social, economic, and environmental levels. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of how the advancement of the globalization and deindustrialization processes has encouraged social polarization in the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, as well as a significant increase in intra-urban socioeconomic residential segregation. The article concludes by arguing that the increase in levels of social inequality and residential segregation reflects the trend towards polarized urban models, which reproduce in urban space the differences observed in the social structure. • Large Spanish cities have experienced significant changes due to globalization and deindustrialization processes. • The advancement of structural processes has led the emergence of a polarized occupational that tends towards greater wage inequality. • Social inequality has become a structural phenomenon in Spanish global cities • Residential segregation has increased due to the gentrification and touristification of urban centres and the suburbanization of poverty. • This dynamic indicates the emergence of polarized urban spaces, which reproduce in the territory the differences observed in the social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. Perceived insecurity in the public space: personal, social and environmental variables.
- Author
-
Carro, D., Valera, S., and Vidal, T.
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,RISK perception ,FEAR of crime ,MATHEMATICAL variables - Abstract
Perceived insecurity in the public space: Personal, social and environmental variables. This paper explores perception of insecurity among the users of Barcelona’s public space. It describes the results of a research aimed to determine the key variables for the understanding of subjective insecurity. Structural equation models have been applied for this purpose. Results show low relative indices of causality for environmental variables, whereas those related to space representation, residential satisfaction and urban identity, social support and personal competences offer high predictive potential. It is concluded that insecurity perceptions in the public space are therefore strongly linked to social interaction processes and to the social construction of insecurity. Other results, like the influence of gender or age, are consistent with previous findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
32. Mobilities and the flexible boundaries of the neighbourhood. A test with crime data in Barcelona.
- Author
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Valente, Riccardo, Medina-Ariza, Juan José, Pérez-Pintor, Juan Carlos, and Gutiérrez-Gallego, José Antonio
- Subjects
- *
NEIGHBORHOODS , *PUBLIC spaces , *WALKABILITY , *CITIES & towns , *CRIME , *WALKING speed , *RESIDENTIAL mobility - Abstract
This paper incorporates an explicit mobility dimension into the definition of the neighbourhood and explores its possible implications for the study of spatially distributed phenomena. We analysed the distribution of robbery and theft in Barcelona, Spain, as a testing application. Crime data were aggregated to nonoverlapping units (census tracts) and to a new measure of overlapping neighbourhoods, that we named 'walkhoods', accounting for the distance that can be covered in 5 min at a walking speed of 1 m/s, considering all possible physical barriers. The outcomes of regression models shed new light on the relationship between mobility and crime. When the walkhood scale is established, human mobility patterns have a stronger effect on the outcome variables than when census tracts are used. Results point to walkability constraints and social distances imposed by the massive presence of sporadic users in public spaces as strong predictors of crime occurrence, arguably due to their negative effects on neighbourhood social ties formation. Our findings suggest that more flexible definitions of the neighbourhood could address the social and spatial heterogeneity of urban spaces more properly than traditional approaches. • We propose a new measure of the neighbourhood as a function of walkability. • We called it walkhood and used to study the distribution of crime in Barcelona. • Crime is highly dependent on the concentration of sporadic visitors in public space. • The walkhood is equipped to address the spatial and social heterogeneity of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
