planning, governance, and new technologiesiua-global.org/docs/iufa/iufa_2006_conf barcelona.pdf ·...

METROPOLIS OF TOMORROW Planning, Governance, and New Technologies

Proceedings of the

36th Annual Conference International Urban Fellows Program

Institut d’Estudis Territorials, UPF

Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies June 3-7, 2006

Barcelona, Catalunya, SPAIN

Plan of Ildefons Cerdà, 1859

36th International Urban Fellows Conference, Barcelona, Catakunya, SPAIN June 3-7, 2006 Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies

May 2007 Dear Reader:

It is with pleasure that I transmit to you a summary of the proceedings, findings, and conclusions of the 36th Annual Conference of the International Fellows in Urban Studies of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies. Urban experts spent five days in Barcelona and the surrounding region of Catalunya studying the ways that planning and governance are being undertaken in metropolitan areas in the 21st century’s new economic environment. They talked to experts, public officials, and academics about the steps being taken to achieve economic prosperity, social inclusion, and a life-sustaining environment. All of the authors of these proceedings are either experts gathered by the host of the conference, or individuals who have conducted urban research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore sometime over the past 39 years. As you will see in Appendix A (“Background on the International Urban Fellows Program”), during their urban fellowship, they studied Baltimore and analyzed its similarities and differences from other cities around the world. Each year, the Fellows gather for a conference to tackle the problems of a particular city posed for them by their host, a former Fellow. Daniel Serra, an International Urban Fellow in 1985, hosted the 2006 conference, with a committee of Catalan Fellows – Antonia Casellas (1998), Amador Ferrer (1987), and Carmen Ruiz (1992-93). They asked the group to address the challenges that face even a city like Barcelona, which is internationally renowned as an urban revitalization success story. While former fellow Pasqual Maragall, now president of the Generalitat of Catalunya, was not able to join the group, Catalunya’s secretary of planning and former fellow (1984) Oriol Nel.lo provided a candid assessment of the region’s challenges. The assembled Fellows brought a wide range of perspectives, from a regional planning body for the Paris area to the high-growth urban environment of Turkey, and of course the United States, where metropolitan planning is fairly weak. The report that follows represents a continuation of the Fellows’ exploration of the planning, governance, and technology-based economic development issues faced by cities and their regions. Previous conferences focused on balancing preservation and economic growth in Turkey, regional planning in metropolitan Paris, and planning at the national, regional, and local levels in Switzerland. Mindful of the variations in administrative structure and cultural context, they nevertheless felt that there were important cross-national lessons to be learned from the experience of Barcelona, Catalunya, and their own cities. Please contact me if you would like further information on this unique international program or the Institute for Policy Studies. Sandra J. Newman, Ph.D. Professor, Policy Studies

Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies


Acknowledgments The Johns Hopkins International Fellows in Urban Studies gratefully acknowledges the tireless and dedicated work of: Daniel Serra (Johns Hopkins International Urban Fellow 1985)

Amador Ferrer (Johns Hopkins International Urban Fellow (1987) Antonia Casellas (Johns Hopkins International Urban Fellow 1998) Carmen Ruiz (Johns Hopkins International Urban Fellow (1992-93) Cristina Caire, Institut d’Estudis Territorials, UPF

Special thanks to the hosts and sponsors of the conference: Institut d’Estudis Territorials, UPF Generalitat de Catalunya Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona Metropolis

For the preparation of the final report, we thank: Conference Organizers Daniel Serra, Amador Ferrer, Antonia Casellas,

Carmen Ruiz Rapporteurs and Editors Marsha Schachtel, Sandra Newman, Institute for

Policy Studies, and Daniel Serra Photographer Marsha Schachtel Production Laura Vernon-Russell

Institute for Policy Studies


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4, 2006 ....................................................................................... 8 Monday June 5, 2006 .........................................................................................................................17 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 ........................................................................................................................32 Wednesday, June 7, 2006...................................................................................................................49 Fellows Findings and Conclusions ....................................................................................................58 Appendix A: Background on the Johns Hopkins International Urban Fellows Program ..................61 Appendix B: Conference Program .....................................................................................................63 Appendix C: List of Attendees ..........................................................................................................67 Appendix D: Contributors ..................................................................................................................68


METROPOLIS OF TOMORROW Planning, Governance, and New Technologies

Proceedings of the

36th Annual Conference International Urban Fellows Program

INTRODUCTION

Framed by the mountains, the Llobregat and Besós rivers, and the sea, Barcelona has enjoyed a long history of inspired urban planning. In 1859, Ildefons Cerdà, a civil engineer, published a plan for the nine square kilometer expansion (“eixample,” shown in blue #2 below) that provided relief to the denizens of the overcrowded, dilapidated Ciutat Vella (old city, shown in purple #3 below).1 Cerdà’s primary concerns were the relationships between the buildings, the streets, and the well-being of the “individual, the family, and the State.” Each of the blocks in the Eixample has chamfered corners to form a small plaza at every intersection. Since the re-establishment of democracy in 1975, the city has continued its efforts to “stimulate social benefit through improving infrastructure, architecture, and general urban flow.” 2

1 Map by Criswell Lappin, Metropolis, April 2004, p. 106. 2 Demby, Eric (2004) “Sticking to the Plan,” Metropolis, April, pp. 106-108+.


In the years following the publication and execution of Cerdà’s plan, the city has creatively used large cultural events to further its urban revitalization goals. The 1888 Universal Exposition gave rise to the Parc de la Ciutadella neighborhood and the Plaça d’Espanya (site of the Fellows conference) was the site of the 1929 International Exhibition. The facilities atop Montjuic mountain were used for both the 1929 exhibition and the 1992 Olympics. The urban beachfront and non-industrial port facilities were created for the 1992 Olympics and now serve as civic amenities enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. Forum 2004 provided the impetus to at last complete Cerdà’s planned extension of the Diagonal to the sea (#5 on the map on the preceding page). Barcelona is the second most popular (after Paris) tourist destination in Europe, and its region, Catalunya, the most affluent and productive in Spain. Catalunya’s GDP is the seventh highest among large European regions. Catalunya (population 6.5 million) is one of the 17 autonomous communities that make up the Spanish state, and has its own parliament and government (the Generalitat). Catalunya is made up of four provinces, which are also administrative areas for the central government, and 41 comarques (districts), within which there are 946 towns. .

http://ca.wikipèdia.org Because of Barcelona’s physically circumscribed territory (1.5 million people in 100 square kilometers), growth in the region has taken place in neighboring towns, across the Barcelona plain and then along the Llobregat and Besós Rivers and the coast to the east and west of the


city. Metropolitan Barcelona, with a population over four million, includes about 160 municipalities, about 30 of which are in the central area linked most closely to Barcelona Intra-metropolitan population migration has moved successively outward from Barcelona, from large municipalities to smaller ones, and from centers to their peripheries. The population in Barcelona and its nearby municipalities is aging, while income disparities are narrowing. Housing construction reflects the movement of population away from the densest core area (which has run out of developable land) to the outlying areas, and has accelerated in the past five years fueled by declining mortgage interest rates. Planned development of public housing, supported by the central and autonomous governments, has declined in each of the three Housing Plan periods since 1992, and realization of planned units has dropped even more precipitously. The city of Barcelona’s economy has rapidly become dominated by the services sector, while outlying areas still depend on manufacturing. The entry of Spain into the European Economic Community in 1986 began a reorientation of production toward external markets, particularly in Europe. Investment by companies in research and development relative to value-added is higher in Catalunya than in the rest of Spain, concentrated in transport machinery, chemicals, electrical machinery and equipment, and mechanical equipment. Electronic, telecommunications and computer equipment are strongly concentrated in Catalunya.3

3 The demographic and economic data reported in the paragraphs above are drawn from The Metropolitan Territory of Barcelona: Basic Data, Recent Developments, and Perspectives, published in 2003 by the Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona.


Saturday, June 3, 2006 Welcome buffet dinner Hotel Catalónia Conference hosts:

Daniel Serra Amador Ferrer Carmen Ruiz Antonia Casellas

Sunday, June 4, 2006 Visit to metropolitan seafront new developments Badalona

Badalona Plan and Inner Harbor Badalona is an industrial town of about 200,000 that stretches for about five kilometers along the Mediterranean coast northeast of Barcelona, separated by the Besós River. Its coastline was formerly dominated by large industrial facilities of companies such as Cros, Campsa, Bórax, and Caci. The intent of the Badalona Seafront Special Plan, approved in 1986, is to reconcile the city with the sea. The city center was separated from the water by a railroad line and factories. An ambitious redevelopment project will reuse two miles of the coastline, offer 4,000 new homes, create a road system, new infrastructure, new facilities (mostly boating and visitor-related – quays, breakwaters, sills, pontoons, harbormaster’s area, restaurants and bars, sail lockers, parking, hotel, convention and banquet center, dry dock, workshops, fishing wharf, and sailing school), and a promenade connecting the area to the easternmost development of Barcelona – the Fòrum area. It will reduce the built-up area by 50 percent. Two large infrastructure projects are


being undertaken – the renovation of the sewerage network and the treatment of the soil on the site of the former Cros chemical works. Much of this work could be seen by the Fellows on their tour. The second phase of the project will involve construction of a 300 meter-long, 40 meter-wide channel perpendicular to the coastline, extending to the city center. It will connect with the Municipal Olympic Sports Hall with a large park along its edges – 350 meters long and 80 meters wide. 178 moorings will be provided along the water sides of the channel, and along its land sides there will be commercial activities related to boating and leisure. A bridge will enable the train to cross the channel, which will limit the size of boats that can use it. A “Reparcelling Plan” will transform the Gorg district of Badalona from industrial to residential, commercial, and hotel uses. Housing for relocated citizens has been provided by the construction in 2005 of a housing project by Regesa, a company of the Barcelonés County Council, a block away from the sea. The second phase is due to be complete in 2009. The project is being carried out by Marina Badalona, SA, a commercial company set up in May 2000, initially with public capital. Marina Badalona SA’s purpose is to manage in an integrated way the town planning and financial aspects of the process of rehabilitation and development of the Badalona seafront, including the construction, operation, and management of the city’s marina and fishing port. The company is owned 50 percent by the Badalona City Council and 50 percent by the Barcelonés County Council. It has very broad powers to implement the plan, and is governed by a General Assembly of 53 members split equally between city and county representatives and chaired by the mayor of Badalona. The 15-member Board of Administration is also chaired by the mayor, and includes eight City Council representatives and seven of the Barcelonés County Council. This board appoints a managing director. Forum 2004 and Diagonal Mar Forum 2004 was a 141-day international diversity and green-advocacy conference that once again was used by Barcelona to spur urban revitalization, in this case the extension of the Diagonal to the Mediterranean and redevelopment of a 530-acre brownfields site. Diagonal Mar is the first Barcelona development to combine hotel, retail, housing, and office space; it covers the equivalent of 15 city blocks – land that was once occupied by textile factories and gas works. It is adjacent to a neighborhood (La Mina) that has some of the poorest residents in the Barcelona metropolitan area.


www. muse.jhu.edu

The development of the Forum 2004 site echoes the themes of the international meeting – cultural diversity, sustainable development, and conditions for peace. The plaza on which the Forum building rests tops the sewage treatment works with an incinerator generating electricity from steam, which also heats and cools nearby buildings. Over 10,000 sq. meters of photovoltaic panels also generate electricity. The Diagonal Mar park to the west of the retail/office/residential/hotel complex covers 14 hectares. Welcome, introduction to Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University Pompeu Fabra University, Estació de França

Pompeu Fabra University is a young university, founded in 2000. Its 10,000 students (800 international) learn at one of six campuses located throughout Barcelona’s city center. It offers degrees in law, economics, business, social sciences, communications, health, life sciences, and technology. The two conference locales are Estació de França, inside the train station, and Ciutadella, a former military barracks on the other side of Ciutadella Park. A media and communications campus is part of the new 22@bcn development, which will be described in more detail on the final day of the conference.

Daniel Serra Vice-chancellor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) Professor, Department of Economics and Business, UPF Director, Institut d’EstudisTerritorials Head, Research Group in Logistics 1985 International Urban Fellow


www.nets.upf.edu/images/general.jpg

Barcelona is a 2000-year-old Roman settlement, well situated on the Mediterranean, which has made it a major port and commercial center throughout its history. Three sets of walls have defined its boundaries over time. The old city was once inside the oldest wall. In 1860, the Cerdà plan expanded the city in the 134-block mixed use Eixample. The City’s population is 1.5 million. There are 30 municipalities within greater Barcelona, which has a population of 4.5 million; the inner metropolitan area contains about three million people. The autonomous community of Catalunya has 6.5 million. Metropolis of the world: global overview

Overview of basic global urban and metropolitan data • Between 1975 and 2002, growth in urbanization was highest in China and the east and

west coasts of Africa, India, and Latin America • By 2002, most of the developed countries were 100 percent urbanized.

Josep Roig General Secretary of Metropolis The World Association of Major Metropolises

Amador Ferrer Coordinator, Planning Department Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona 1987 International Urban Fellow


• Worldwide, approximately 50 percent of the population lives in urban areas, which has profound policy implications – heretofore, we talked about global poverty as rural poverty. Approximately 19 percent of the world population lives in metropolitan areas and 30 percent more in non-metropolitan urban areas.

• The “grandes agglomerations” – metropolises of two million inhabitants or more – have grown dramatically since 1975. While Tokyo (35 million in 2003), Mexico City (18.7 million), New York City (18.3 million), and São Paolo (17.9 million) are the largest, the fastest growing are Lagos, Nigeria (average annual rate of change 2000-2015: 4.51 percent); Dhaka, Bagladesh (3.78 percent); Delhi, India (3.47 percent); Karachi, Pakistan (3.18 percent); and Jakarta, Indonesia (3.08 percent).

• Of the 430 metropolises in 2005, 121 are in the more developed regions and 309 in the less developed regions.

