Day 6 Monday 8th April 2013
Today we split into two groups to go on a trip with either Denis or Liam. My group went with Denis to visit Montserrat. We got on the metro on La rambla and got off at Espanya where we got the train to the cable cars which brought us up the mountain of Montserrat. It was also possible to drive up the mountain as there were roads designed specifically for this. The cable car trip was enjoyable as I don’t mind heights and the views were amazing. When we got off I realised it was like a village on the side of the mountain, there was restaurants, gift shops, a hotel, a church and a boarding school. The centre of Barcelona can be seen from the Montserrat mountain as can many other beautiful sites from such a height.
Montserrat is a Benedictine monk retreat. Many people visit Montserrat alone to see the patron saint of Catalonia, The Black Madonna. Montserrat is very important to the Catalonian people because when Franco ruled and banned people from speaking Catalan, this monastery continued to speak and pray through Catalan and Franco knew there was not much he could do about it. There were hermit monks who lived here. We visited the Basilica church and joined the line to see and touch the Black Madonna. We each got to say a prayer in front of the patron saint of Catalonia
View from cable car
The Black Madonna
Candals we light outside the Basilica church
Day 5 Sunday 7th April 2013
Activity Four: Public Space & Civic Identity
Group: Gillian, Charles, Mairead, Michael
Visited: Jardins de Vil la Cecilia, de Sant Pere
Today we were given the task to observe what was happening and take note, in two diverse areas of Barcelona away from all the hustle and bustle of tourist life.
The first area we visited was a park called “Jardins de Vil la Cecilia”. Today the weather was good and it was a Sunday so as expected the park was very busy. The park was very clean no rubbish around and looked well maintained. Because it was Sunday the information centre was closed but we gathered lots of information by just observing. The park was made up of different levels and materials. There was a water feature at the entrance of the park which was at a lower level to the way walk, made of cream coloured concrete. The walk ways themselves made of gravel all lined with tree’s, hedges and bushes. There was a large red concrete basketball court being used by many children and parents for roller blading, skate boarding as well as basketball. This court was three steps down from the main level of the park so it gave a modern and safe feel. The park itself was very open yet the plants provided little quiet areas to sit and relax without the chatter from the main crowd. The materials used were mainly concrete and gravel, although wood and metal also used for the park benches.
Basketball court in Jardin de Vil la Cecilia
Water feature in Jardin de Vil la Cecilia
On arriving to de Sant Pere, we came to an open space at the centre of four roads. The concrete path went from straight through; there were trees and hedges behind a metal fence. There were also benches provided. This open space was very different to the first area as it was used almost as a footpath, people passing by not stopping to relax as it was so close to so many main roads. There was no atmosphere here and did not entice us to want to stay long. The only level difference was from the area itself and a step down to the main road, a basic safety standard.
De Sant Pere
Book we made for our presentation
Day 4 Saturday 6th April 2013
Activity Three: Cities of Difference & Diversity
Group: Karen, Mary, Kevin, Iggy
Visited: La Raval
We were given the title “immigration” today and told to use interviews by means of getting more information on the different migrants living in Barcelona. We formulated questions on community life, employment, housing, health, education, language and culture. These questions had to be composed in a way not to offend these people as we were grateful for their time and co-operation.
Firstly we spoke to a woman who owned her own shop from Hong Kong. She moved to Barcelona 21 years ago, herself and her husband wanted to get better education for their children. This woman told us she feels accepted in Barcelona because she is there so long and has a business there, pays her taxes and owns two houses.
Hong Kong Shop
Man from Brazil we spoke to
We spoke to many people today, all expressing how they do feel welcome in Barcelona now, but many saying not at the beginning when they had no Spanish and held onto their own culture. Although Barcelona does not expect it’s migrant to forget their own cultures and beliefs, its residents must all work and live in harmony. I think this is something Barcelona has achieved.
We found that migrant’s integrated very well as they all felt welcome at this present time. We didn’t think they adapted to the Spanish culture as they didn’t speak Catalan and the Catalonian culture is very important to the people of Barcelona, but the migrants didn’t have a problem with this they were just happy to express their own culture. These people made a big contribution to the city as most of them were working, paying taxes, living and educating themselves and their families within the city. They integrated quite well although they seemed to group together more than likly for comfort.