33. INTERDISCIPLINARITY IN PUBLIC SPACE PARTICIPATIVE PROJECTS: METHODS AND RESULTS IN PRACTICE AND TEACHING.
- Author
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Brandão, Pedro, Remesar, Antoni, Júlia Pinto, Ana, and Luísa Brandão, Ana
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,URBAN planning - Abstract
Because Urban Design is a territory of integrative synthesis, the "overall view" that it requires comes through the collaboration of various sources of knowledge, some through professional and others through non-professional knowledge of users. The representation of actors involved in design (be them other professionals, urban deciders or users) is a part of research and teaching culture for several reasons namely because social and cultural interaction in the context of Urban Design management requires several capacities. CRPOLIS, an research interdisciplinary center on urban studies in Barcelona University is linked to Urban Design teaching at master's degree level and supports an interdisciplinary research program also at PhD level in collaboration with other centers, in Spain and Portugal (such as CESUR-IST) where some cases of real "hands on" processes are developed. The role of interdisciplinarity in collaborative knowledge is relevant in gathering and interacting in three major directions: 1. In the construction of collaborative interdisciplinary research methodologies 2. In the design process of cities in transformation 3. In the development of design practice and studio teaching methods We shall see in this paper how interdisciplinary approaches correspond to new and complex urban transformations, focusing on the importance of actors' interaction processes, combining professional and non-professional knowledge and theory-practice relations. Therefore, we aim at a deepening in public space area of knowledge under the growing complexity of urban life. We see it as a base for further development of collaborative projects and their implications on community empowerment and urban governance at local level. Motivations of this line of work are persistent in several ongoing research projects, aiming to: - Understand public space as a cohesion factor both in urban life and urban form - Manage processes and strategies as elements of urban transformation, - Stimulate the understanding of actors' roles in urban design practices. The paper presents and analyses processes, methods and results from civic participation projects developed in the neighbourhood of Barò de Viver (Barcelona) and in the District of Marvila (Lisbon). In the first case, a long process initiated in 2004 and partially completed in 2011, neighbours developed the projects "Memory Wall" and Ciutat d'Asuncion Promenade as part of identity construction in public space, in collaboration with a team of facilitators from CrPolis group. In the second case, different participatory processes dated from 2001 and 2003 have resulted in the implementation of a specific identity urban brand and communication system with an ongoing project of "maps" construction according to the neighbours perception and representation systems. We may conclude that processes of urban governance require more active participation of citizens in projects regarding the improvement of quality of life. At the same time, the implementation of these processes requires a clear interdisciplinary approach, both with respect to the negotiation processes and the development of public space as an "urban structuring product" that we can axiomatically define by its multidimensional structure and its interaction with urban social life. In all these projects neighbors have a prominent role, which in theory and method offers a serious reflection on how to develop participatory processes on public space with actors interaction at the same level, with local governments, experts and politicians, involving nonprofessional knowledge in collaborative environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
34. Social Processes in the Production of Public Spaces: Structuring Forces and Actors in the Renewal of a Deprived Neighbourhood in Barcelona.
- Author
-
Calderon, Camilo and Chelleri, Lorenzo
- Subjects
URBAN planning ,PUBLIC spaces ,SOCIAL processes ,URBAN renewal - Abstract
Within urban design there is increasing interest in the close relationship between social, economic and political processes and the production of public spaces. This relationship, however, often remains abstract and is rarely illustrated in empirical studies. This paper introduces an institutionalist understanding to the production of public spaces, whereby emphasis is placed on the analysis of structuring forces and actors as a way to apprehend the complexity of the social processes guiding and influencing the planning, design and management of public spaces. The institutionalist understanding is illustrated in the case study of an urban renewal project in Barcelona. The results of the case study show the contrasts and tensions between the structuring forces and the different actors operating in the project, how structuring forces favoured the interest and claims of some actors over those of others, and the potential risks and challenges that this has for the use and value of the public spaces produced by the project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
35. Barcelona's planning strategies: from 'Paris of the South' to the 'Capital of West Mediterranean'.
- Author
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Francisco Javier Monclús
- Subjects
CAPITAL cities ,URBAN planning ,PUBLIC spaces - Abstract
Planning strategies in Barcelona are linked to its capital city aspirations. Like other European cities, capitals and non-capitals, Barcelona throughout the course of the 20th century has drawn upon a number of different planning strategies, directed towards reinforcing its prestige at both a national and international level. During this period Barcelona has sought to become Spain's second capital, `the' cultural capital, `the' industrial capital, capital of Catalonia, capital of the West Mediterranean, etc. Always in competition with Madrid, the aspirations of capital status ranking have been ambiguous. The dream of the great monumental Barcelona of the start of the century tried to emulate the European capital cities (especially Paris). By contrast more recent strategies emphasise the new role that Barcelona can play within a south-west European macro-region. The subject raised in this paper then is two-fold. On the one hand the continuity or not in the capital aspiration starting from the recuperation of Catalonia's autonomy, with its corresponding urbanistic and architectonic connotations. On the other hand the originality and analogies between strategies carried out in Barcelona, in relation to other European cities, capitals and non-capitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2000