About Metropolis – our 2006-2008 work plan

• Metropolis has 91 members, none of which are in the United States. • It was born in 1985 as an international association based in France and Montreal. In the

early days, New York’s regional planning association and Los Angeles County were represented. A cooperative agreement was struck with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. American cities are not so active internationally --- their officials are generally unable to travel abroad on city budgets. The exception is the mayor of Washington, DC, who has been a participant in international activities.

• Metropolis is a voluntary association, and is generally focused – not concentrated on one policy area such as environment or transportation.

• It is foremost a knowledge network; five to six technical commissions are at work in each three-year cycle, each of which features 15-50 cities working together on an issue. In 2006-2008, the issues are:

o Ecological regions o Mobility o Neighborhood revitalization o Water o Financing infrastructure o Performance indicators

• It also undertakes lobbying at the international level and is a strong player in United Nations and World Bank activities

Framework for discussing metropolises

• Cities such as Barcelona are experiencing dramatic deindustrialization – in 2001, employment by sectors was:

o Industry 25.7% o Construction 9.1% o Services 64.5%

In the services sector, 19.9 percent are employed in quinary sector services, most of which are related to citizens’ quality of life, and are targets for metropolitan areas’ efforts to attract and build “new economies.” Employment is distributed within these quinary subsectors in Barcelona as follows:


▪ Information & cultural industries 21.0% ▪ Professional, scientific & technical services 16.5% ▪ Education services 30.2% ▪ Health & social services 27.3% ▪ Arts, entertainment & leisure 4.7%

City processes

ProcessesProcessesInputInput

Control Control

OutputOutput

ResourcesResources Value chain

KnowledgeKnowledge CityCity CitizensCitizens

LocalGovernment

LocalGovernment

HumanFinancial

InfrastructureTechnology

HumanFinancial

InfrastructureTechnology

Controlchain

EfficiencySynchronization

Quality of lifeGlobalization

As they pursue their objectives, cities are finding it necessary to adapt to external factors, particularly globalization, and to synchronize social, political, and economic systems. These city processes add value for multiple parties, affecting the quality of life and the efficiency with which it is delivered.

• External factors o Rise in global trade o Globalization of the finance system o Changes in information and communication technologies o Advances in transport o “The ability of manufacturing to separate discrete stages of the production process”

(Dyckman) o Changes in the environment o The growth of the population o The massive migration from the country to the city and from developing countries to

developed countries

• Trends in city consumption and quality of life o Agglomeration economies in consumption activities o Distinct individual consumers and personalization of services


o Consumption is the driving force behind change in the production system of goods and services and is also the fundamental element of change in cities.

• The efficient city mobilizes the following support resources, which in Spain were

formerly national and now are regional: o Educational and training infrastructure o Technological infrastructure o Cultural and social infrastructure o Financial resources

• Metropolitan synchronization

o “The most prominent function of the city is to ensure all forms of economic coordination and therefore to concentrate information exchanges.”

o “The metropolis arises if and only if coordination applies to complex activities and operates at a large spatial scale. ..the metropolis is a large and diversified city.”

o “Proximity interactions and network interactions are interrelated in a cumulative process favoring metropolitan stability.”

o “Metropolitanization is a recurrent process of adaptation of cities to the changing technological economic and institutional forms of coordinating complex and long range economic operations.

L.Bourdeau-Lepage and J.M Huriot:”The metropolis in retrospect: permanence and change” GaWC Research Bulletin

• How have metropolitan areas responded to these forces and changes?

o Definition of particular areas for global economic activities o Renovation and reorganization of obsolete industrial zones into new areas for service

activities o Decentralization of services toward the periphery and appearance of new high value-

added services in city centers and new economic centers o New push to promote public transport infrastructures, particularly rail (high-speed

trains, suburban networks, new underground and tram lines) o Increase in air traffic and expansion of airports and attached service areas o Boost to culture, leisure and entertainment sectors, with the consolidation of projects

that are increasingly international o Priority to quality-of-life and environmental goals, promoting a set of amenities that

makes city living attractive o Promotion of education activities, especially universities o Development of specific agencies to promote the economic and urban development of

metropolitan areas

• The challenges of metropolitan governance o Metropolises require a strategic vision, an ideal or metropolitan dream. o Metropolitan strategy makes the need felt for coordination between the different

levels of government and the participation of “stake-holders.”


o Democratization and citizens’ participation in the metropolitan decisions can be a way of avoiding the blurring of responsibilities between levels of government and between metropolitan administrations.

o In metropolitan areas new demands and new metropolitan services are produced which the local administrations cannot supply separately.

o City model and urban planning strategy: Towards a more compact city – a pro-density attitude – and more transparency in the rules of the urban game.

o Multi-dimensional strategies are needed for the globalization and sustainability of metropolitan areas. Confusion can be an engine for change. The increase in Barcelona’s immigrant population from four to 15 percent in the past 15 years will make synchronization and governance very difficult.

o In search of a new model of metropolitan governance: A change of scale towards the metropolitan region and global networking.

Discussion The fellows’ questions and responses centered on the challenges of metropolitan policy and governance:

• Is it really possible to make environmental policy at the regional level? We see examples of cooperative metropolitan waste management, but not of prevention of waste. Traffic control seems not to be amenable to regional solutions. Problems are created by one part of the region for another.

• Institutionally, metropolitan areas are always complex – they involve cooperation across functions and levels of government. In theory, what works is coordination of funding that makes it clear to individual jurisdictions that cooperation is more productive than going it alone. The regions that have moved ahead have managed some method of financial coordination.

• There is no incentive for areas around a city to cooperate – sharing the problems of the city only when it is in the suburbs’ best interest. This is a common problem in Barcelona and other cities, including the United States, since these metropolitan strategies and their implementation require agreements that are voluntary. However, Barcelona is the richest area in the region rather than the “poor sister,” which makes cooperation more attractive.

• In Spain, the decentralization of policy from the central government to regions may help. The constitution specifies metropolitan powers.

• Participatory democracy is always very messy. While there are a few conspicuous examples of coordination across governments, they are generally not very stable.

• One fellow cautioned against confusing centralization with control – the example of Franco suggests that central control can establish coordination mechanisms such as metropolitan councils and metropolitan plans.

European Investment Bank: European Urban Policy

Mateu Turró Associate Director European Investment Bank


Mr. Turró, an associate of Fellow Matthew Arndt who was unable to attend the conference, is a Barcelona native and was in town to participate in a Generalitat de Catalunya conference on Regions and Cities: Partners for Growth and Jobs. He also coordinates the European Investment Bank’s programs for universities. European urban policy formerly held that urban policy ought to be left to the member states, and that decisions should be taken at the level closest to the people. The discussions about allocations of funds in the 2007-2013 period are now including the urban dimension. The Bristol Accord of December 2005 documents the agreement on principles of a common EU urban policy and calls for planning not just at the physical level, as has been the EU approach in the past, but expanded to include economic, financial, and social dimensions. The challenge is how to reflect these new ideas in the budget. Member countries have national strategic reference frameworks; we will need to ask how they plan to spend European funds to the benefit of cities. The EU’s JESSICA (Joint European Support For Sustainable Investment in City Areas) initiative provides that instead of the usual financial subsidies, recipients may use the aid to create urban development funds that employ financial mechanisms – eg. equity, guarantees, and subordinated loans -- that can recover and recycle funds as investments pay off. Managing Authorities in Member States will be allowed to use some of their Structural Fund allocations – principally those supported by the European Development Fund – to invest in urban development funds to accelerate investment in urban areas. Other international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the European Investment Bank have been enlisted in this initiative. A memorandum of understanding among the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, and the Council of Europe Development Bank was signed in May 2006. The effort responds to requests by several Member States and the European Parliament to give special attention to the need for renewal and/or regeneration of some urban areas. The EU’s URBAN program’s successes in bringing the urban dimension to efforts aimed at economic and social cohesion have contributed to this movement. (see www.jessica.europa.eu for more details). The URBAN experience highlights the importance of a commercial bias that advances private investment.


Monday, June 5, 2006 Fellows Research Roundtable Pompeu Fabra University, Estació de França Moderator: Dr. Timothy D. Armbruster, President, The Morris Goldseker Foundation, Baltimore Urban Planning and Policy Analysis applications in GIS in local government

The theme of Ayse Pamuk’s work is the visualization in spatial terms of non-spatial data. She reported on an National Science Foundation-funded project to introduce spatial analysis into research and teaching methods that has resulted in a soon-to-be published book, Mapping Global Cities: GIS Methods in Urban Analysis (2006). She provided examples of the application of spatial analysis to a variety of issues and geographies.

• Early examples o Cholera (1854) – Snow’s map of deaths from cholera made the connection with the

locations of pumps o Myron Orfield’s construction of indices combining census data and administrative

data to look at intrametropolitan issues classified communities • Spatial units of analysis are different in different countries. Former Fellow Mariette

Sagot helped Ayse Pamuk understand the French system. The units also change over time as boundaries are redefined. o MSA, county, census tract, block group, block (U.S.) o PUMAs (U.S.) o Regions, municipalities (Brazil) o Departements, communes (France) o Postcodes (the Netherlands) o Enumeration districts (Trinidad & Tobago)

• Thematic maps, such as the foreign-born population in San Francisco, may exaggerate concentration if the unit of analysis is large, and the analyst must correct for this. The example also illustrates the flexibility to divide a city in any way that is useful for the analysis.

• In Brazil, from published data on the Internet, it was possible to produce an analysis of favela (ghetto) residents in Rocinha that combined photographs with United Nations Human Development Index (life expectancy at birth, educational attainment, GDP/capital) data.

• Using World Bank data, a country-by-country comparison of housing affordability (ratio of home prices to income) was displayed on a European map.

Ayse Pamuk, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Urban Studies San Francisco State University Visiting Scholar, Institute of Urban and Regional Development University of California, Berkeley 1985-86 International Urban Fellow


• In the Ile-de-France region, the spatial unit of analysis is the commune. An analysis of the spatial concentration of residents of immigrants of Moroccan descent in the radiating circles (couronnes) around the city center was conducted. A similar analysis in Amsterdam postal codes was made.

• Buffer analysis was used to look at poor children within close range of Head Start Centers, walking distance to parks, and youth population and dropouts in the San Francisco area.

• Point patterns were used to examine Chinese, Philippine, and Mexican immigrant clusters in global cities around the United States.

Reflections on the use of GIS-based materials in teaching

• Using GIS in quantitative methods courses • Increase in student interest in subject matter • Reduction in fear and anxiety about numbers and analysis • Need for well-supported computer lab environment • Responding to a range of computer literacy of students in class with step-by-step

instructions • Application of GIS skills in community-serving practicum courses in the curriculum

(e.g., Senior Seminar class at SFSU) Urban regeneration: mixed income communities. An international perspective

The research question is how sustainable strategies – improving cities by making the difficult balance among environmental sustainability, economic efficiency, and social needs – can be implemented in urban regeneration practice. According to Roberts 2000), regeneration is defined as not just the physical transformation of an area, but equal improvement in economic, social, and environmental conditions. It is carried out through partnerships that extend beyond institutional players, and is integrative around a strategic vision for the city, not just a project or collection of projects.

The question of how this might be accomplished remains an open one. In the last decade, attempts have been made to promote urban diversity through mixed income and mixed use developments, based on a idealized view of “community.” This project examines case studies in three cities (East Baltimore, Cabrini Green in Chicago, and Millennium Village in London) in search of theoretical insights and lessons for practice. The specific focus is on mixed income/use as a response to urban social needs. Each of the case studies highlights a different dimension. They are similar in their focus on the community dimension and the integration of urban diversity aims. They differ in the reasons for their implementation, the choice of diversity principles, the residents involved, and the physical context.

Silvia Gullino, Ph.D. 2005-2006 International Urban Fellow Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies Polytechnic of Milan, Italy


Characteristics Baltimore and Chicago Millennium Village, London

Philosophy Social interest in providing an answer to poverty concentration and urban segregation, particularly in public housing neighborhoods

Sustainability as a strategic policy, focused on: • Brownfields (through infill

policies) • Housing (higher density, urban

design, energetic strategies) • Transport (public transport

connections) Strategy De-concentrating public housing and

creating mixed use communities (HOPE VI, for example) • Mixing types of properties

(private, public, and affordable) • Attracting residents of different

social characteristics The strategy is mainly based on • De-concentration of original

residents (vouchering out) • Demolition of existing houses

(particularly high rise buildings) • Development of a new mixed

community (low density, low rise buildings)

• Attracting new and (hopefully) old residents

Creating a new sustainable community based on the idea of mixing: • Uses (residential, commercial,

leisure) • Tenures (private and affordable) • Architectural styles (town houses

and flats)

Execution In the case of HOPE VI: • Federal funds • Public and philanthropic sector

with leverage of private developers for further investments

National government commitment (Urban Renaissance) to create more vibrant cities English Partnerships is the regeneration agency for England responsible for: • Land acquisition • Site clean up and infrastructure to

attract developer interest • Vision for the area • International competition for

master planners and developers Based on the case studies and lessons from elsewhere reported in the literature, the following preliminary conclusions can be made and provide themes for continuing debate:


• Philosophy – It is important to apply a holistic view to complex urban problems, and not consider them disjointed from one another. The focus must be on people and places, not people or places.

• Strategies – The idea of “community” carries several risks: o It is vague and indefinite o It lacks legitimacy, ignoring the differences between community and global, and

changes in dynamic relationships; it is based on the nostalgic appeal of “community” that may not be a panacea for urban ills; it imposes a planner perspective rather than a behavioral analysis; and it denies social diversity and natural affinities.

• Strategies – Hard to implement because: o Producing diversity is complex o Sustaining diversity is difficult, since it is inherently unstable and follows an

unpredictable course • Implementation

o Needs to involve an enlarged partnership that explicitly manages conflicts that arise when attempts are made to serve the many rather than the few

o Existing social capital in a place must be recognized and utilized o The quality of the project and the built environment are important

Discussion

• Who is buying the flats in the urban village in London? If households are buying a second home pied-à-terre in the city, it will be hard to foster community. The community is essential closed, not open to the low and middle income residents of the surrounding community, although 20 percent of the units have been reserved for affordable housing. Singles rather than families are taking up residence, because of its convenience to employment in the Docklands development that is easily reachable by public transport.

