Barcelona &Olympic Games 1992

History ofurban

planningfrom origin

till 1992OlympicGames

1st stage

(cir. 19 BC to 4th century)

Second stage

(5th to 19th century)

Third stage

(1860s - 1930s)

Fourth stage

(from 1930s to 1970s)

History of urban planningfrom origin till the Olympics of

1992

• 1979 End of Dictatorship

• 1980s: Oriol Bohigas(architect and urbanplanner):«Recover the centre and monumentalizethe periphery»

• Pasqual Maragall (Barcelona Major from1982 to 1996): run olympic bid

• 1986:– EEC (European Economic Community,

also called CEE)– Barcelona wins Olympic Bid

Urban Renewal: the Barcelona Model

•Strong political and local leadership with a flexible rather than rigid approach toplanning.

•International events are used to: attract private investment and workforce

• Investment in transport infrastructure to improve accessibility. This increasesopportunities for economic and social activity.

•High quality Buildings and infrastructure and the encouragement of innovativearchitecture and thinking. :

• short-term use

• long term as a means of regenerating a decaying area of the city.

•Buildings of heritage value are conserved for public use. Building renovations andcompulsory purchase of buildings in very poor condition to renovate them usingpublic funds and tax incentives and grants to refurbish properties.

•Mixed new land uses into an area (service industries, office and retail, private andpublic housing).

•City as the sum of its neighborhoods emphasizes the building of communities (socialmixing encouragement): intervention linked to demands of local community. Theradical transformation of the perimeters of the worst affected areas. Education, jobtraining, health, crime and leisure initiatives.

Planning principlesBarcelona ‘92: Games of the

city and in the city.

Four areas chosen inside themunicipality of Barcelona to

locate the four Olympic areas:•- Montjuic,•- Diagonal•- Vall d'Hebron•- Poble Nou, Olympic Village

From From ““acupuncture-urban acupuncture-urban --planningplanning”” ( (focused focused on littleon little

areasareas) ) to structural to structural andandinfrastructural infrastructural ((rondesrondes - ring- ringroad, road, airportairport) ) changes changes ofofwhole areas whole areas of the town.of the town.

Olympic Ring

Olympic Village & Olympic Port

Velodrome

Olympic Swimming Pools

Olympic Games Economic Impact

Organizational costs:•$1 million• Short-term investments•Organizational Committee•Aim: MINIMIZE

Infrastructures and facilities:•$8 million•Long-term investments•Both public and private sector•Aim: MAXIMIZE

Huge construction works:1. Road and transport infrastructure2. Housing, offices and businesscenters (private investments)3. Telecommunications and services4. Hotels (private investments)5. Sports facilities6. Environmental infrastructure

Return of investments of Organizing Committee: 75%KEY FACTOR OF SUCCESS: capability to attract both PUBLIC (63,2%) andPRIVATE FUNDERS (36,8%)

Olympic Games Economic impact

• REGIONAL DECENTRALISATION:impact on the Region: only 38.5%of total investment was inBarcelona city.

• BALANCE SHEET: positive income(gain) in both post-Olympic yearsand preparatory phase (throughtaxation of Olympic activities)

• UNEMPLOYEMENT: between 1986and 1992, Barcelona’sunemployment rate fell from18.4% to 9.6%, the Spanish onefrom 20.9% to 15.5%.Construction works =temporaryemployment, then permanentjobs.

• HOSTING CAPACITY: between1986 and 2000 number of foreignvisitors doubled (3.5 million visitorsper year) and number of hotels,too.

Olympic Games Economic Impact

• OLYMPIC LEGACY: includes urban transformation, changed economicstructure, increased private and public capital, increased service sectoractivity, heightened international role, attractiveness (tourists + foreigncompanies establishing their business), centrality, productivity andcompetitiveness.

• OLYMPIC GAMES ARE THE DRIVER OF BARCELONA’S SOCIAL ANDECONOMIC BOOM IN THE 90’S and the reason why the City overcomethe international economic crisis of 1993! AND……still one decade later the expansive trend continues: Barcelona hasmaintained the growth in all indicators.

• BARCELONA’92 AS A MODEL of capacity to ride the Olympic wave.

• RESULT: Improved quality of life and STRATEGIC POSITIONING, makingBarcelona one of the most visited cities in Europe after London, Paris andRome.

BARCELONA OLYMPICS IMPACT MODELOlympic Games 1964-2008 ($)

Conclusions:

• Shift: from typical industrial city to flexible (service+knowledge) city.

• Tourist promotion: positioning itself as an international cultural and business meetingpoint

• Developmental impact: Olympics used as planning tool to push forward projectsthat were already in progress (Olympic village case).

• 3 main long-lasting impacts to the urban fabric instead of “white elephant”:– Vila Olimpica and the Sea Front (industrial area – Olympic village – Inhabited

area)– restoring historical buildings in Gothic Quarters and on Montjuic Mountain– ring roads around the metropolitan area

• Commercial aspect: Barcelona’s model set up an example of successfullycombining a sporting event with commercial purposes. Barcelona’s gamesrevenues were mainly generated by entities, which rose to 75.2% of the total, fromsponsorship and television rights.

“No one can survive merely by CONSERVATION. If there is nonew construction, the city cannot stand {…}. Each city must findits own formula for combining existing symbols with new ones.Without the latter, antiquity becomes mere repetition.”

Pasqual Maragall,Mayor of Barcellona from 1982 to 1997

Current issues and developments:

Universal Forum of Culture 2004

22@Barcelona Hyper Community Diagonal Mar

Thanks for your attention!Case study by:

Alessandra SperiCristina Caroti

Xu WuDaria Averyanova