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
36. Stakeholder perceptions of the socio-ecological role of nature-based solutions in the Les Glòries Park, Barcelona.
- Author
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Nóblega-Carriquiry, Andrea, March, Hug, and Sauri, David
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,CITIES & towns ,CLIMATE change ,URBAN growth ,URBAN policy ,COMMUNITIES ,FLOODS - Abstract
The ongoing effects of the climate emergency and the recognition of the need to redesign cities to cope with future socio-environmental changes and increase the quality of life of urban inhabitants has pushed many cities to embrace the 're-naturalization' of public space through Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Les Glòries park (Barcelona) is an ongoing massive urban transformation project that incorporates NbS as a multifunctional tool. It attempts to respond to complex environmental, social, and economic urban problems while at the same time mitigating and adapting to hazards, such as floods and droughts, both predicted to increase in the Mediterranean region due to climate change. While NbS are also expected to improve environmental quality, not much attention has been given to how those strategies would intersect with citizens' expectations and visions of public space and the uneven socio-environmental relations they can enforce. Through a case of urban development of a new large green area in Barcelona, this article aims to discern different perceptions by the local community and planners on the socio-ecological role of NbS and the implications this has for sustainable urban transitions. In-depth interviews were held with 25 key stakeholders and users, complemented by the analysis of secondary data from the town council of Barcelona about the perception of the space by residents living in the surrounding neighborhoods of the park. The results of this paper show that perceptions around NbS are strongly divided into three groups: the believers , the opposers and the skepticals. These results contribute to nuance NbS, as they do not provide universal benefits, neither for nature nor for society, and that they are subject to urban tensions derived from inequities, conflicts, tradeoffs, and particularly from divided visions of what the 're-naturalization' of cities should look like. • Urban transformations are increasingly guided by the re-naturalization of cities through NbS. • By developing NbS in cities, human-nature relationships are modified but not in clear ways. • Transition literature downplays the social, political and economic aspects of NbS. • Stakeholders' perceptions shed light on the unequal socio-ecological relationships in NbS. • Divergent perceptions on the socio-ecological role of NbS conditions their future and questions its universal benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. Evidence of environmental urban design parameters that increase and reduce sense of place in Barcelona (Spain).
- Author
-
Escolà-Gascón, Álex, Dagnall, Neil, Denovan, Andrew, Maria Alsina-Pagès, Rosa, and Freixes, Marc
- Subjects
URBAN planning ,TRAFFIC noise ,PUBLIC spaces ,STRUCTURAL equation modeling ,PLACE attachment (Psychology) ,URBAN trees ,STREET addresses ,BUREAUCRACY - Abstract
• The number of pedestrian streets, police stops, and decibel level are negatively correlated with sense of place. • The number of street trees was the urban parameter that worst predicted sense of place. • Prior expectations and perceived quality of life do have significant mediating effects on sense of place. • We propose positive and negative feedback theoretical models that optimize the prediction of sense of place. Urban planning design considers sense of place attributed to the environment because it is important to quality of life and influences citizen support for planning proposals. In this paper, the physical and geographic characteristics that increase and decrease levels of sense of place were analyzed. Mediation effects of prior expectations and belief in urban legends attributed to specific environments were controlled for. A total of 1727 residents from 10 different districts of the city of Barcelona participated. Empirical urban parameters were measured for each district (e.g., hectares of parks and rate of streets with noise above 60 dB) and the weight with which they predicted levels of sense of place was objectively quantified. Perceived quality of life and residents' positive expectations of green spaces were measured also. Structural equation modeling (SEM) assessed theory relating green environments to sense of place and tested which urban elements had a detrimental effect. When including the mediating effects of prior expectations and perceived quality of life, urban parameters related to green spaces predicted increases in sense of place between 11% and 40%. Decibels, pedestrian streets, and the number of police arrests predicted systematic reductions in sense of place between 18% and 20%. Accordingly, the authors proposed two urban models of positive and negative feedback on sense of place. Application of these will improve urban planning by enhancing decision making efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. Relevance of Catholic Parish Churches in Public Space in Barcelona: Historical Analysis and Future Perspectives.