• Despite the best planning in England, it appears that spatial organization has not been able to stimulate social mixing – there are very few people on the street.

• The experience in the Netherlands suggests that you do not get integration by differentiation, but rather by building on social and symbolic capital, promoting home ownership for existing residents, and ensuring that the community is involved in planning.

• Baltimore’s experience with its Healthy Neighborhoods initiative highlights the importance of changing the language to focus on a community’s assets, and helping residents to build equity.

• A similar experiment – same goals, a combination of rental and ownerships – in the north of France 20 years ago has failed. Higher income residents have moved away, and the public space is being boarded up.

• One of the attendees was involved in writing the enabling legislation for the HOPE VI program in the United States and in the Cabrini Green development. Cabrini Green teaches several lessons: The percentage of affordable housing is important – 30 percent is a good mix. In Chicago, the percentage was 50 percent, 20 percent “affordable” and 30 percent very low income. Units must be indistinguishable and fully integrated. A social training program was needed for market rate families, and low income families


needed to be helped to become homeowners. A community program that actively managed conflict and promoted interaction among residents was helpful, and strong hands-on management, extensive screening of residents, and anti-drug policies were essential.

Innovations in communication with citizens: experiences in e-government in Argentina

First, it is necessary to distinguish between e-citizenship and e-government. For the former, citizens must have the capacity to use and access to technology. The latter involves altering the information flow to policy makers, and while it may be more participatory, may not affect decisionmaking.

Internet use in Argentina is growing in the home as well as out of the home. City

governments are constructing Web-based portals, which differ in the degree to which they are interactive or one-way, and whether the portal is used to coordinate various sectors of government. City websites were examined in two communities: Mar del Plata and Rafaela.

Mar del Plata is a city of 600,000 in the province of Buenos Aires. Computer centers have

been established in low income areas. At the time the website was constructed (2001-2003), the country was in financial crisis. The goals of the city government website initiative were to:

• Deal with citizen complaints; • Better deliver public services through improvement of employee processes and

efficiency; • Improve relationships with suppliers and organizations; • Achieve more transparency; and • Raise citizen satisfaction.

Strengths of the website are: • Design: light and view-friendly colors, clear section division, easy for inexperienced

navigators • Content: the most important issues are included • Additional services: tourist information in English • Survey about the portal • Statistics about the use of the portal, and • Updates: news and statistics area properly updated

Shortcomings of the website are: • Technical: High-speed access and navigation have not still achieved

Malvina E. Rodriguez Ph.D. candidate, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany 2001-2002 International Urban Fellow


• Services: Information about municipal procedures is available, but for execution a citizen must physically visit the municipal departments

• Participation: limited to the possibility of sending questions, suggestions and complaints • Feedback: There is no register in the website that permits suggestions or complaints to • be tracked. Evaluation and recommendations: • Web site has been in general redesigned to meet the project’s formulation • Technical shortcomings should be improved as a result • Participation should be promoted by additional means, such as discussion forums or

opinion polls • A feedback function for users’ comments and complaints is desirable.

Rafaela is a 90,000-citizen population center of an agricultural area in the province of Santa

Fe. The website, developed between 2004 and 2007, is part of a larger scheme for “building the digital city.” E-Mun (Municipio Electrónico) encompasses e-government innovations in municipal administration. CD (Ciudad Digital) is the marketing effort to promote Rafaela as a digital city. The partners are the federal government and the private sector. The website is linked to federal websites, and enhances networks of neighborhoods, schools, health centers, and the productive sector; it includes neighborhood schedules of activities. Education and training are provided in cooperation with available qualified institutes and programs. The website is remarkable for its inclusion of advertising, institutional and political communication, and, through its partnership with the telephone company, a feature that allows the contents to be displayed on cell phones. However, it is not participatory, or interactive. It provides no feedback.

Final considerations: • City-web sites in Argentina illustrate how local governments are aiming to take part in

the world of digital cities. • Principal weaknesses of these portals are not design or technical features, which

approach international standards and can be enhanced in the short-term and without enormous additional expenditure.

• Inclusion of these portal initiatives in the frame of more comprehensive programs in order to implement. e-government-procedures and to develop the concept of digital city is a positive attribute. The portals are viewed as a tool and not as a goal themselves.

• The ambitious aims of the programs and for the portals in particular seem to be unfulfilled, at least in the sense of promoting relevant citizen participation and involvement in the decision and policy-making process.

• The portals exhibit, however, a fruitful development at the present time. They include the possibility of future cost-saving improvements, because it will be not necessary to recreate the basic structure.

• The city-web sites have great potential because they have shown a way to smoothly introduce the digital age into societies in developing countries


Discussion

The differences – the “digital divide” – are not so much between the developed and the developing countries as between the rich and poor, the difference between access and no access. E-technology is not so different and can speed the development process, for good and for bad, and serve as a powerful tool for mobilizing citizens. There are better city websites in Chile and other cities around the world than in France. In Buenos Aires, free wireless access is provided by the private sector, not government. In Eastern Europe, Internet cafes are used primarily for email rather than Internet-based search for information.

Concern was expressed over the one-way political conversation described in Rafaela, which

provided no mechanism for feedback or political debate. Other cities in Argentina have provided for the possibility of discussion. The role of universities in local economic development: lessons from Baltimore and the United States

The research project aims to answer four questions: • Why is increasing attention being given to universities in urban and regional

development studies in terms of knowledge production, basic and applied research, research commercialization?

• What is the role of universities? • What are the factors at play in a university-led urban development project? • What lessons can be transferred to the European urban context?

To date, the project has involved first a review of the literature on local economic development, technology-based development, and urban studies. The focus became Baltimore’s current ventures, with particular attention to the East Baltimore biopark initiative. Over 40 in-depth interviews were conducted with local actors, including directors of university technology transfer offices, city planners, CEOs of economic think-tanks and foundations, housing experts, community development corporation directors, and others. Analysis of demographic, economic, technology transfer, venture, and local government finance was overlaid on the primary and secondary source information.

Q: Why is increasing attention given to urban universities? A: Re-orientation of basic research + de-industrialization + the knowledge society

Lorenzo Ciapetti 2004-2005 International Urban Fellow Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies University of Bologna, Italy


There has been a parallel rise of investment in basic research and local programs aimed at fostering public and applied research as a stimulus to local and regional growth. U.S. public healthcare R&D has increased dramatically since 1987 ($27 billion in 2003; Cooke, 2004); the U.S. Congress vote to double the size of the National Institutes of Health research budget over the past five years has made it the 21st century Manhattan project. Basic research is currently at the center of a three-legged strategy, entailing the participation of government, industry and universities, the so called “triple-helix” scenario (Etzkovitz, 2004). Disclosures of discoveries have grown from 6,000 per year in 1991 to 15,000 per year in 2004. Venture capital investments have grown up to 180 percent in the number of deals, and 450 percent in investment dollars in the last ten years. Investments are concentrated in biotechnology and software, and geographically in Silicon Valley (California) and New England, and, increasingly, the Washington DC metroplex.

Q: What is the role of universities? A: Employers + technology-transfer + developers

Universities must balance many competing demands (community investment and regeneration; housing and security; knowledge dissemination and commercialization, etc.) not always directed to the core educational mission of a university. There are still differences in the way different universities approach a knowledge-based strategy. The spectrum can range from universities as “ivory towers” of pure research, to universities largely devoted to technology commercialization. In addition, over the last decade, universities have increasingly become, especially in the US context, a crucial actor in economic development (Cooke; Etzkovitz; et al. 2004) and urban revitalization (Perry and Wiewel, 2005).

Quite apart from technology commercialization, universities are increasingly the major

employers in their host cities as manufacturing employment has dwindled. The labor force engaged in health and education service industries has grown significantly in the 1990s, particularly in Boston and Sa n Francisco, but also, to a lesser extent, in declining cities such as Baltimore and Detroit.

Universities are not equally skilled at turning their discoveries into commercial successes.

Johns Hopkins ranks very high among its peer institutions in patents filed, but quite low in the amount of revenue it derives from licensing its technology to commercial partners.

Q: What are the factors involved in a university-led urban development project? A: Lessons from Baltimore and other U.S. urban cases:

The Baltimore example is the 80-acre East Baltimore redevelopment undertaken in 2002 by a new 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, East Baltimore Development, Inc. (EBDI) created by the City, Johns Hopkins, and The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Twenty of the acres are devoted to a Life Sciences and Biotechnology Park (Biopark). The first housing developments will be complete just before the first Life Science building opens in May 2007 [now expected to be spring of 2008].


Factor UCSF Atlanta East Baltimore West Baltimore

Trigger or tipping point

Expansion into Mission Bay was a last resort to accommodate a university request.

Nearby neighborhood decline threatened the reputation of the campus

Nearby neighborhood decline threatened the reputation of the campus

First mover that acts as a catalyst

Private developer that owned the land

Mayor University

Three-legged partnership and role of 3rd-party organizations

Private investment with the backing of world-leading research institutions

City, university, private sector, with leverage funding from local foundations

Motivation for the university’s involvement

Physical expansion

Rescue surrounding blighted neighborhood

Marketing of the university’s biotechnology research capabilities

Leverage action to attract firms and tenants

Private investment with backing of world-leading research institutions

Georgia Tech creates a foundation adn a real estate office; owns the land and is part of the management of a hotel built on the new campus

Community development

Creation of 8000 jobs is envisaged, one-third of which are estimated to be available to people with a high school degree or less

The process can be conceptualized as follows:


16

Development forces at work

The City University 3rd party organization Developer

Non-profit

Non-profit

Non-profit

For profit

Government Public UrbanLeadership

(?)

Privatesector

Privatesector

Risk-averse

Risk-averse

Limited risktolerance

Marketdriven

THE

MARKET

Housing, biotech, start-up, etc.

Personal elaboration on Georgia Tech presentation, SSTTI Conference, October2005, Atlanta

Q: What lessons can be transferred to the European urban context? A: The answer depends on country-by-country answers to the following questions:

• What kind of policy can best reconcile the role of universities with local development dynamics in the European urban context?

• What is the role of real estate and private markets in determining local development dynamics?

• To what extent can universities play an active role in terms of urban planning?

In Italy • No comparable government effort toward basic research in life sciences; • No comparable private investment (e.g. venture capital) • Different role of universities in tech transfer (no property of research to universities) • No huge market for commercialization of research (dimension and specialization of

firms and industry) YET, lessons from US: • Tech-transfer offices • Universities as urban developers In Spain • No comparable private investment (e.g. venture capital) • No huge market for commercialization of research (dimension and specialization of

firms and industry)


YET • Research is the property of universities • History of foundations acting as third party organizations (e.g. UB)

Conclusion: challenges ahead… • Policy challenges

o Keep cities and territories competitive in knowledge-based globalized world with a view to strategic position of cities within regions and to social problems within city boundaries;

o Make urban development a diffuse and efficient outcome (no “left-behind” neighborhoods);

o Make tech-based revitalization projects accessible in terms of jobs for local communities;

• Research challenges

o Create a comparative urban methodology across US and Europe (not just UK); o Study the role of universities as urban developers; o Understand deeply the economic and social impact of globalization on cities

Discussion

Other U.S. universities have similarly engaged in urban redevelopment – University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Trinity College, Marquette University. Is the U.S. a good model? It was agreed that there is much to learn from both the successes and the failures, even though university systems may vary. The ownership of intellectual property is a hot topic in Europe at the moment, complicated by the fact that there is no unified patent system. There is considerable debate about the university’s role in entrepreneurial activities, particularly when, as in Italy and other countries, the government funds 80 to 90 percent of the research. Many feel that the university should concentrate on research and developing the next generation of talented scholars and workers. In addition, there were concerns about the possibility of success, since university researchers do not share the same time frame as commercial companies that are trying to time their entry into markets.

Good universities increase city status and could be better integrated into communities. They

employ not only high-powered teachers and researchers, but also low-skilled workers who provide services to buildings and people. In more socialist countries, the decision has been made that the university and university education is valuable enough that it ought to be universal, with the cost covered by higher taxes.

Universities are not monoliths. There are multiple actors within universities, some of whom

may be actively involved in local activities aside from research, including training of local citizens, and provision of access by local industries to research resources. Cycles of university involvement have waxed and waned over time.


POLI-CAR. How to favor higher car occupancy in congested urban areas

POLI-CAR is a “car for the many,” an extension of the concept of public transportation. The fundamental idea is that traffic problems can be addressed better with social science and economic tools than (or at least in addition to) the technology solutions usually adopted. Communication does not imply only physical movement. Besides POLI-CAR, we have developed at least 50 more “soft” projects to increase communication and personal mobility while reducing traffic an physical movement.

POLI-CAR evolved from the idea of car-pooling, but differs in several key respects,

primarily the way that cars are filled – how travelers get rides and how drivers offer rides. The traffic authority encourages travelers to spontaneously offer rides to whoever asks for them and commuters and other drivers are encouraged to ask for rides instead of using their own cars. This is the way that the inflexibility of the car-pooling approach, in which passengers and drivers are required to agree to match scheduled rides before leaving home or other location, can be overcome. The POLI-CAR system requires strong organization and a professional communication campaign. It has been implemented in two mid-sized cities for the modest initial investment of 100,000€ to 250,000€ and 25,000-80,000€ annual cost.

POLI-CAR is effective because it increases car occupancy, reduces the number of vehicles

circulating, does not substantially reduce the overall mobility supply, enhances travelers’ satisfaction, can be integrated with other traffic policies, reduces parking demand, and reduces public transit overcrowding during rush hours. Like car-pooling, it can allow cars with more than two riders to use reserved lanes, have access to Limited Traffic Zones, and to circulate when traffic limitation measures are in effect (usually in response to environmental alerts); facilitate the enforcement by public authorities of stricter traffic limitation measures more extensively in time and space; and facilitate streamlined toll applications and access to city centers.

