Does a ‘Barcelona Model’ Really Exist? Periods, Territories and Actors in the Process of Urban Transformation
Abstract The so-called ‘Barcelona Model’ of urban regeneration is known world-wide as a ‘success story’. Amongst the most frequently mentioned features of this ‘model’ are: the use of major events – such as the Olympic Games – as catalysts for great urban regeneration; the adoption of a relational mode of urban governance based on the collaboration between different tiers of government, public and private bodies; the political and administrative decentralisation and the participation of the citizenship. However, the ‘Barcelona Model’ has also received strong criticism from certain segments of the city's academic elite and several local social movements. This article calls into question the mere existence of one ‘Barcelona Model’. It highlights how the main strategies of urban public policy have changed in different periods. It illustrates that, territorially speaking, the strategies of urban regeneration have also been very varied. Eventually, it shows that the networks of urban actors involved in processes of urban change have been significantly diverse. Some learning elements for the analysis of urban regeneration are highlighted at the end of the article.
Austerity urbanism: Patterns of neo-liberalisation and resistance in six cities of Spain and the UK
This paper explores neoliberalisation and its counter-currents through a six-case study of austerity urbanism in Spain and the UK. Applying Urban Regime Theory it highlights the role of urban politics in driving, variegating and containing neoliberalism since the 2008 crash. Variegated austerity regimes contribute to strengthening neoliberalism, but with limits. Welfarism survives austerity in felicitous circumstances. And, where contentious politics thrive, as in Spain, it holds out the potential for a broader challenge to neoliberalism. In contrast, austerity regimes in the UK cities are strongly embedded. The legacies of past struggles, and differing local and regional traditions form an important part of the explanation for patterns of neoliberalisation, hybridization and contestation.
Planning the Twentieth-Century City: The Advanced Capitalist World
The Author. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Nineteenth--Century Antecedents. The Emergence of Modern Planning. War, Reconstruction and Depression I: The Major Traditions. War, Reconstruction and Depression II: The Other Traditions. Reconstruction and Modernisation I: The Major Traditions. Reconstruction and Modernisation II: The Other Traditions. The Zenith of Modernisation and Beyond I: The Major Traditions. The Zenith of Modernisation and Beyond II: The Other Traditions. Globalisation, Competitiveness and Sustainability I: The Major Traditions. Globalisation, Competitiveness and Sustainability II: The Other Traditions. Conclusions. Bibliography. Websites. Index.