- Author
-
Arboix-Alió, Alba, Pons-Poblet, Josep Maria, Arboix, Adrià, and Arboix-Alió, Jordi
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,URBAN growth ,HISTORICAL analysis ,CITIES & towns ,TEMPLES ,URBAN studies - Abstract
Knowledge of the link between church and public space remains limited. However, there seems to exist a relationship between the church and the city, dating back to the first foundational temples. This relationship is still present in the churches of the most recently created neighborhoods, including those that are now gone and gave way to new squares, as well as those that were repurposed to house new activities. In this study, the relationship between public space and 132 parish churches within the municipal limits of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) was analyzed, with the aim to highlighting the most representative examples to understand the role of religious buildings in the urban landscape of the contemporary city. Morphological analyses and comparative views were the methodological research tools used for drawing new maps highlighting how they configure urban axes and homogeneous patterns. Finally, we included a relevant case study of urban regeneration, Mare de Déu dels Àngels church, as an example to demonstrate that a church without a square can have one. In conclusion, churches influenced both the public space adjacent to the parish temples and the urban growth and expansion of the city of Barcelona. Moreover, urban regeneration and new uses of some underutilized churches are a non-negligible future perspective. Churches are relevant for understanding the past of the city of Barcelona, but they are also important for the present and future of the city's public space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
39. Low-Cost Distributed Acoustic Sensor Network for Real-Time Urban Sound Monitoring.
- Author
-
Vidaña-Vila, Ester, Navarro, Joan, Borda-Fortuny, Cristina, Stowell, Dan, and Alsina-Pagès, Rosa Ma
- Subjects
SENSOR networks ,ACOUSTIC radiators ,PLANAR antennas ,PUBLIC spaces ,ANTENNA radiation patterns ,ACOUSTIC transducers - Abstract
Continuous exposure to urban noise has been found to be one of the major threats to citizens' health. In this regard, several organizations are devoting huge efforts to designing new in-field systems to identify the acoustic sources of these threats to protect those citizens at risk. Typically, these prototype systems are composed of expensive components that limit their large-scale deployment and thus reduce the scope of their measurements. This paper aims to present a highly scalable low-cost distributed infrastructure that features a ubiquitous acoustic sensor network to monitor urban sounds. It takes advantage of (1) low-cost microphones deployed in a redundant topology to improve their individual performance when identifying the sound source, (2) a deep-learning algorithm for sound recognition, (3) a distributed data-processing middleware to reach consensus on the sound identification, and (4) a custom planar antenna with an almost isotropic radiation pattern for the proper node communication. This enables practitioners to acoustically populate urban spaces and provide a reliable view of noises occurring in real time. The city of Barcelona (Spain) and the UrbanSound8K dataset have been selected to analytically validate the proposed approach. Results obtained in laboratory tests endorse the feasibility of this proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Merging Green and Active Transportation Infrastructure towards an Equitable Accessibility to Green Areas: Barcelona Green Axes.
- Author
-
Magrinyà, Francesc, Mercadé-Aloy, Josep, and Ruiz-Apilánez, Borja
- Subjects
SUSTAINABLE transportation ,INFRASTRUCTURE (Economics) ,URBANIZATION ,URBAN gardens ,GREEN infrastructure ,PUBLIC spaces ,GREEN movement - Abstract
The UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for the provision of universal access to: (a) safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces, and (b) safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all. The Barcelona green axes plan aims to transform one third of the streets within its 19th century extension grid, increasing the tree cover and the vegetation, adopting sustainable urban drainage systems, limiting motor traffic, and providing a safer and more comfortable environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and other social activities in healthier environments. These transformations become even greater at the intersection of the axes, where former traffic junctions are becoming squares and urban gardens. This study gives an in-depth analysis of the origins of the superblocks plan, the rationale behind the transformation, and the implementation process. The GIS-based analysis shows how the green axes and the new square gardens (a) transform the city's disconnected urban green areas into a more interconnected green infrastructure system, and (b) significantly increase accessibility to green areas. The study reveals this strategy's potential to create a city of proximity, improve the well-being of the population, and build a more equitable city, which could be a useful tool for planning and decision making at both city and regional levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. Limits of and opportunities for urban planning and social change in decaying housing estates: Some lessons from Barcelona.