How can POLI-CAR be implemented? Security issues must be addressed. Both driver and

rider participate in a pre-issued identification system, which also gives them access to low cost mass transportation. The driver has an identifying bumper sticker. At test sites, a small flag on the car was used, and volunteers set out to seek rides to stimulate activity and build critical mass. Identification is shown by both parties when a passenger enters a car. There is also the possibility of calling a central control office to let someone know that the trip has been undertaken and the authority can track the trip. A speed dial button on the cell phone can be set to reach the control center – which can charge a modest fee/message to cover costs. Economic incentives to drivers include parking discounts and transit passes.

Corrado Poli University of Bergamo, Italy 1978-80, 1986, 2007 International Urban Fellow


The benefits are shared by all parties. The driver saves on road tolls and parking fees and has access to reserved lanes and travel-limited zones. Economic incentives are needed to cover some part of the operating cost. A commuter or occasional passenger may wave at any car, have company traveling, does not need to wait for a bus, has no parking problem, and has access to restricted zones. Traffic authorities benefit from less traffic, less pollution, better utilization of parking, and the possibility of increasing tolls for single-occupant vehicles.

Discussion

The love affair of the individual for the individual vehicles is hard to overcome. In the

United States, cities continue to build more parking spaces downtown to accommodate the automobiles of commuters and visitors. Faced with occupancy restrictions, commuters around the world have tried to trick surveillance cameras by adding inflatable “passengers” – there is now a $300 penalty for their use in California. California (and perhaps other places) has seen an informal development similar to the POLI-CAR, in which before toll bridges, there are lanes in which people can leave their cars and share a ride (and the payment of the toll). The question is how to motivate people to share rides without a toll as an incentive. There may also be insurance issues involved in transporting others. This seems like a better deal for the driver than the passenger. How can you be assured that the driver is going where you want to go?

The idea is to expand the idea of public transit to the private car, not to induce new demand,

and in fact to reduce mobility. New transportation investments must show what they will do to reduced induced demand. Transportation should be seen as a general operating function of the city – managing traffic, not just building new infrastructure.

Are we letting the public sector off the hook? Should they not be required to produce more

public transit? The POLI-CAR is not meant to supplant public transport, but to work in a complementary and integrated way with it. Others suggested that in Britain, car-sharing was pre-planned among those who shared schools or workplace locations. Sharing cost and ownership of a car is being tested in a densely populated area of 25,000 inhabitants. Visit to Ciutadella Campus of UPF, Diagonal Tram, Torre Agbar, Diagonal-Poble Nou development After lunch at a local restaurant, the fellows were led across Ciutadella Park (see photo on final page of the report) to tour the Ciutadella campus of UPF with host Daniel Serra.

Ciutadella Park UPF Ciutadella campus Roger de Llúria Building Library Barracks not yet

renovated


When the military garrison was demolished in 1868 to make space for Ciutadella Park, the Ministry of War required the building of new nearby barracks in compensation. Pompeu Fabra University is gradually renovating the old barracks for academic space. Jaume I and Roger de Llúria, where renovations were completed in 1998 and 2000, house most of the social sciences and humanities. There are still old barracks awaiting renovation.

The interior patio of the Roger de Llúria building houses a memorial to the lecturers who

were removed from Catalan universities at the beginning of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1940). Pompeu Fabra was among the 120 lecturers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona who were relieved of their teaching charges.

Between the Jaume I and Roger de Llúria buildings, the Jordi Rubió I Balaguer agora was

built in 1996, and named in honor of a professor, librarian and researcher who contributed to the renovation of the university and culture in Catalunya. The building contains an underground level that connects adjoining areas and includes a large auditorium and an exhibition hall. Outside, a skylit patio joins the two buildings. The Reflection Room, a 500 sq. meter underground crypt designed by and decorated with the work of painter Antoni Tàpies and illuminated by large windows above, serves as a space for reflection and meditation.

The fellows were joined by Pompeu Fabra doctoral candidate in geography Esteve Dot, who

led the afternoon tour, which began on the new Diagonal Tram.

The Tram Baix has three lines and extends 12 kilometers. The new Tram Besós has yet only one 5-kilometer line, which the fellows took from Ciutadella to Plaça de les Glóries Catalanes.

Dominating the Glóries area and the new Barcelona skyline – until recently solely defined by

Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia Cathedral – is the Torre Agbar, a 144m bullet-shaped building designed by Jean Nouvel to be a “symbol of the international metropolis” and gateway to the new commercial center 22@bcn. The tower is a spike at the end of the Avinguda Diagonal, which now extends through the Poblenou neighborhood that will become 22@bcn, to the Forum 2004 and Diagonal Mar park sites on the waterfront. Built in 2005 for the Agbar water company that occupies half the space, the tower’s multi-colored skin appears to ripple under a liquid film.

There are four main operators of public transport in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona: • Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) – metro

and Barcelona urban bus systems • Ferrocarils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) – 3

lines of urban metro plus 2 suburban lines • Renfe Cercanias – local trains operated by the Spanish

railway company • Tramvia Metropolità – a new operator created in 2000

with a public private partnership agreement


Esteve Dot and fellows at Torre Agbar www.wikipedia.org View from Glóries to Forum 2004

The walking tour then led along the Rambla del Poble Nou, which extends from the Avinguda Diagonal to the sea. It traverses an old industrial part of Barcelona that is now a diverse neighborhood in which artists have settled in renovated warehouses. More information on the transformation of the area can be found in the June 7 proceedings.

Rambla del Poble Nou Photo by Laura Sayalero www panoramio com/photo/1762709


Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Planning the Metropolis Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (MMAMB) Zona França MMAMB’s offices (marked in blue on the map below right) are located in the Zona França, an industrial free-port developed on the flat land of the Llobregat delta between the city and the airport to the southwest. It has attracted a wide range of transnational manufacturers, particularly Japanese. The Logistics Park at Zona França is one of the largest of Barcelona’s wide-ranging renewal programs, and contains some of the most advanced comprehensive logistics infrastructure in the southern Mediterranean – rail and container hubs, trailer and road-and-rail intermodal services and air services that have wide-body container capacity. There is also space for an inland waterways terminal.4

www.euroave.com/maps/barcelona/mapx/401x.jpg www.amb.es Welcome

The Mancomunicat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona was established in 1987 with the strong support of then-mayor and former International Urban Fellow Pasqual Maragall. In includes 31 municipalities and is one of the unique cases of organizations funded by local governments. Its territory in the central part of Catalunya covers 600 sq. kilometers and has three million inhabitants. The “Metropolitan Area” is defined as the 37 municipalities that make up one or more of the three Metropolitan Bodies (MMAMB, EMMA–the metropolitan environmental body, and EMT–the metropolitan transportation body). MMAMB helps localities 4 Barcelona Field Studies Centre, http://geography fieldwork.com

Jaume Vendrell General Manager Mancomunicat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (MMAMB) Translator: Eva Serra


carry out the responsibilities not assigned to the other two specialty metropolitan bodies. Its goal is the preservation of the metropolitan area and enhancement of its quality of life. Its mission is to help municipalities, providing services useful to the economy, and coordinative actions. Its activities fall into several categories – parks, beaches, public housing, planning studies, geographically-referenced data (GIS), and economic development. The organization also supports municipal public transportation, water, sewerage and waste activities. The organization is governed by a board made up of all 31 mayors and other advisors from throughout the metropolitan area; it is chaired by the mayor of Barcelona.

Barcelona’s long search for a metropolitan agreement: urban planning

MMAMB is divided into two primary lines of work – the Planning Department headed by Amador Ferrer which develops plans at the metropolitan scale, and the Technical Services Department, which produces pilot projects in housing and public space (especially parks and related facilities). MMAMB monitors a network of 30 urban parks and manages 32 kilometers of beaches, including facilities on the beaches, maintenance, and cleaning.

Ramon Torra Director of Technical Services Mancomunicat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona Translator: Eva Serra


Barcelona Regional (BR) is a limited liability company founded in 1993, whose shareholders represent different public bodies, mainly local authorities. BR was created after the Olympic Games of 1992 to continue to initiate public-private projects and to create entities to carry them out. Its goal is to facilitate the meeting of shared objectives through such activities as drawing up common technical proposals for both public and private shareholders. The main function of its 60-member staff is to provide technical support and assistance to its members and other public entities, focusing on the design of infrastructure to enhance the urban environment of Barcelona, including the total redesign of its waterfront. Barcelona has approached transformation at different scales in different periods in its history since the restoration of democracy in 1975. The 1980s were a time of “urban acupuncture” in which 140 new small scale public space projects were completed in seven years, with the objective of increasing citizen self-esteem and quality of life, and building popular support among citizens and City Council officials.

The second phase was the development of traffic infrastructure (including ring roads), a new airport terminal, relocation of railroad tracks, and upgrades to utilities associated with the 1992 Olympic Games in four areas:

• Montjuic • Diagonal • Vall d’Hebron • Poble Nou - Nova Icaria

One of the most stunning Olympic-related developments was the creation of beaches along much of the city’s 40km coast where none had existed before. Now they extend from river to river (Besós to Llobregat).

In the third phase of this activity, BR’s former and current projects include: • Transformations are underway across the rivers on both the north and the south sides of

the city. At Llobregat, the “Aeroport City” project will double the size of the airport and add 1.2m2 of logistics space.

• Work is beginning along the Besós riverfront.

Eva Serra Director of Communications and Publications Barcelona Regional (BR)


• For the Forum 2004, the old sewerage treatment and highway facilities were not

removed, but covered. The scale is not as human as one might have preferred, but it solved the problem of completing the connection of the Avinguda Diagonal to the sea. The convention center, the second largest in Europe, is very successful.

• In Poble Nou, where for many years industrial conversion to housing was discouraged, there is now a major opportunity, the 22@bcn initiative, in which BR is involved (see June 7 for details).

• In La Mina, an area of poor residents just southwest of Forum 2004 and northeast of Poble Nou (see map, page 9), immigrants from elsewhere in Spain who had come to Barcelona to work on the construction of the 1929 exhibition had been relocated in the 1960s to public housing high rises from gypsy camps and shantytowns. Now, the strategy here and elsewhere in Barcelona is to revitalize the community space and activate buildings’ ground-levels – in this case along a new Rambla de la Mina – and keep the 2500 families in place but add 1000 new units to change the social mix in the community. EU URBAN funds are being used for social and educational support services and improvements to access and structures of existing buildings.

• North of the 22@bcn, a major 125-hectare transportation initiative is being taken to turn the Sant Andreu and Sagrera stations into a node in the European network of high speed trains. The street and a 3-1/2 km2 park will occupy the top of four levels, with the roadway at the next level down and the trains below that. The project also aims to reconnect the neighborhoods now separated by the train tracks and will include 1.4m sq.meters of development, 60 percent of which will be residential. The development competition for the project is underway.

Llobregat Besós


Gloríes

Barcelona city and region have lived within master plans since the 19th century, when development beyond the walls of the old city was prohibited by military restrictions imposed in 1714 after the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1854, permission was given for the walls to be demolished and the expansion (eixample) was undertaken according to the plan made by Ildefons Cerdà (see report cover). In 1905, the French architect Jaussely was appointed to make a new plan and in 1917 annexation included in the plan by Enllaços enlarged the City again, connecting the eixample to centers of nearby regional towns. In 1934, a plan was made by GATCPAC, a group of rationalist architects cooperating with le Corbusier, but it was not implemented when civil war broke out in 1936. The first metropolitan plan (Comarcal) was made in 1953 by Barcelona and 27 municipalities. Barcelona began growing from internal Spanish immigration, and the plan recognized the multi-center nature of the region, where many of the nearby municipalities had thousands of years of history of their own. In 1976, in the midst of political transformation, continued metropolitan growth necessitated a new plan. This plan is still in force, and was the basis for additional acquisition of land in the 1980s and 1990s. Metropolitan relationships in our topographically complex region make up a network of cities, some of which have 100,000 or more inhabitants, not a hub at Barcelona and spokes

Amador Ferrer Coordinator, Planning Department Mancomunicat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

La Mi


radiating outward. We continue to debate whether the metropolitan area is the appropriate level at which to plan, or whether it is more appropriately all of Catalunya.

