Becoming centre: tourism placemaking and space production in two neighborhoods in Barcelona

Abstract

Over the last decades Barcelona has experienced social and economic transformations brought by the conversion of peripheral urban neighborhoods into tourist attractions. In this sense urban tourism has been the latest chapter of spatial reorganization to sustain capitalism within the global neoliberal environment in the Catalan city. In addition, the urban commodification process has expanded into not only central and historical districts, but also more peripheral zones outside the tourist bubble. Those transformations signify a symbolic turn: they became part of the centre. Since the 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona’s brand, both for the city and for tourism, has experienced an important promotion where the urban periphery has become both part of the centre, as well as part of its global city imagery through placemaking, public policy, and political decisions. In short, the steady inclusion of neighborhoods such as Vila de Gràcia and Poblenou into the tourist experience enhances the Barcelonan tourist imagery. The inclusion of new cultural icons and tourist attractions embody a slight spatial and symbolic turn to boost the city’s visitor activities. In order to facilitate an in-depth comprehension, the ethnographical approach has been taken.