- Author
-
Vila-Vázquez, José-Ignacio and Petsimeris, Petros
- Subjects
PLANNED communities ,URBAN planning ,EQUALITY ,SOCIAL impact ,SOCIAL change ,PUBLIC spaces ,URBAN growth - Abstract
Modernist large housing estates in southern Europe developed between the 1950 and 1970s have suffered from dual physical decay and stigmatization over the last three to four decades, challenging public, para-public and private actors. This article addresses recent regeneration strategies and urban policies in Barcelona in a context of the 'marketization' of housing, austerity and a decrease in public resources. By means of a comparative approach, two regeneration projects of housing estates in Barcelona are analysed in terms of modes of governance and their social consequences since 2000. The mixed methodology consists of direct observations and analysis of the designs of the urban interventions; semi-structured interviews with the main urban actors and a sample of residents; and a tentative evaluation of recent social changes in these neighbourhoods. The results show: first, the positive outcomes of initiatives and the limits of the different strategies of urban regeneration carried out to address persistent forms of social exclusion; and second, the relation of these positive outcomes and limitations to changes in governance and the structure of land ownership, which constitutes a controversial aspect in the development of the projects. The role of different actors in regeneration and the reproduction of social inequalities and segregation are discussed. This points to the contingent nature of neoliberal governance as evidenced by the complexity and heterogeneity of its operation at the intra-urban scale even in apparently similar large housing estates in southern Europe. Modernist large housing estates in southern Europe developed between the 1950 and 1970s have suffered from dual physical decay and stigmatization over the last three to four decades, challenging public, para-public and private actors. This article addresses recent regeneration strategies and urban policies in Barcelona in a context of the 'marketization' of housing, austerity and a decrease in public resources. By means of a comparative approach, two regeneration projects of housing estates in Barcelona are analysed in terms of modes of governance and their social consequences since 2000. The mixed methodology consists of direct observations and analysis of the designs of the urban interventions; semi-structured interviews with the main urban actors and a sample of residents; and a tentative evaluation of recent social changes in these neighbourhoods. The results show: first, the positive outcomes of initiatives and the limits of the different strategies of urban regeneration carried out to address persistent forms of social exclusion; and second, the relation of these positive outcomes and limitations to changes in governance and the structure of land ownership, which constitutes a controversial aspect in the development of the projects. The role of different actors in regeneration and the reproduction of social inequalities and segregation are discussed. This points to the contingent nature of neoliberal governance as evidenced by the complexity and heterogeneity of its operation at the intra-urban scale even in apparently similar large housing estates in southern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. PROCESOS DE PATRIMONIALIZACIÓN Y CREACIÓN DE LA IDENTIDAD NACIONAL: EL CASO DE EL BORN CENTRE DE CULTURA I MEMÒRIA.
- Author
-
Garofalo, Giovanni
- Subjects
SPANISH monarchy ,PUBLIC spaces ,NATIONAL character ,ARISTOCRACY (Political science) ,DISCOURSE analysis ,COLLECTIVE memory ,ANTHROPOLOGICAL linguistics - Abstract
Copyright of Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas (RLLA) is the property of Universidat Politecnica de Valencia, Department of Applied Linguistics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. Tensions and disputes over public space in festival cities: insights from Barcelona and Edinburgh.
- Author
-
McGillivray, David, Colombo, Alba, and Villanueva, Xavier
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,FESTIVALS ,PLACE attachment (Psychology) ,OPEN spaces - Abstract
Festivals and events are important to cities, residents, cultural workers, and visitors, growing over time to have an inseparable relationship with the places that host them. In this article, we are concerned with the way outdoor urban public spaces in two self-identified Festival Cities are used to host festivals and events, including the tensions and disputes generated. Methodologically, we draw on in-depth case studies of the use of public space for festivals and events in Edinburgh (Scotland) and Barcelona (Spain). We found that both cities have experienced similar problems, with evidence of tensions and disputes over who can make use of public space to celebrate their festivities and with implications for access to those spaces for others. Open public space traditionally used for popular festivities is increasingly brought under the gaze of planning and management to maximise external reputational benefits over local citizen interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. Assessment of Urban Neighbourhoods' Vulnerability through an Integrated Vulnerability Index (IVI): Evidence from Barcelona, Spain.