OOuurr wwoorrkk iiss ffooccuusseedd oonn mmeettrrooppoolliittaann iissssuueess –– ssuuppeerr--mmuunniicciippaall iissssuueess iinn tthhee ccoonntteexxtt ooff CCaattaalluunnyyaa.. FFoorr eexxaammppllee,, hhoouussiinngg iiss aaddddrreesssseedd bbyy tthhee GGeenneerraalliittaatt ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt,, bbuutt ssoommee ssoolluuttiioonnss mmaayy lliiee wwiitthh mmeettrrooppoolliittaann aarreeaass lliikkee oouurrss.. IInn tthhee aarreeaa ooff ttrraannssppoorrttaattiioonn –– bbootthh ppuubblliicc ttrraannssppoorrttaattiioonn aanndd rrooaaddss –– wwee mmaakkee lliinnkkaaggeess aammoonngg llooccaall iinniittiiaattiivveess aanndd ttoo tthhoossee aatt aa llaarrggeerr ssccaallee.. WWee ooppeerraattee bbeettwweeeenn tthhee ddoommaaiinnss ooff llooccaall ssttrreeeettss aanndd nnaattiioonnaall mmoottoorrwwaayyss.. IInn hhoouussiinngg aanndd eeccoonnoommiicc ddeevveellooppmmeenntt,, wwee ccoooorrddiinnaattee ooppppoorrttuunniittiieess aanndd nneeeeddss aammoonngg tthhoossee ppllaacceess tthhaatt hhaavvee aavvaaiillaabbllee llaanndd aanndd tthhoossee tthhaatt ddoo nnoott.. UUssuuaallllyy mmuunniicciippaalliittiieess aasskk uuss ttoo hheellpp.. IInn tthhee aarreeaa ooff ooppeenn ssppaaccee,, wwee aarree ttrryyiinngg ttoo ccoonnnneecctt ooppeenn ssppaacceess,, lliinnkkiinngg mmaajjoorr rreeggiioonnaall ppaarrkkss.. AAtt OOrrddaall--LLlloobbrreeggaatt,, wwee aarree ppuuttttiinngg iitt aallll ttooggeetthheerr –– aa ffrraammeewwoorrkk ppllaann ffoorr ttrraannssppoorrttaattiioonn,, hhoouussiinngg,, aanndd ooppeenn ssppaaccee tthhaatt lleeaavveess rroooomm ffoorr llooccaall ppllaannss.. AAss wwaass sseeeenn oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt ddaayy ooff tthhee ccoonnffeerreennccee,, MMMMAAMMBB iiss aallssoo wwoorrkkiinngg oonn tthhee BBaaddaalloonnaa ppllaann aanndd lliinnkkiinngg iitt ttoo tthhee mmeettrrooppoolliittaann ccoonntteexxtt.. DDiissccuussssiioonn TThhee ffeelllloowwss wweerree ssttrruucckk bbyy hhooww ffaasstt BBaarrcceelloonnaa wwaass aabbllee ttoo ppllaann aanndd iimmpplleemmeenntt vveerryy llaarrggee ssccaallee pprrooggrraammss.. TThhee kkeeyy iinnggrreeddiieennttss iiddeennttiiffiieedd wweerree:: 11)) llooww rraatteess ooff ppuubblliicc ppaarrttiicciippaattiioonn ((ppeerrhhaappss eexxhhaauussttiioonn aanndd rreelliieeff aafftteerr tthhee hhaarrdd--ffoouugghhtt rreessiissttaannccee ttoo ddiiccttaattoorrsshhiipp));; 22)) ggoooodd aanndd ppoowweerrffuull lleeaaddeerrss wwiitthh ssttrroonngg rreellaattiioonnsshhiippss ttoo eeaacchh ootthheerr ((cciittyy--CCaattaalluunnyyaa,, iinn ppaarrttiiccuullaarr));; 33)) aa wweeaalltthhyy cciittyy;; 44)) mmoobbiilliizzaattiioonn ooff aallll sseeccttoorrss ttoo aacchhiieevvee ggooaallss,, aass iinn tthhee llooccaattiioonn aallll oovveerr tthhee cciittyy ooff uunniivveerrssiittyy ccaammppuusseess;; 55)) vveerryy ssttrroonngg llooccaall llaanndd uussee aanndd llaanndd aapppprroopprriiaattiioonn ppoowweerrss;; aanndd 66)) tthhee ccaappaacciittyy aanndd wwiilllliinnggnneessss ttoo lleevveerraaggee pprriivvaattee iinnvveessttmmeenntt bbyy ttrraaddiinngg ooffff pprriivvaattee bbeenneeffiittss ((eegg.. rreezzoonniinngg)) ttoo rreeaacchh ppuubblliicc ggooaallss ((hhiigghh qquuaalliittyy ccoonnssttrruuccttiioonn)).. BBaarrcceelloonnaa hhaass hhaadd eexxpprroopprriiaattiioonn llaawwss ssiinnccee tthhee 1199tthh cceennttuurryy..


TThhee lloonngg--ssttaannddiinngg ppllaann,, wwhhiillee uuppddaatteedd,, pprroovviiddeess ssttaabbiilliittyy,, aanndd eeaacchh ssuubbsseeqquueenntt ppllaann ttrriieess ttoo kkeeeepp tthhee bbeesstt ppaarrttss ooff iittss pprreeddeecceessssoorr.. TThhee 11997766 mmeettrrooppoolliittaann ppllaann iiss nnoott ccooddiiffiieedd iinn llaaww.. TThhee rreellaattiioonnsshhiippss ooff ccoommmmuunniittiieess aanndd ssppeecciiaalliizzeedd aaggeenncciieess tthhaatt hhaavvee bbeeeenn ccrreeaatteedd ttoo uunnddeerrttaakkee pprroojjeeccttss wwiitthh tthhee nnaattiioonnaall ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt aarree ssttiillll eevvoollvviinngg;; tthhee ddeemmooccrraaccyy iiss ssttiillll yyoouunngg.. TThheeyy aarree aallssoo aaddaappttiinngg ttoo ssuupprraannaattiioonnaall ((iiee.. EEUU)) rreeqquuiirreemmeennttss ooff ggrraanntteeeess.. WWhhiillee tthhee ffooccuuss ooff eeccoonnoommiicc ddeevveellooppmmeenntt iiss oonn tthhee ggrroowwiinngg tteerrttiiaarryy sseeccttoorr,, ootthheerr aarreeaass ffoorr iinndduussttrriiaall uusseess aarree ppllaannnneedd aass eexxiissttiinngg oorr ffoorrmmeerr iinndduussttrriiaall ssiitteess aarree rreeuusseedd ffoorr tthhee ““nneeww eeccoonnoommyy..”” TThhee CCiittyy’’ss ssttrroonngg hhiissttoorryy ooff ppllaannnniinngg sseeeemmss ttoo bbee ggiivviinngg wwaayy ttoo tthhee eerraa ooff tthhee iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall ssttaarr aarrcchhiitteecctt.. TThheerree iiss ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg ddeebbaattee aabboouutt tthhiiss ttrreenndd,, aanndd rreenneewweedd eemmpphhaassiiss oonn hhoouussiinngg ffoorr eexxiissttiinngg rreessiiddeennttss.. Barcelona’s long search for a metropolitan agreement: housing and public space

IMPSOL is the public corporation for housing in the metropolitan area. All the municipalities are the owners of IMPSOL. It is not responsible for housing for socially deprived groups with problems. It serves the many middle class citizens who cannot afford market rate housing. The for-sale flats mix affordability with urban quality and integration of incomes. The metropolitan plan sets standards of the square feet to be built. There are no special funds – loans are obtained from banks and, in cooperation with communities, competitions are held among developers and architects. Barcelona is in the highest category nationally of housing cost. A sample of built projects in towns around Barcelona were described:

City Developer # of units Year built 1. El Prat de Llobregat Ribera Baixa 75 20002. El Prat de Llobregat Ribera Baixa 129 20013. Viladecans Torrent Ballester 72 20004. Molins de Rej La Granja 74 2004 1 2 3 4

Amadeu Iglesias Director, IMPSOL (Institut Metropolità de Promoció del Sòl i Gestió Patrimonial)


Additional housing is under construction in the city of St. Andreu de Barca (162 units), where IMPSOL bought 30 percent of the area to stop the development of parkland. Proposed density was moved to another location.

IMPSOL also provides assistance in sustainable planning of larger projects. In the town of Molins de Rei (population 15,000), the La Granja development will expands into an area northwest of the town and includes commercial (larger scale retail) space and a 43 sq.m park. The plan calls for 695 housing units on the 15.6 hectare site. Two hundred fifty-three of the units will be social housing and 442 private housing. Discussion Social housing is integrated into the urban fabric, usually 30 to 50 percent of the total. Social integration is not a problem because the people who are receiving subsidies and those who are not are quite similar. Eligibility requirements include income under $35,000 and no other property ownership. Those under 35 years old receive help paying at the beginning and the end of the mortgage, and large families receive extra subsidies. The Catalunyan government is also involved in subsidized housing, but not extensively. The houses are for sale, not rent, because this is what the public wants; nevertheless, more rental housing is needed.

In the 31 member municipalities, the MMAMB plans and builds public space. It provides technical support to town halls to define needs and projects, make plans, contract to have the project done, and manage the project when it is complete. The development budget is approximately 200m€ per year, and the maintenance budget is eight million euros per year. The issues addressed include:

• Parks – these are the oldest of the MMAMB’s foci, and are of metropolitan scale, not local playgrounds or city parks. Collserola Park is an enormous example, an 800-hectare natural hillside park that was saved from development.

Antoni Farrero Coordinator, Design Department Mancomunicat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona


• Squares and urban arteries -- Recent projects include Republica Argentina Avenue and Rambla de Sant Boi.

• Seafront promenades – Recent projects include a promenade and park at Castelldefels • Street furniture – Installed on beachfronts • Facilities – Includes sports centers, multi-use buildings, and libraries. • Beach and park maintenance

Green network of parks Metropolitan beaches

Several projects will illustrate how MMAMB works within the metropolitan context of new growth areas, interstices, and borders, to enhance environmental quality and citizen satisfaction. The architect must serve the people who will use the public spaces. Water elements are desirable and the public desires space near them. Our mantras: Where the natural is enough, do the minimum to make it useful. Rebuild old elements when possible. Add new elements when possible, such as a lake.

• Torrent d’en Farré Park, Esplugues de Llobregat. The torrent (the gulley that is the course of the water from the Collserola mountain to the sea) was not behaving like a torrent as it passed through Esplugues. It had been buried by urban development and appeared only in small glimpses. The main channel of the torrent was cleaned up and reclaimed as a green space by preserving a flat open space on one bank and constructing a wooden path and several footbridges across the torrent and stairs leading up to the top of the slope. Its two branches were also cleaned up and areas for leisurely walking and sitting provided alongside. At the widest end, slopes were stabilized, a long artificial lake constructed, and a hanging footbridge installed.

• Avinguda de la Ciutat de Màlaga Underpass, Castelldefels. The challenge undertaken by architects and engineers here was to link the built-up areas between the sea and the hills that were separated by a major highway and railroad tracks. An underpass on Avinguda de la Ciutat de Màlaga was constructed to serve (in separated spheres) pedestrians and tradesmen.

Oriol Ribera Architect Mancomunicat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona


• Access road to the Fabra Observatory, Barcelona. The observatory, situated half-way up the Collserola hill range that bounds the city, was accessible by a road that suffered habitual flooding. A single-piece road edge and gutter assembly solved the problem of run-off and erosion of the road sides. Several of the pieces were also used to make pedestrian rest areas.

Discussion It became clear under questioning that the MMAMB is not in the business of providing facilities for outdoor activities and sports, which are handled by municipalities, as are pocket parks in neighborhoods. Metropolitan parks are considered to be non-activity areas. MMAMB provides support to municipalities on all these issues when asked to do so. Art is included in the projects as required by the sponsors. MMAMB’s work is informed by sustainability strategies, and is expressed in how waste is handled and the use of recycled water for irrigation and recycled materials for street furniture. As more space is dedicated to public use or designated a protected environment, who will pay for maintenance? Currently, taxes, special budget provisions for maintenance, and contract work with companies pays for maintenance. Housing subsidies are provided by savings banks, which by law must invest in social programs. The issue is getting the land on which to build the projects. IMPSOL does not rehabilitate buildings; all of its housing production is in new construction. The difference in the cost of private and publicly-provided housing is attributable to differences in the price of land. Previous immigrants settled in towns close to the City, not in newly constructed housing, so the construction of new housing throughout the metropolitan area is unlikely to have an effect on the distribution of the growing immigrant population. IMPSOL is constructing less than it should and applications are increasing rapidly. It is also suffering the maintenance and quality of life effects of delinquent behavior in the open spaces within its housing developments. Planning the Metropolitan Region

Catalunya’s territory is 6.3 percent of the total of Spain, but it has 15.9 percent of the country’s inhabitants, 18.78 percent of its absolute income (2004), and generates 27.4 percent of its exports. Despite this light-filled picture overall, the government of Catalunya has become increasingly concerned over the past several years about the neighborhoods that are in shadow.

Oriol Nel.lo General Secretary Departament de Politica Territorial I Obres Públiques Generalitat de Catalunya


After 15 years of stable population, the population has exploded in the past eight years, largely due to immigration from Latin America, Madrid, and Eastern Europe. The housing market has become a paradox – housing is being built at the same rate as in the past (40 percent of the construction in the whole country, 160,000 units per year, 700,000 over the past four years), but a large percentage of the population has trouble with housing. This is somewhat related to the ways in which the housing stock is used – one-third of it is not primary residences. Prices have risen steadily for the past 10 years. Population has become concentrated in neighborhoods where the market is more irregular; people with fewer resources are “forced” to live in areas of the city that are highest cost (eg. downtown Barcelona). The areas of particular concern include:

• Old town centers. Example: Manresa’s old town center, which houses 11.6 percent of the municipality’s total population of 63,929. The town center rated 54.75 as an urban area for particular attention, and a budget of 20m€ was devised, of which 62 percent was subsidy.

• Housing estates. Example: Sant Cosme in the city of El Prat de Llobregat, which houses 11.23 percent of the city’s total population of 63,139. The housing estate rated 35.7 as an urban area for particular attention, and a budget of 20m€ was devised, of which 62 percent was subsidy.

• Marginal districts with unplanned housing. Example: Colblanc-La Torrassa in the city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, which contains 19.5 percent of the city’s total of 242,480 population. The area rated 49.22 as an urban area for particular attention, and a budget of 20m€ was devised, of which 75 percent was subsidy.

