Description

The center of Barcelona takes a change of losing urban relevance, becoming a mixture of a tourist area with high concentration of visitors, headquarters of institutions and part of the administration, and a residential area with great inequality challenges. In fact, in the last 18 years, the economic activity of the center of Barcelona has lost diversity, as well as 720,000m² of offices to transform them in hotels or housing, which jeopardises the balance of the center and accelerates the thematization and gentrification. 

Goals 

To easy the return of economic activity to the center of Barcelona using 18 buildings, more than 243,300 m², which are currently in disuse, have uses that are no longer justified or are underused, through the knowledge-driven economy (innovation, research, entrepreneurship), guaranteeing greater economic diversification, new commerce, less gentrification and a more sustainable city model.

Conclusions

• To create an administrative streamlining office for processing land-use changes, licenses and other necessary procedures and facilitating the transformation of land-uses and the rehabilitation of buildings in the center to accelerate and facilitate the economic activity of the city.
• To reuse these disused buildings, underused or not justified to settle square meters for offices in the center, as they are a fundamental element for emerging talent when developing their professional career.
• To identify investors and tenants for buildings and spaces to implement digital hubs in the city center, which can be a new stimulus for the economic growth of the city and the creation of new jobs.