- Author
-
Piasek, Gonzalo, Fernández Aragón, Iraide, Shershneva, Julia, and Garcia-Almirall, Pilar
- Subjects
GENTRIFICATION ,URBAN sociology ,NEIGHBORHOODS ,GEOGRAPHIC information systems ,PUBLIC spaces ,SOCIAL classes - Abstract
Urban inequality, specifically in vulnerable areas, has been a study topic from the earliest days of sociology to the present. This study's objective is to discuss the scope and limitation of the concept of urban vulnerability, whilst generating an index that detects urban vulnerability in all its dimensions. A factor analysis of the main components was conducted resulting in the formation of four partial indices related to the social class, gentrification, social and employment, and physical & architectural dimensions of urban vulnerability, whilst their sums conform an integrated vulnerability index. This index is applied to the city of Barcelona, allowing its neighbourhoods to be positioned on a vulnerability continuum. Despite being applied in this city, the integrated vulnerability index emerges with the purpose of being replicated to other urban spaces. The mapping of these results using geographic information systems suggests a robust index that allows early identification of problematics, while also providing clues for policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Supplying Barcelona: The Role of Public Market Halls in the Construction of the Urban Food System.
- Author
-
Fuertes, Pere and Gomez-Escoda, Eulalia M.
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces ,URBANIZATION ,URBAN growth ,SOCIAL settlements ,PUBLIC support ,FOOD supply - Abstract
The origin of Barcelona's food system can be determined at the time when open-air markets were moved to covered spaces. Since then, market halls have adapted to many different scenarios: they have been the built form of public support for food sanitary control, a guarantee of quality and variety of edibles or a tool for the regeneration of urban fabrics. While in the second half of the twentieth-century comparable market systems in other European cities began to decline, half of the thirty-eight active markets at the end of the 2010s were built out of time in the city as a result of a public policy that accompanied urban expansion through the consolidation of small neighborhood centers. With the development of the so-called "Barcelona model" of regeneration of public space in the 1990s, markets became key pieces for urban transformation through food supply systems, a strategy still in force today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. Las Ramblas en el crecimiento urbano de Barcelona.
- Author
-
Ospina-Tascón, Juan José
- Subjects
- *
RIVERS , *URBAN planning , *PUBLIC spaces , *URBAN growth , *CITIES & towns , *URBANIZATION - Abstract
Tributary streams or torrents form runoff axes that are unique to the Mediterranean. They have contributed to the formation and growth of some cities. The approach in this paper is to investigate the importance of the streams in the process of urbanization in Barcelona, as well as interventions in these urban axes as public spaces. The study was conducted in two phases. The: first was a literature review and an analysis old maps obtained in the Historical Archive of Barcelona City. AHCB with satellite photographs and current mapping in CAD format obtained from the Cartographic Institut of Catalonia ICC. The second phase studied the characteristics of the Ramblas as emblematic streets for their design characteristics as public spaces, and from an empirical study based on the observation through field visits. The work concludes by recognizing the contribution of urban interventions carried out in the Ramblas to become one of the most emblematic streets of Barcelona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
