Barcelona (Spain, Capital of Catalonia) - Rebranding.

• Barcelona has been occupied for over 2000 years. Originally a Roman settlement, it became a tightly packed medieval city, with a dense network of streets and alleys contained within city walls.
• Barcelona’s maritime heritage was well established by the fifteenth century and the city received and sent goods throughout the known world. 
• Nineteenth-century industrialisation added another dimension to the city’s geography, with cotton, cork, iron and steel, shipbuilding and wine all becoming important.
• City’s population grew rapidly in the nineteenth century from 115,000 to over 500,000 and reached 1 million by 1930.
• Various political events crystallised support for a separate Catalan identity. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, Barcelona became a volatile centre of Republican opposition to the Nationalists led by General Franco.

• 1888 the Universal Exhibition was held and in 1929 the World Exhibition showcased Barcelona, attracting exhibitors and visitors from Europe, the USA, Latin America and the Far East.
• Barcelona gradually reclaimed more democratic rights which included the ability to make decisions about the management of the city. 

• local authority began regeneration with a seven-year plan starting in 1980 focused on 140 small projects providing more piazzas (public squares) and better housing, transport routes, schools and hospitals.

• Winning the right to stage the 1992 Olympic Games was a major moment in Barcelona’s rebranding.
• Athletes’ village was located on the waterfront, with the main stadium a little way inland.
• Games to generate city-wide redevelopment and to renovate rundown areas such as the harbour and beaches.
• Olympics as its catalyst was presented to Barcelona’s inhabitants as a ‘one city’ exercise. 
• Barcelona Football Club is another key element to strengthening the city’s self-belief and confidence.

• long tradition of artistic culture. The distinctive architecture of Antoni Gaudi gave Barcelona buildings that are recognised as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• Art galleries, museums, restaurants, cafés, architecture and public spaces are all used to promote the city as one of the most vibrant and creative places in Europe.

• Business community and the municipal government have built Barcelona’s reputation for services, innovation, the knowledge economy and entrepreneurship.
• November 2010 a new ‘Strategic Metropolitan Plan of Barcelona – Vision 2020’ was presented by the municipal authority  to position the city as ‘one of the most attractive and influential European regions for innovative global talent and as the best setting for economic and business growth.
  
• As a centre of twenty-first-century business innovation.   

North:

• a zone with numerous flagship cultural buildings such as the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Contemporary Cultural Centre. 
• Private university has been constructed and some streets house art galleries, coffee and wine bars, restaurants and high-quality food shops.
• Gentrification as high socio-economic status people have moved in.

South:

• Raval, overcrowded residential areas, and old and derelict factories remain while its inhabitants are among the more deprived in the city.
• In 1995, in an area known as the Raval Rambla, significant physical regeneration was undertaken.
• 1700 residential and commercial properties were demolished to clear space for a large, tree-lined pedestrianised space.
• This space has been kept virtually free from street furniture to allow flexible use for events such as street markets and small local festivals.
• Barceló Raval Hotel built in 2008 has an ‘avant garde’ design. This building rises high above its surroundings and represents a significant financial commitment to the area’s rebranding.
• The Casa Camper Hotel has refurbished an old stone building.

• In-migration of wealthy residents with different perspectives on the way the area should be managed and the new employment opportunities more in demand from the better-off.
• Wealthy tourists also make poorer residents feel excluded from many of the new facilities.   
• Property speculation has raised prices and some landlords are keen to see existing residents leave to allow them to cash in.   
• Stories have emerged of pressure being applied, especially to long-standing elderly residents, to move out.
  
• Indices of employment, education, health and crime all show both physical and socio-economic gains for locals as well as visitors.   

• Until recently this was one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world.
• Textile industry, brick making, many abattoirs and the tanning industry were based. 
• area closest to the port, southern Raval, contained Barrio Chino or Chinatown where immigrants first settled on arrival in Barcelona.
• Immigrants took advantage of the very cheap lodgings in the run-down tenements and the easy access to informal employment in and around the docks.