The problems of these districts fall into four categories: • Poor quality of housing: 70 percent of the districts feature buildings in a poor state of

repair and suffer service shortfalls o Percent of buildings with deficiencies (average for Catalunya is 2.65 percent)

Old district of Tortosa – 13.88 percent Sant Cosme (El Prat de Llobregat) – 11.78 percent La Mariola (Lleida) – 11.40 percent

o Percent of buildings without running water (average for Catalunya is .73 percent) Old district of Tortosa – 2.19 percent Santa Eugènia and Ca Gibert del Pla (Girona) – 2 percent

• Lack of public space: All the districts have high densities of housing and lack of green zones

o Homes per hectare Sant Ildefons (Cornellà de Llobregat) – 205 Barri de la Ribera (Montcada I Reixac) – 213 Colblanc-la Torrassa (l’Hospitalet de Llobregat) – 209

o Green zones planned but not implemented The Cerdanyola district (Mataró) – 100 The old district of Tortosa – 100 The Roquetes district (Barcelona) – 96

• Demographic growth: 50 percent of the districts feature population-variation levels below the average for Catalunya, while 80 percent show high immigrant-population rates

o Non-EU foreign population (average for Catalunya is 7 percent) Vila Vella and Eixample de l’Alou (Olot) – 28.88 percent


Marca de l’Ham (Figueres) – 25.71 percent Santa Caterina (Barcelona) – 26.99 percent The old town center in Manresa – 23.65 percent

• Economic and social problems: 87 percent of the districts feature unemployment rates that are above the average rate, and 90 percent feature low educational levels. 50 percent of the districts have a high percentage of the population facing the risk of exclusion.

o Unemployment rate (average for Catalunya is 10.20 percent) Sant Cosme (El Prat de Llobregat) – 19.74 percent Casablanca (Sant Boi de Llobregat) – 18.40 percent Vila Vella and Eixample de l’Alou (Olot) – 15.33 percent

o Population over 10 years of age with no secondary-school or professional-training qualifications (average for Catalunya is 65.5 percent)

Marca de l’Ham (Figueres) – 88.35 percent Barriada Nova (Conyvelles) – 87.76 percent L’Erm district (Manilleu) – 82.99 percent

One of the first statutes enacted in this term of office was the Districts Act, adopted in June 2004, which aimed at improving districts and urban areas requiring particular attention. It established a fund for stimulating integrated programs for renovating and promoting urban districts and areas that require particular attention from the government of Catalunya in economic, social, and environmental terms. Its objectives also included fostering cooperation and participation among public authorities involved. Areas were selected based on their urban regression; shortfalls in amenities and services; demographic, social and environmental problems; social and urban deficits; and local development problems. In the first round (2004), 13 projects were awarded; 17 projects in the second round in 2005; and 17 projects in the third round in 2006, for a total of 46 projects, 820,420 beneficiaries, total aid from the Districts fund of 297m€ and total investment by the Generalitat of 594m€. The investments were distributed as follows: Field of action Total

investment % of total

Objective Examples

Improving public areas and proving green zones

191.0 m€ 48.3% To improve collective-use areas and to extend facilities in order to enhance mobility and good relations within the community

Resurfacing the streets Planting trees More street lighting

Renovation and facilities in common parts of buildings

39.3 m€ 9.9% To enhance the state of housing and collective facilities by improving the parts of the buildings used by all

Roof repairs Improving common facilities

Providing amenities for common use

80.7 m€ 20.4% To address lack of amenities in order to provide adequate access to the various needs of the people – education, athletics, culture, thereby encouraging social interrelation and cohesion

Renovating homes for the elderly Creating civic centers


Field of action Total

investment % of total

Objective Examples

Bringing information technologies into buildings

3.3 m€ .8% To encourage the incorporation of new technologies for the purpose of enhancing the potential for communication, improving information, and providing services

Installing cabling in buildings to enable Internet access to be arranged

Encouraging sustainability in urban development

16.92 m€ 4.3% To reduce environmental impact and services costs by providing incentives for measures that boost energy efficiency, savings in water consumption, and the recycling of waste

Installing water-saving devices Setting up recycling centers

Gender equality 8.6 m€ 2.2% To improve living conditions for women and to encourage their participation in and integration into the social fabric

Premises equipped with house services aimed at reconciling family life and working life Premises for providing training activities

Programs for social, town planning, and economic improvement

33.7 m€ 8.5% To revitalize economic and social activity To enhance living conditions for people at risk of social exclusion and the most deprived social groups

Programs aimed at revitalizing commerce Town-promotion programs

Accessibility 21.8 m€ 5.5% To ensure better mobility and the chance to use public amenities and zones which the entire community can enjoy; elimination of obstacles that may hinder this process

Broadening the pavements Providing no parking zones and pedestrian crossings Building street ramps

There is broad consensus around these integrated actions, with contributions from the government of Catalunya, local authorities, and the European Union’s various initiatives (DOCUP program, FEDER, objective 2). Other ministries within the Catalunya government have linked their programs to the District Program, including housing (Ministry of the Environment and Housing), health programs (Ministry of Health), programs concerning women (Department of the Presidency), employment programs (Ministry of Employment and Industry), culture programs (Ministry of Culture), immigration programs (Ministry of Welfare and Family Affairs), and community vitalisation programs (Ministry of Institutional Relations and Participation).

By the end of this term, there will have been four rounds of awards totaling over 800m€ to 60 beneficiary districts in Catalunya. The Generalitat has recently adopted a scheme that requires that space equivalent to 30 percent of the roof surface of any new development to be protected for affordable housing. Discussion How does Catalunya get credit for these types of activities in which many parties are involved? A lot of press is generated, the projects are very visible, and everyone gets credit. It will only work if we give municipalities much of the credit. Most of all, the success of the


projects generates its own favorable public reaction, and there is a shared feeling that the success will benefit all. How are areas selected? Are they the districts in worst shape? Those that are deemed to be salvageable? The critical point is not to select in a way that worsens the problem by stigmatizing. Statistical indicators are used to define eligible districts, and then judgments are made based on the quality of the project proposed. The awardees are not just neighborhoods that have problems, but those that have developed projects to address the problems. The objective is to avoid physical concentration of poverty and related social problems, and to address the problems with all the powers and activities of the Generalitat. The steering committee that makes allocation decisions is made up of representatives of many departments within the Generalitat, municipalities, and citizens. These projects are short term (two years to implement, plus two years extension) and they cannot address social issues directly. Other complementary investments are being made to improve the social health of districts. We do not have a strong tradition of program evaluation, but after four years we have enough evidence to suggest what needs revising. Groups of 15-20 municipalities that have undertaken projects in the same field of activity have been convened to present their experiences and learn from each other. This has also been helpful for program managers and helps to build local learning and capacity to undertake additional initiatives. The municipalities are responsible for involving citizens in the planning process for these projects. How are citizens being connected to jobs in the new economy? The effort is four-fold: Municipalities are given help providing technical training; youngsters are supported in their transition from school to work; public employment is provided for people who are unemployed; and widespread access to new technologies is being provided for citizens. Of particular concern is the plight of many immigrant women, who stay at home, do not learn the language, and whose public health is declining. The 30 percent of roof area scheme has not worked well in Ireland, where it was passed in 2004. The government came to terms with developers on the percentage, which varies according to the characteristics of the municipality. The goal was reductions of one-half of the market price. The government is in a different circumstance now and the future of the initiative is uncertain.

The Generalitat has undertaken an advanced pioneering planning process aimed at providing guidelines for officials at all levels. Three systems are integral:

• Non-built areas

Juli Esteban Director of Territorial Planning Department de Politica Territorial i Obres Públiques Generalitat de Catalunya


• Activities/cities/buildings/settlements • Mobility infrastructure

Of the 15 planning criteria, five will be highlighted in this presentation: • Favor biophysical diversity within the territory • Moderate the consumption of land • Accommodate urban growth by reinforcing the nodal character of settlement in the

territory • Facilitate public transportation and mitigate polarization and capacity of transport

systems • Give special attention to the use of mobility channels to order urban areas, particularly

new urban areas

The demographic environment: Since 1981, the population of Catalunya has grown from 5.98 million to 6.5 million inhabitants. At the same time, a fall in the birth rate is rapidly changing the age distribution of the population, and the expectation of how many young people will be entering the labor force. Job growth has accelerated from 2.82 percent annually over the past 10 years (1992-2001) to 6.21 percent over the past five years (1997-2001). Looking forward, we expect by 2006 to have 7.8 million inhabitants (an increase from 2001 of 1.3 million, and of 1.5 million immigrants); 940,000 jobs; an increase in the dependency rate among the population; and a need to produce 730,000 additional housing units.

The map below summarizes housing demand (the maroon blocks), overlaid on a map that shows geographic features – dark gray are areas of slopes greater than 20 percent, while tan areas have slopes of less than 20 percent; blue/gray/purple areas are protected spaces.


Looking forward, the planners are applying various growth hypotheses and the land use demands they entail for each use in each of the seven geographic areas of Catalunya. Existing settlements fall into two types: those with an historical basis, that may be stagnating, and others that are more modern, either industrial estates or master-developed properties. The planning effort is seeking to match options with places – areas of potential strategic growth; areas that can accommodate growth only up to a limit; areas that need to be reformed and rehabilitated; others that are candidates for growth but only with the right mix of uses. The planners seek a gradation of options, rather than the straitjacketing of growth, but are specific about some of the directives for smaller areas – calling for limitation on growth beyond 30 percent of the land area, eg. As protection of open spaces is pursued, the road/rail infrastructure provides an internal logic, since it has historically followed the path of least resistance through the challenging terrain and has driven the location of settlements for centuries.

Discussion Communication of the plan to the public is very important, because they are often

uninformed or misinformed, which can lead to unnecessary land speculation. There is a strong 50-year tradition of land use planning in Catalunya, and citizens are aware of the rules. They also know that the rules can be changed by the local council (200 of them in Catalunya). In areas where there is no elected body, specialized committees are established. It is difficult to do planning council by council, but the Catalunyan planners start with what they believe to be possible after trolling the territory, then draft a skeleton of a plan. Public consultations, hearings, websites, public meetings, and technical documents are all used to elicit response. In metropolitan areas there are specific local and regional legal frameworks and bodies, with which the Generalitat collaborates on the technical side.

Over the last three decades, growth has taken place in the metropolitan area where land is available, not necessarily nearest a city center, but roughly defined by transportation corridors. This drop in housing density through dispersion increases mobility and social segregation. The planners have looked at what might happen if these trends continued unimpeded. It appears that nearly 200,000 housing units could be built on the 56 percent of the land that is available. The needs are greatest in larger municipalities, which have 84 percent of the population, but only 57 percent of the housing stock. Land available within a kilometer of large-capacity transportation infrastructure would support only19 percent of the housing needed. Recent history has taught that, in spite of good urban planning, it is difficult to see forward from decade to decade.

Demographic analysis includes:

J.M. Carrera Director, Territorial Plan for the Metropolitan Region Department de Politica Territorial i Obres Públiques Generalitat de Catalunya


• Immigration, which began in 1998 – is this a one-time phenomenon or can we expect it to continue? Are immigrants permanent residents or temporary? What are the employment and housing demands associated with the influx?

• Projections of the age distribution of the population show that without immigration, the area would have the highest dependency rate in Europe.

• Depending on what scenario proves to be accurate, integration of immigrants into the workforce would allow the working population to grow more than the retired population, generating a more sustainable economy.

Land use scenarios for addressing the imbalance in the existing conditions and dealing with

growth first need to recognize that the region is not flat. The flat areas are connected by capillaries, not trunk lines. Much of the remaining area is protected, some to a lesser extent than others. Green ecological connections are needed. The metropolitan area planning criteria parallel those of Catalunya:

• Make efficient use of land • Build on the current nodal settlement pattern • Promote mixed uses • Use networks as an organizing principle • Promote public transportation If the desire is to protect the ecologically-sensitive plains, various models for concentrating

growth will need to be explored. Included among them are the British garden cities, new towns, the Copenhagen model. Cities like Vilafranca del Penedès, Igualada, Manresa, Lleida, Girona could become larger along the lines of examples of cities from the 19th century – Sabadell, Terrassa, Mataró.

What should the 21st century examples look like? • Change in scale, if population doubled, for example? • Urban functions – residences, economic activities, services • New centers’ relationship with old • Relationship with the territory • Fill in existing cities

Models are being constructed for sharing increments in growth in a nodal fashion, and

reinforcing infrastructure linked to the change in scale within the networks. Capillarity must be enhanced. Discussion

In response to questions about the economic structure of Catalunya, the metropolitan region, and the city, the speakers described the changing employment structure from industry to services and the parallel changes in land use toward tertiary activities (including hotels, conventions). The port now operates in a limited area and has little space for expansion. When compared to England, which has used green belts to delimit the city and the hinterland, Barcelona has a natural demarcation line – the mountain. The region is still searching for a growth model.


Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Shaping the Network Metropolis: New Technologies Pompeu Fabra University, Estació de França

Metropolitan government and new technologies Translator: Antonia Casellas

The factors of location of economic activity have changed. Classical location theory states that physical accessibility to raw materials and other production inputs (such as the supply of labor) and access to large markets drive location decisions. In the new economic geography, other factors have risen in importance, including the quality of labor force, the quality of land (infrastructure, services), the quality of services (research and knowledge centers, high living standards), the quality of life (culture, stress, congestion, crime), human capital capacity (innovative environments, and creative milieu, local entrepreneurship). (Millard, 1997) A premium is placed on the density of opportunities for face-to-face contact for decision-makers who are facing risk, uncertainty and the need to quickly adapt to changing market structures.

Antoni Tulla, Moderator Chair, Department of Geography Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Montserrat Pallarés Research Vice-Rector Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona


The reason for the emphasis on person-to-person contact is that knowledge and innovation that are embodied in people as individuals and their organizations and networks tend to be tacit and non-codable; they move only as the people and organizations move and add a great deal of value, so they drive geographic concentration. Conversely, knowledge and innovation that have been embedded in the technology itself (hardware and software) tend to be explicit and codable, and easily transmitted among regions. The environments most conducive to transfer of tacit knowledge are organizationally complex, support personal relations, and have high physical densities of skilled people and specialized firms. Social capital molds the type of learning, the use of knowledge, and the ability to innovate.

New concepts and new questions are being raised: • Knowledge-intensive urban economic space: all sectors are knowledge intensive and

employ highly skilled labor force engaged in on-going learning • Knowledge and creative activities • The “on-shore” economic space • “Organizational proximity”: proximity is creating the capacity to share knowledge and

interactive learning among firms • 22@ knowledge hub: an ensemble of knowledge-intense organizations in the public and

private sectors capable of generating and applying international and local knowledge • Regional development and technology: in a knowledge-driven economy, the tendency is

towards geographic concentration (Claysse and Muldur 2001; European Commission 2000a)

• Clustering dynamics and diffusion: new geographic patterns arise when more regions are potentially accessible through ICT, so geographical differentiation becomes more, rather than less, important. However, ICT advances have allowed companies to decentralize the location of service functions.

• Technology and production divide: large companies in the new economy search for low cost locations within their production and distribution structures and strategies, a division of production activities that drives decentralization.

• Upper tier knowledge-based activities: upper-tier knowledge-based activities are spatially concentrated in the “global cities.” Electronic communication appears to complement rather than replace face-to-face communication for high value interactions in which new knowledge is being shared. In lower tier activities, knowledge is routinized and embedded and contributes to geographic dispersal.

