The massive increase of tourism in Barcelona since the 1992 Olympics have sparked a heated debate about what impacts it has on the city. Many residents have through protests and articles expressed feelings of being dislocated and pushed away from their own neighborhoods. Other voices have argued that the increasing antagonism between local citizens and tourists just intensifies the problems and that tourists should be considered temporary citizens rather than visitors.
This essay will explore the effects mass tourism have on urban life and the activities in public spaces. Although tourism is the chosen subject it also can be linked to any large-scale factor or mechanism that potentially disrupts local public life.
The reason behind choosing …show more content…
It provided an economical opportunity to rethink plenty of different scale urban projects that earlier seemed unlikely due to lack of political agreement and funding. Public spaces were dramatically transformed to fit a more branded image of the ‘Mediterranean Barcelona’. This desired Mediterranean urban ambience was partly achieved by using softer materials like wood, sand and vegetation. These would be the new formal elements, defining public spaces, giving them a warmer more attractive atmosphere.
Francesc Munoz argues that the Olympic village is a metaphor for the emerged branded image of Barcelona. The archetypical and romantic image of the Mediterranean Barcelona appeared in many new urban spaces but most clearly in the village promoted as ‘the new neighborhood by the …show more content…
Campaigning from the municipality and tourism lobbies continued after the Olympics to this day. Many of the new ostentatious urban developments came with promises of economic prosperity and job creation. It is hard to deny the economic benefits that tourism has brought to the city. Tourism today represents 12 percent of Catalonia’s GDP and 15 percent of the people in Barcelona have a job directly related to tourism. The indirect amount of jobs related to tourism are expected to be even higher. The fact that Barcelona is economically stable in a Spain that faces mass unemployment and an economic crisis, the profitable tourism industry must be given credit. However, Reme Gomez contends that the recent economic crisis in Spain has been used as a scaring tactic by politicians to justify the implementation of new commercial mechanisms in Barcelona. Changes that promotes consumerism and to some extent capitalist globalism neglecting local business and
This essay will explore the effects mass tourism have on urban life and the activities in public spaces. Although tourism is the chosen subject it also can be linked to any large-scale factor or mechanism that potentially disrupts local public life.
The reason behind choosing …show more content…
It provided an economical opportunity to rethink plenty of different scale urban projects that earlier seemed unlikely due to lack of political agreement and funding. Public spaces were dramatically transformed to fit a more branded image of the ‘Mediterranean Barcelona’. This desired Mediterranean urban ambience was partly achieved by using softer materials like wood, sand and vegetation. These would be the new formal elements, defining public spaces, giving them a warmer more attractive atmosphere.
Francesc Munoz argues that the Olympic village is a metaphor for the emerged branded image of Barcelona. The archetypical and romantic image of the Mediterranean Barcelona appeared in many new urban spaces but most clearly in the village promoted as ‘the new neighborhood by the …show more content…
Campaigning from the municipality and tourism lobbies continued after the Olympics to this day. Many of the new ostentatious urban developments came with promises of economic prosperity and job creation. It is hard to deny the economic benefits that tourism has brought to the city. Tourism today represents 12 percent of Catalonia’s GDP and 15 percent of the people in Barcelona have a job directly related to tourism. The indirect amount of jobs related to tourism are expected to be even higher. The fact that Barcelona is economically stable in a Spain that faces mass unemployment and an economic crisis, the profitable tourism industry must be given credit. However, Reme Gomez contends that the recent economic crisis in Spain has been used as a scaring tactic by politicians to justify the implementation of new commercial mechanisms in Barcelona. Changes that promotes consumerism and to some extent capitalist globalism neglecting local business and