1. BARCELONA, A CREATIVE CITY? A few ideas “Creative City Region” conference Dublin 18th October 2007

2. A. URBAN PROFILE OF BARCELONA History Geography Baseline situation

3. URBAN PROFILE OF BARCELONA (1) Policies are not formulated in vacuum  More than 2,000 years of history: founded by Romans, medieval “glory”, “modern age” decline, industrial and contemporary revival…  Geography  Municipality: compact; 100 sq km; 1.5 M  Metropolitan area; compact; 650 sq km; 3,2 M  Metropolitan region; polycentric and urban sprawl; 1650 sq km; 4,5 M  Absence of external migration (1980-1995)  Specificities of the “baseline” situation in 1975-1979  A metropolis without its own state  Capital of Catalan culture  All kind of deficits. No welfare state. Broad consensus.

4. URBAN PROFILE OF BARCELONA (2) Frozen energies burst, and are channelled  An ambitious long-term urban regeneration project is formulated. Strategic planning through public-private partnerships.  “Creative class” leadership avant la lettre  Industrial decline. Promotion of a city of “advanced” services. Culture is soon identified as a key resource.  The European integration (1986), bringing political stability.  Inner-city decentralisation. Power to neighbourhoods. Social cohesiveness and “sense of place”.  The Olympic project (1992): the catalyst.

5. B. CULTURE and REGENERATION Phase 1: 1979-1986 Phase 2: 1987-1995 Phase 3: 1996-2004

6. Phase 1: 1979-1986 Culture is “obvious”  Local Government leads the process of urban regeneration  Olympic nomination (1986)  Urban planning is connected to cultural references. New public spaces. Contemporary creation and memories of the place.  Traditional festivities are re-discovered (la Mercè) or re- invented “to celebrate the joy of living together”.  Loss of creative capital: audiovisual  The bill of local cultural infrastructure: who pays?  Coherence between programmes aiming to improve external image and “citizenship” programmes

7. Phase 2: 1987-1995 “We have to be ready”  Local Government leads the process of urban regeneration  Central government funding arrives  Olympic Games (1992)  World-class cultural infrastructure planned  Contemporary creation, central part of the brief  Solid public art programme  Civil society supports culture  Cultural management appears as a profession  Local media, the engine of the cultural system

8. Phase 3: 1996-2004 The “model” is reproduced, but...  National investments are not attracted.  Local Government has difficulties to lead the project.  Universal Forum of Cultures (2004)  The infrastructure planned in previous period opens the doors. Cultural infrastructure becomes more visible than ever  Creation of the Institute for culture, 1996  First strategic plan on culture, 1999  Density of festivals  Cultural Thematic Years: Gaudi Year (2002), Book and Reading (2005), Science (2007)  Libraries Master Plan  22@bcn digital district

9. C. LOOKING FOR A NEW PHASE Urban policies and cultural policies

10. Looking for a new phase: 2005-... Challenges  Growing diversity and new citizenry: “productive diversity” or “isolation”  Public spaces, are we asking too much?  Commodification of culture  Governance: a new balance in delivering services: local, metropolitan, provincial, national, state  Governance: how “institutionalised” should urban policies be? What aliances and partnerships between civil society private actors and local governments?

11. Looking for a new phase: 2005-... Towards a new cultural policy  Agenda 21 for culture (www.agenda21culture.net) appears as a reference document for urban cultural policies  Culture, the fourth pillar of sustainable development  The first cultural strategy, evaluated in 2005. Result: “the context has changed”  The second cultural strategy, 2006

12. Looking for a new phase: 2005-... The second cultural strategy  Stakeholder and “social” participation: ownwership of the plan  One year of analysis, debates and open participation  Governance: Constitution of “Local Council for culture and the arts”  3 main axis -Proximity -Excellence -Connectedness  Adopted by Barcelona City Council, at a Plenary session on 22 December 2006

13. Looking for a new phase: 2005-... Ten long-term programmes  BARCELONA LABORATORY  CULTURE, EDUCATION AND PROXIMITY  BARCELONA, READING CITY  PROGRAMME FOR INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE  BARCELONA SCIENCE  QUALITY OF THE CULTURAL FACILITIES  KNOWLEDGE, MEMORY AND CITY  BARCELONA CULTURAL CAPITAL  CULTURAL CONNECTIVITY  BARCELONA COUNCIL OF CULTURE

14. BARCELONA, A CREATIVE CITY? A few ideas “Creative City Region” conference Dublin 18th October 2007