• Definitions and fuzzy concepts

Statistics say that knowledge-intensive industry should naturally locate in urban space. The geographic patterns differ for knowledge-creating activities (research institutions, clusters of research firms, collaboration networks), which tend to be concentrated geographically and knowledge-diffusing activities (training, creation of routines, manuals, licenses), which tend to be more geographically decentralized. Geographical diffusion has been fueled by the Internet’s ability to break down the “friction of distance.”

The term R&D (research and development) covers three activities:

• Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts,


without any particular application or use in view • Applied research is also original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new

knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective

• Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on existing knowledge gained from research and/or practical experience, which is directed to producing new materials, products or devices, to installing new processes, systems and services, or to improving substantially those already produced or installed

The criteria for distinguishing R&D from related activities is the presence in R&D of an

appreciable element of novelty and the resolution of scientific and/or technological uncertainty, i.e. when the solution to a problem is not readily apparent to someone familiar with the basic stock of common knowledge and techniques for the area concerned. For instance, the investigation of new methods of measuring temperature is R&D, as are the study and development of new systems and techniques for interpreting the data. The preparation, execution and maintenance of production standardization or the promotion of sale of products should be excluded from R&D.

The new economy is characterized by a mix of complex situations as companies blend

onshore, offshore and nearshore delivery systems to maximize profits. Remaining questions (related to the 22@ initiative) are:

• Are onshore activities of higher value? • Are offshore activities market-oriented? • Can 22@ become a knowledge hub? District? Creative cluster?

In the context of Prof. Pallarés remarks about the theory of high technology development, a Barcelona case study is presented – the 22@bcn project. It builds on Michael Porter’s ideas about the centrality of place in the new global competition. An amendment of the Master Plan of 1976 provides guidelines for the 200 hectare project on formerly industrial land in Poble Nou.

Flexibility is the hallmark of the initiative, which aims to create an innovative economic district with leading edge infrastructure. The new “22@” urban classification replaces the old 22a and allows mixing of multiple uses, greater density, and incentives for the attraction of the so-called “@” activities, which must equal at least 20 percent of the functional program of a new project if the developers are to be allowed to build to the maximum allowed. The “@” activities are those that look to individual talent as their primary productive resource, and are urban, non-polluting, ICT- and space-intensive, and employ highly skilled personnel.

Antonia Casellas University of Utah and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 1998 International Urban Fellow


The 22@ project does not establish detailed plans but rather provides flexibility in terms of time, in the form of buildings, in the agents that can be involved, and in terms of the mechanisms of transformation. Plans and secondary plans can cover whole city blocks, half blocks, parcels of various sizes, consolidated housing fronts or industrial buildings. The project is expected to add 100,000 to 200,000 new jobs and increase the amount of housing from 23,000 to 40,000, including 3,500 to 4,000 new social housing units (10 percent of the potential new roof space), of which at least 25 percent must be for rental.

One-tenth of the land is being dedicated to “7@” facilities that support the knowledge

economy’s productive activities. These include training, research, and dissemination. Some are already present – enterprise nursery, space for new occupations, local development agency – while others are under construction – audio-visual training, production, and broadcast center; Pompeu Fabra’ University’s communication campus, the Open University of Catalonia. [description from the 22@ website]

www.bcn.es/22@bcn

The initiative is looking to seven engines of development: • Media – Companies & institutions working in and around the audiovisual sector. • Information & communications – e-learning university programs + Partnership to attract

the headquarters of the European Translation Agency of the EU. • Bioscience – Relocation of firms located within the city + attraction of new firms. • Knowledge spaces (R&D) – Public joint venture (Catalan government’s R&D agency,

two municipalities, Barcelona provincial council). • International entrepreneurs - Young entrepreneurs from and out of the country –

“Creative class.”


• Technology transfer – Technological centers with the goal of creating bridges between university and corporations.

• Social cohesion – Amalgam of social and economic initiatives (promote business associations to neighborhood social objectives)

It is concentrated in six strategic areas, which constitute 47 percent of the total land area to be

redeveloped:

1. Llull Pujades Llevant 2. Perú-Pere IV 3. Audiovisual Campus 4. Parc Central 5. Eix Llacuna 6. Llull Pujades Ponent

The research questions asked are: 1) economic development – is this new economic space or

relocation of existing jobs? and 2) governance – what are the influences of global forces and local institutional and regulatory systems?

The “Barcelona model” that has become so familiar to the conference attendees and to others

who have studied it has six elements: • Strategic planning • Involvement of the private sector: public-private cooperation • Creation of autonomous entities to control planning and finances • Implementation of flexible planning tools • Cooperation among different public administrations: local, metropolitan, regional,

national and European • Restricted level of community participation

Strategic planning and public-private cooperation Strategic Plans

o First Barcelona Strategic Plan (initiated 1988, approved 1990) o Second (1994) o Third (1999) o Plan Goals:

To take advantage of the momentum of the 1992 Olympics To have a vision for the “post-Olympics gloom” To gain the support and trust of the private sector


Cultural Strategic Plan Strategic Metropolitan Plan Strategic Plan for Sports 22@ Plan - Modification of the 1976 Metropolitan Master Plan

Autonomous agencies: administrative and corporate capabilities

o Strategic planning and 1992 Olympics model: autonomous agencies controlling planning and finances.

o Rational: Efficiency o Autonomous agencies involved in the model: Barcelona Activa, Inc. (1985),

Procivesa/Foment Ciutat Vella (1988), Barcelona Promotion, Inc. (1988), 22@bcn, Inc. (2000)

o Barcelona Regional, Inc. (1993)

22@bcn, Inc. o The drafting, processing and approval of town planning management instruments o The implementation of infrastructure through projects, finance, execution and

management o The purchase and sale of land o The collaboration with the town planning authorities with respect to licenses and

permits o The collaboration with the private sector to form public-private “ad hoc Inc.” o The promotion of the area to developers and corporations.

Implementation of flexible planning tools and comprehensive plans From Plan to Project – early 1980s

o Regaining the public sphere o Renewing the neighborhoods / Re-equilibrium

1992 Olympics: Catalyst for radical urban make-over – late 1980s o Renovate historic center o Upgrade peripheral neighborhoods o Improve road network o Open sea front o Construct Olympic infrastructure o Create general social consensus Mega-project period - since mid-1990s o 2004 Cultural Forum (Fórum de las Culturas 2004) – Diagonal Mar o Districts of Sagrera and Sant Andreu (with the arrival of the high speed rail

connection) o 22@BCN: Special Plans (city block, half block, parcels of 2,000 m2, consolidated

industrial buildings, industrial buildings of interest, consolidated housing fronts). Intergovernmental cooperation o Regional (Catalan), national (Spain) and European (European Union) administrations

have cooperated and at times interfered with the council’s policies.


o 1992 Olympics o Downtown renewal o European Union – ERDF and Cohesion Funds support o 22@ Barcelona project – Cooperation of public institutions

The global forces and responses we see in Barcelona’s urban policies are similar to those present in other European and North American cities – a focus on property development (real estate potential), public-private partnerships and autonomous agencies, image creation, “New Creative Class” hybridized space, dislocation of existing economic activity, gentrification process, success measured by the level of private investment and development.

Barcelona’s local institutional and regulatory systems are also influencing its development

program. Urban regime analysis reveals that the “22@ Barcelona” project is the product of an urban regime with three key agents: the local council, technocrats/experts, and local business elite. The “Barcelona Model” shifted over time as the council’s urban agenda shifted from an initial redistributive approach in the early 1980s to a boosterist approach dominated by property development since the 1990s. The shift from redistribution to boosterism is the result of preferential formation of an urban regime that was stimulated in the context of the preparation for the 1992 Olympic Games. There is growing pressure for greater accountability and commitment to social equity in urban policy instigated by grassroots movements, which are slowly regaining political bargaining power in urban issues. Discussion Empowerment of immigrants takes place through district level community participation. Neighborhood organizations receive funding from the City Council, which may make it difficult for them to be advocates in opposition to Council activities. Antonia Casellas’ dissertation on the social dynamics of the neighborhood of Raval revealed that expected displacement and gentrification did not occur, as immigrants settled downtown and stopped gentrification. Experience in other European cities has shown that problems arise from second and third generation immigrants who do not feel that the country in which they live is theirs. Barcelona, now experiencing its first wave of first generation immigrants, has a opportunity to embrace and integrate the immigrants’ cultural enclaves. EU funds have been critical to many of Barcelona’s bold actions, but are shrinking as the country and the region prosper and the needs of new member states of the EU require attention. Planning takes place mostly at the Catalunyan government level and in local councils, some of which must be approved by the Generalitat. Funding for infrastructure has traditionally come from the central government, but Catalunya has alwayrs received less per capita than other parts of the country. A recent agreement will keep the intergovernmental aid at least level for the next seven years.


Aurora López summarized the key initiatives of the past 15 years and those currently underway:

• 1992 Olympic games provided the opportunity to not only build sports facilities but also new housing and renovated neighborhoods. The location of the Vila Olimpica created a new neighborhood anchor for further development of the coastline. The circulation improvements helped link development to the airport and the port.

• The current improvements at Glories and the Sagrera high speed train station has 230 elements, only 28 of which are related to trains. They include reconnecting the neighborhoods at San Andreu, 780 new housing units, 27 percent of which will be social housing, 50 sq.m of parks, 6000 sq.m of services

• Forum 2004 involved not only the development of the forum and convention center, but also the upgrading of the sewerage treatment facility, moving electric lines along the Besós River underground, and integration and renewal of neighborhoods northwest of the Form that were some of the poorest in the region.

There has been a long-running debate about the future of the industrial areas of Barcelona.

The Poble Nou area had already been in transition, as factories closed and artists and others settled there in a neighborhood that had always had a residential component. Rather than give in to developer pressure to rezone the entire area for residential, the political decision was made to create a mixed use services—housing—business area. Keeping the business/residential mix and adding 24/7 activities and green space amenities, refurbishing historic structures and upgrading infrastructure, adding social housing and 7@ facilities will accomplish the goals of diversity and complexity. The council has approved an ordinance requiring the preservation and protection of the area’s industrial patrimony.

Densities above the Metropolitan Master Plan levels will be permitted when property owners

compensate the city by providing public facilities. Different plans are being entertained for different blocks, and many of the existing buildings are being retained and integrated into redevelopment plans. The plan was approved in 2000 just as the dot-com bubble burst, so it has started more slowly than planned.

Much of the new infrastructure – all underground – is in place and the promotion to

developers has begun.

Discussion How is the high speed train being funded? The train will begin operation in 2008 for

passengers between Madrid and Barcelona. Crossing from Barcelona to France is more problematic. Fifty percent of the funds will come from the EU’s project to improve the railways and rail infrastructure of Europe by 2020, and 50 percent from the Spanish national government or projected private users.

Aurora López Chief Architect, Urbanism Department 22@bcn district


How are the specialized organizations funded? Barcelona Regional is 100 percent publicly

funded. 22@ will be 70 percent private, 20 percent companies that promote private projects, and 10 percent local. The usual pattern is that the public sector installs infrastructure, buys and sells improved land, and receives a share of private profits to be used for public purposes. This approach was used for many of the 1992 projects as well as social housing in disastrous condition.

The approach seems so far to be quite top-down. The problem with a more participatory

approach is that every building in the area has an owner. The City as usual has taken a very interventionist approach – the developers may start believing in planners rather than the market, except that the world does not stop while the planning process is underway. It looks like the 22@ approach is to build in more flexibility over the years that it will take to be realized, which is a positive step.

The marketing of the 22@ project is being undertaken by a squad of marketers who travel

the world seeking companies and looking at the competition. They cannot offer tax breaks, but must sell the advantage of being here, the way the Barcelona project is organized, and other ancillary benefits. In other countries, low cost labor is an attraction – Barcelona is not competing with these countries, but with those that are attracting service and innovation activities. While the urban transformation cannot be assured absolutely, the initiative will give the region a sustainable advantage over the next 10 years in Europe. 22@ is not the only thing the city has going for it – it is a Mediterranean city, part of a region along the northeast arc of the Mediterranean that looks to Barcelona as its center rather than Paris. The non-business projects are aimed at a wide market swath, some of them to young people who may be interested in settling for short or long periods. Poble Nou already has an avant garde reputation, so the area may continue to attract social innovation as well as high technology.

Farewell dinner Restaurant Suliko, Vila Olímpica


Metropolis of Tomorrow FELLOWS’ FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Most impressive today

The fellows were as impressed by the ways in which Barcelona has accomplished its transformations as with the results. The following elements were felt to have strongly prejudiced the area’s efforts for success:

• Political leadership with strategic vision and sensibility, leading even the most ardent democracy defenders to the conclusion that top-down planning can sometimes work

• The historical autonomy of the region • Consensus and determined continuity that engenders confidence among citizens and

investors that the course will be stayed and the plans realized • Alignment within government that results in intergovernmental and interdepartmental

cooperation and collaboration • The infrastructure for implementation that allows multiple and successive new initiatives

to be successfully launched

The technical quality of the planning was also accorded high praise: • Highest quality physical planning • Embrace of innovation in planning and content • Group competence and knowledge, including the academic sector, government, and the

special corporations • Respect for context, balance of renewal of the old and integration of the new • Recognition of the interdependence of dimensions • Emphasis on high quality urban design and architecture

In the end, however, most impressive were the RESULTS: • Capitalizing on and acting as stewards for the natural gifts of location, weather and water • Development that delights residents and visitors • Using mega projects and boosterism to achieve social and neighborhood goals • Creating safe, livable streets through conscious planning • Attracting tourists and youth as a strategy • Transportation that works

Challenges for the future As a number of the speakers pointed out, much of Barcelona’s modern transformation occurred during a period of stable population levels in a relatively homogeneous society. The first challenges are demographic:

• Declining birth rates mean fewer workers in the future, and larger proportions of the population who are elderly dependents


• Immigrants from inside and outside Spain hold the potential to fill out the workforce, but bring their own integration challenges

The second group of challenges are those shared by most cities around the world – how to

manage economic transition from the production of goods to the production of innovations and services.