47. Jane Jacobs reloaded: A contemporary operationalization of urban vitality in a district in Barcelona.
- Author
-
Gómez-Varo, Irene, Delclòs-Alió, Xavier, and Miralles-Guasch, Carme
- Subjects
- *
CITY dwellers , *PUBLIC spaces , *BUILT environment , *OPERATIONAL definitions , *COMPACT spaces (Topology) , *URBAN density - Abstract
The theories of Jane Jacobs have gained momentum as a framework to address the challenges faced by present-day cities. Of special relevance is the concept of urban vitality as an indicator of street vibrancy and quality of life among city residents. This study aims to revisit her principles from an applied perspective by developing an updated index that measures the conditions for urban vitality as described in her most celebrated book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), and by also incorporating contemporary contributions made by recent literature on the topic. We develop a composite measure of 22 variables of the built and social environment, and we test it in the urban context of a peripherical and low-income district in Barcelona (Spain). Results show that urban vitality can be found in a wide variety of urban spaces such as compact fabrics and even housing projects, only when population density is combined with physical features that promote intense and diverse human activity. The methodological tool developed in this paper is intended to serve as a basis for future research as well as to guide public policies that aim to address some of the key challenges of contemporary urban agenda. • We present an updated version of Jane Jacobs urban vitality index. • Peripheral and low-income enclaves are able to foster the conditions for vitality. • Keys for vitality: population density, everyday facilities, dense network of local business and accessibility. • An index of urban vitality is a useful and replicable tool for urban practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. Barcelona's housing policy under austerity urbanism: a contribution to the debate on degrowth and urban planning.
- Author
-
Martínez Alonso, Laura
- Subjects
HOUSING policy ,URBAN planning ,CITIES & towns ,HOUSING ,PUBLIC spaces ,PUBLIC housing - Abstract
The housing policy of Barcelona, the Plan for the Right to Housing (2015–2020), implemented by the anti-austerity local government of Barcelona en Comú, relates closely to degrowth imaginaries and norms. It incorporates vacant housing to the public housing stock, develops a special unit for attending evictions and other residential emergencies, and introduces support for promising yet marginal tenure forms such as co-housing or leasehold estate. However, a critical analysis of this policy reveals strong contradictions and limitations. Given the existing uneven socio-spatial dynamics of a global city such as Barcelona, the well-established power relations in the production of urban space, and the still-dominant discourse of austerity, the local government's actions remain precarious. However, albeit both promising and contradictory, Barcelona's housing policy proves to be a useful case for developing degrowth planning principles and tools for urban housing policy and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. On the contested nature of place: ‘Figuera’s Well’, ‘The Hole of Shame’ and the ideological struggle over public space in Barcelona.
- Author
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Di Masso, Andrés, Dixon, John, and Pol, Enric
- Subjects
IDEOLOGICAL conflict ,PUBLIC spaces ,SHAME ,RHETORIC ,SOCIAL psychologists ,ENVIRONMENTAL psychology ,EQUALITY - Abstract
Abstract: This paper explores some of the discursive practices through which the place meanings are formulated, warranted and, above all, contested. Drawing particularly on the work of the social psychologist Michael Billig, we present a rhetorical analysis of newspaper reports and interview accounts about the ‘development’ of a contested public space in Barcelona, known locally both as Figuera’s Well and the Hole of Shame. This analysis explores a number of rhetorically opposed constructions of the nature, purpose and appropriate beneficiaries of this place, whose implications are discussed both within the context of local power struggles and within the context of wider ideological struggles over the nature of public spaces in Barcelona. We argue that a rhetorical perspective reveals how practices of attributing meaning and value to places are often more conflict-ridden, action-oriented, and politically-charged than is implied by much research in environmental psychology. Relatedly, we argue that environmental psychologists need to complement a ‘weak’ conception of the role of conflict in the formation of public space (focused on subjective differences in environmental tastes, preferences and values) with a ‘strong’ conception of the role of conflict (focused on ideological struggles over access, equality and inclusion). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
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50. Residency Documents for All! Notes to Understand the Movement of Migrants in Barcelona.
- Author
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VARELA, AMARELA
- Subjects
- *
FREEDOM of movement , *INTERNAL migration , *IMMIGRANTS , *PUBLIC spaces , *SOCIAL movements - Abstract
This text focuses on a concrete example of the political struggle of migrants which, beginning in the last decade and continuing to the present, occupies Catalan public space in the form of an extremely novel social movement led by migrants from the post-colonial peripheries. These migrants, upon installing themselves in the Spanish state and more specifically in the city of Barcelona, choose to escape the position of victim assigned to them by the "miserablist" representation of immigration to become agents and political subjects. This article is a socio-analytic reconstruction about this social movement which demands the unconditional regularization of all migrants without papers who live in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
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