• Global competition for the types of firms the City hopes to grow and attract • Barcelona’s economic position in Europe • Fickle and dynamic nature of technology markets • Difficulty of capitalizing on research and development to drive economic growth • Structural unemployment if residents cannot keep up with changes in workplace

requirements • Displacement of virtually all industrial activity • Costs of export services such as tourism – parking, traffic congestion, quality of life

The third group of challenges are to the government’s own capacity to manage change: • Rapid population growth is putting stress on fiscal, managerial, and planning capacity

and the government’s ability to deliver adequate housing, transportation, and other quality life essentials

• EU funds phase-out • Ability to rapidly and flexibly modify plans • Housing seems a critical issue – both housing for the poor in a non-stigmatized way, and

“workforce” housing for those priced out of the market in an environment of a supply constricted since the early 1990s and significant speculation

• Executing a nodal growth strategy • ENGENDERING AND MANAGING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

The fourth set of challenges fall into the “price of success” category: • Continuous construction • Project overload • Ongoing life cycle costs of completed projects • Overweaning pride • Requirement for the next big thing • Risk of losing what is uniquely Barcelona – risk of becoming a theme park

Good ideas from elsewhere

With regard to integration of immigrants, the Netherlands has had success in focusing early on family literacy, involving two or three generations to avoid the social isolation experienced by stay-at-home mothers and grandparents and foster integration. Germany also focuses on language and workforce training for immigrant women. In the United State, many of these services are delivered by non-governmental organizations.

Citizen participation can be grown around soft projects that build social capital, including

the support of community organizations’ capacity to serve as effective advocates and project


partners. Neighborhood or community workers whose job it is to listen in neighborhoods and respond to needs and concerns, working with police and education agencies are used effectively in the Netherlands to reduce social exclusion. Scotland and other countries have elevated workforce training to higher priority as way to both meet economic producers’ needs and to advance social cohesion.

Building a technology-based economy requires not only research and development engines,

but also: • Intermediaries and policies that support the commercialization of new discoveries • Seed capital for advancing market-responsive discoveries through the first steps of

product/service development; larger tranches of funding as development proceeds; and patient capital to support long-development-cycle products such as therapeutics

• Market analysis, management expertise and other support for entrepreneurs emerging from research laboratories or home garages

• Skilled workers Many American states are well-practiced at devising suites of initiatives designed to produce

a technology-based economy, and have experience with intergovernmental and university-industry relations that could be helpful.

36th International Urban Fellows Conference, Barcelona, Catalunya


APPENDIX A

Background on the Johns Hopkins International Urban Fellows Program Now in its 39th year of operation, the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies International Fellows in Urban Studies program is the longest-running international fellowship program focusing on urban problems and policy in the United States. Overview The research focus of the Urban Fellows Program is the growth, decline, and revitalization ofcities, and the welfare of urban residents, with Baltimore as a reference point. Each Fellow islinked to appropriate agencies and leaders in Baltimore to permit introduction to U.S. urbanproblems and policies in a direct way.

Junior Fellows are graduate students or young professionals who spend four or eight monthsat the Institute, typically register for one or two courses each semester from the course offerings at Johns Hopkins, and conduct the research project described in the proposal they submit withtheir application for admission to the Program. Senior Fellows spend four or eight months at theInstitute. In addition to conducting their proposed research projects. Senior Fellows also typicallyprepare technical assistance materials for use by policymakers or urban specialists in their homecountries. Senior and Junior Fellows may also present lectures and seminars to the University community. Fellows meet periodically with Institute faculty and other staff to discuss theirfellowship research projects, and become integrated into the educational and social life of theInstitute for Policy Studies.

All prospective Fellows and many alumni from the program’s 39-year history gather annually at an international conference on urban policy hosted by a former fellow. The conferencesprovide an opportunity for host communities to benefit from the advice of these internationalexperts. The 29th annual conference in 1999, held in Cork and Dublin, Ireland, looked at theimpact of economic cycles on cities. The 2000 conference, held in Baltimore, focused ondeveloping new strategies for the future survival of aging industrial cities. The 2001 conference, held in Mersin and Istanbul, Turkey, focused on balancing development with preservation. The32nd annual conference, held in Paris in 2002, focused on urban public safety. In 2003, theCroatian host asked the fellows to think about economic development strategies for the Dalmatian region centered on tourism. In 2004, the fellows met in Padua and Venice, Italy, toconsider the effects on cities of immigration. In 2005, the conference in Switzerland focused onsustainability challenges in urban agglomerations and country-wide.

The Program's Impact Among the program's impacts are its creation of a worldwide network of professionals dedicated to state-of-the-art research and best practices addressing the most pressing urban problems, and the cross-national exchange and collaboration both among fellows and also between fellows and urban experts around the globe. This exchange occurs in at least two ways.


First, fellows from different countries who visit Johns Hopkins each year exchange expertise with each other and with U.S. colleagues at Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, and often throughout the nation. Additionally, the annual working meetings allow the host city to benefit from the advice of this group of international experts. The Fellows also maintain a newsletter and email contact, for those who are online. The program also has a direct impact on capacity building across the globe. The visit at Johns Hopkins often comes at a crucial point in the development of the urban fellows. Alumni have reported that the program was a springboard for their individual careers and formed the core of their life's work. They believe that the understanding they gained during their fellowship at Johns Hopkins enabled them to become leaders in their field and in their universities and research centers. These benefits translate into the strengthening of higher education and research capacity in the social sciences and public policy studies around the world. Selected Characteristics of Former Fellows Country of Origin, 1970-2007 Western Europe 178 Eastern and Central Europe 62 Asia/Middle East 16 Latin America 8 Oceania 5 North America 3 Africa 4

Total 276

Illustrative Research Topics of Fellows

• The role of public/private partnerships in urban revitalization • Cross-national study of low-income housing programs • Entrepreneurship and small business development • Technology-based economic development strategies • Effectiveness of tourism strategies • Metropolitan governance strategies and citizen participation • Social, environmental, and economic sustainability • Reuse of industrial properties • Air pollution and urban health

Staff

Sandra J. Newman, Professor and Director, Institute for Policy Studies Marsha R. B. Schachtel, Senior Fellow and International Urban Fellows Program Coordinator Laura Vernon-Russell, Administrative Secretary


APPENDIX B CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies International Urban Fellows Association

Institut d’Estudis Territorials, UPF

METROPOLIS OF TOMORROW

Planning, governance and new technologies

36th International Urban Fellows Conference Barcelona June 3-7, 2006

In collaboration with

Generalitat de Catalunya, Pompeu Fabra University, Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, Metropolis

Saturday, June 3, 2006 6:00 –8:00 pm Arrival and Conference check in at Hotel

Catalònia, plaça España 6-8, tel 93-426.26.00 8:30 pm Welcome buffet dinner at Hotel Catalònia. Sunday, June 4, 2006 Pompeu Fabra University. Ciutadella Campus 8:45 am -1:00 pm Visit to metropolitan seafront new developments:

Badalona’s inner harbour, Forum 2004, and Diagonal Mar park.

1:30-3:30 pm Lunch at Pompeu Fabra University (Ciutadella

campus) 4:00-5:30 pm METROPOLIS OF TOMORROW 36th International Fellows Conference Metropolis of the world: global overview

Josep Roig, general secretary of Metropolis Discussion

5:30 pm Evening and dinner open


Monday, June 5, 2006 Pompeu Fabra University. Estació de França First session: Development and Innovation in Urban Planning

and Governance 9:00-9:30 am Fellow’s research roundtable

Moderator: Timothy D. Armbruster President, Morris Goldseker Foundation, Baltimore Presenters:

9:30-10:00 am Urban planning and policy analysis applications of GIS in local government

Ayse Pamuk, San Francisco State University 10:00-10:30 am Sustainable urban regeneration: Baltimore

experience in rebuilding mixed income communities

Silvia Gullino, Polytecnic of Milan, Italy 10:30-11:00 am Coffeebreak 11:00-11:30 am Innovations in the communication with citizens.

Experiences of E-government at the local level in Argentina Malvina Rodríguez, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

11:30 am-12:00 pm The role of universities in local economic development: lessons from Baltimore, US Lorenzo Ciapetti, University of Bologna, Italy

12:00-12:30 pm Poli-car. How to favor higher car occupancy. Corrado Poli, University of Bergamo, Italy 12:30-1:30 pm Discussion 1:30-3:00 pm Lunch at Pompeu Fabra University 3:30-6:30 pm Visit to Ciutadella Campus, Water Tower, and

Diagonal-Poble Nou. Guided by Esteve Dot, geographer, PhD applicant.

Short walk and the new Diagonal Tram 6:30 pm Transfer to hotels free (underground station nearby).

Evening and dinner open


Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (MMAMB) Second session: Planning the Metropolis 8:45-9:15 am Transfer to MMAMB, at 16-18, 62th Street, Building A,

7th floor. Zona Franca, Barcelona. Tel. 93-506.97.86, 617-98.89.90 (Amador Ferrer)

9:15-9:30 am Welcome by the metropolitan authorities Dídac Pestaña, Vice-president

Jaume Vendrell, General Manager 9:30-10:00 am Coffee-break 10:00-11:30 am Barcelona’s long search for a metropolitan

agreement: urban planning Ramon Torra (Director of Technical Services,

MMAMB) Eva Serra (Barcelona Regional, BR)

Amador Ferrer (Coordinator, Planning Department, MMAMB)

11:30 am-1:30 pm Barcelona’s long search for a metropolitan

agreement: housing and public space Amadeu Iglesies (Director, IMPSOL)

Antoni Farrero (Coordinator, Design Department, MMAMB)

Oriol Ribera (Architect, MMAMB) 1:30-3 :30 pm Buffet lunch at MMAMB Planning the Metropolitan Region 3:30 pm-4:30 pm Oriol Nel.lo, general secretary, Departament de

Politica Territorial i Obres Públiques, Generalitat de Catalunya

4:30-6:30 pm Juli Esteban, director of territorial planning,

Departament de Politica Territorial i Obres Públiques, Generalitat de Catalunya. J.M.Carrera, director, Territorial Plan for the Metropolitan Region

6:30 pm Transfer to hotels. Evening and dinner open


Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Pompeu Fabra University. Estació de França Third session: Shaping the network metropolis: new technologies 9:00-10:30 am Metropolis government and new technologies Moderator:

Antoni Tulla, Department Chair, Geography Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Discussants: Governance, planning and technology: Global forces and local dynamics in perspective Antonia Casellas, the University of Utah and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Success through innovation: a new economic geography discussion Montserrat Pallarés, Research vice-rector, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

10:30-11:00 am Coffee-break 11:00 am-1:00 pm Barcelona’s 22@ district: planning and

development Aurora López, Chief Architect, Urbanism department of 22@ district

Discussion

1:00-1:30 pm Transfer to Catalònia Hotel 1:30-3.00 pm Lunch at Catalònia Hotel: Informally discuss findings

and recommendations

3:00-5:00 pm Fellows Working Session Facilitated session in which fellows formulate their

findings and conclusions 5:00-6:30 pm Meeting of International Urban Fellows Association 6:30-8:00 Free time 8:00-8:30 pm Bus to farewell dinner at Restaurant SULIKO, Vila

Olímpica (Moll Gregal 31, Local 33, Olympic Port, tel. 93-225.99.66)


APPENDIX C

LIST OF ATTENDEES

Anton Anton Bucharest, Romania Ian Appleton Edinburgh, Scotland Marjorie Appleton Edinburgh, Scotland Cynthia Armbruster Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. Timothy Armbruster Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. Barbas, Maria Gravari Angers, France Karin Berg Gothenberg, Sweden Elisabeth Borders-Pagés Paris, France Antonia Casellas Salt Lake City Utah U.S.A.and Barcelona Lorenzo Ciapetti Bologna, Italy Jean-Marie Ernecq Lille, France Jocelyn Ernecq Lille, France Amador Ferrer Barcelona, Spain Dieter Frick Berlin, Germany Joan Garau Palma de Mallorca, Spain Feyhan Gok Mersin, Turkey Tamer Gok Mersin, Turkey Kaj Granath Gothenberg, Sweden Silvia Gullino Milan, Italy Dede Hapner San Francisco, California Greta Hettinga Amsterdam, The Netherlands Bonnie Hetzel Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A. Otto Hetzel Bethesda, Maryland U.S.A. Anders Hoerlyck Copenhagen, Denmark Baruch Kipnis Haifa, Israel Maria Lago Avila Madrid, Spain Andrzej Majer Lodz, Poland Nicholas Mansergh Cork, Ireland Tadeusz Markowski Lodz, Poland Sandra Newman Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. Donncha O’Cinneide Cork, Ireland Margaret O’Cinneide Cork, Ireland John O’Donnell Cork, Ireland Christine Oliver Chicago, Illinois U.S.A. Ayse Pamuk San Francisco, California U.S.A. Ivo Panteleev Sofia, Bulgaria Corrado Poli Padua, Italy Malvina Rodriguez Villa Maria, Argentina Carmen Ruiz Barcelona, Spain Marsha Schachtel Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. Daniel Serra Barcelona, Spain Hans Zimmermann Bern, Switzerland


APPENDIX D

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Timothy Armbruster The Morris Goldseker Foundation JM Carrera Generalitat de Catalunya, Dept de Politica Territorial I Obres Públiques Antonia Casellas Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and University of Utah Lorenzo Ciapetti University of Bologna, Italy Esteve Dot Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Juli Esteban Generalitat de Catalunya, Dept de Politica Territorial I Obres Públiques Antoni Farrero Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona Amador Ferrer Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona Silvia Gullino Polytechnic of Milan, Italy Amadeu Iglesias IMPSOL Aurora López @22, Urbanism Department Oriol Nel..lo Generalitat de Catalunya, Dept de Politica Territorial I Obres Públiques Montserra Pallarés Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Ayse Pamuk San Francisco State University Corrado Poli University of Bergamo, Italy Oriol Ribera Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona Malvina Rodriguez University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany Josep Roig Metropolis Eva Serra Barcelona Regional Marsha Schachtel Johns Hopkins University Ramon Torra Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona Antoni Tulla Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Jaume Vendrell Mancomunitat de Municipis de l’Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

planning, governance, and new technologiesiua-global.org/docs/iufa/iufa_2006_conf barcelona.pdf ·...

Documents