Poster we made for presentations
Day 3 Friday 5th April 2013
Activity Two: The Urban Economy- Tourism & Markets
Group: Iggy, Brenda, Aoife, Mairead
Visited: Mercat de Fort Pienc, Mercat Sant Antoni and Mercat de La Boqueria
We were given the topic of ‘Markets’ to study today and to analyse and compare them by means of social survey. Firstly we decided on relevant questions to ask certain types or people. We formed a different set of questions for shop owners and workers to market customers.
We asked the ‘seller’s’ questions such as:
- How long are you working here?
- Are you living locally?
- Are your products locally produced?
- Who are your main customers? Old, young, local, tourists etc.
- How old is this market?
- Do local supermarkets affect sales? What is the difference between here and supermarket
- What are the opening hours?
- Is this a family run business?
- On average what would most customers spend?
- Do you speak Spanish or Catalonian?
We asked the customer’s questions such as:
- Where are you from?
- How long have you been coming to this market?
- Why do you come here? What for?
- Are you living locally?
- How much would you spend?
- Do you speak Spanish or Catalonian?
Mercat de Fort Pienc
On visiting ‘Mercat de Fort Pienc’ we immediately felt it was a very friendly environment and relaxed atmosphere. The centre itself was very modern and newly refurbished. Everyone seemed to be calm as they strolled through chatting while purchasing, there was nobody rushing about. We spoke to a man working at a fruit and veg shop who gave us lots of information. Jose told us his father owned this shop and he had worked for him for almost ten years, although the market building was only 3-4 years old. This shows that the government invested money in this market and it certainly worked as a positive, the market was busy and everyone seemed happy. He spoke about his customers telling us they were mainly locals and he knew a lot of them by name and had a good relationship with them.
Jose fruit & Veg stand in Mercat de Fort Pienc
Mercat Sant Antoni
In ‘Mercat Sant Antoni’ there was less of a local feel to the market with a good number of tourists as well inside. It was much bigger and much more chaotic than Mercat de Fort Pienc. We spoke to a salesman who owned his own fish stand there who told us they will be waiting another 3-4 years to get their new market which was being built across the road. There is archaeological digs happening at the moment which is delaying it. We saw images of what the market will look like and it seems it will be a huge success. The stand owners long for a new and permanent home.
Fish stand in Mercat Sant Antoni
Last we visited ‘Mercat de La Boqueria’ which is located on La Rambla one of the busiest streets in Barcelona. This market was mainly tourist aimed with colour sweets at the entrance to entice the tourists inside. There was a great buzz inside but not at all aimed towards local people. The market itself was huge with lots of products to choose from.
Mercat de la Boqueria
Sweet stall in Mercat de la Boqueria
Poster we made for presentations
Day 2 Thursday 4th April 2013
Activity One: City Quarters- The Barcelona Model and New Urbanism
Group: Iggy, Padraig and Fiona
Visited: Sants and Barceloneta
On visiting Sants today we exited the metro onto a ‘node’ called Place del pagos Catalans. This had six roads meeting and crossing here as well as a bus station and a railway. We sat in a large open space outside the train/bus station to plan how we were going to analyse this area. The buildings were old and new mixed, some ultra-modern and others old, mundane and aged. There was a high population density but seemed to be a commuter area. Heavy traffic, taxi’s everywhere, very few tourists within sight and many people dressed professionally. The buildings were mostly offices, banks and very business orientated more so than tourist aimed. We walked through Sants and got to a public park called “Jardins de Can Mantega” which was mainly elderly people in this area which could be called a social node. Most amenities within ten minutes’ walk hairdressers, schools, and shops etc., lovely and quiet area with footpaths for easy walking. No diversity in this area, all Spanish, many Catalonian flags hanging from Balconies. There was a church, library, pharmacy, market, parking all available. Very good transport system in place.
Below you can see the bus/train station.
Barceloneta is a completely different area which is good we got to visit both so we could compare and contrast. It is made up of small narrow streets in the core surrounded by large pedestrian and tourist orientated streets surrounding. There was a high population and a missed range of age in the people seen both in the centre of the area as well as around it by the tourist hotspots. The core of Barceloneta was made up of traditional style buildings in block dimensions and seemed more of a residential area. It was made up of narrow busy streets with pedestrians, cars, bicycles, mopeds etc. With many shops, hairdressers and pharmacies mainly aimed towards locals. We felt very out of place in the residential area as we stood out as tourists from a distance, yet we blended in with many other tourists out on the outskirts. Around the outer edges were mainly tourist based and you could see many restaurants and gift shops open a long beach front. The beach was man made which shows huge urban regeneration as a beach is a huge attraction to a city.
When we returned to the hotel we then made a model out of cardboard to show the physical differences between each area.
Day 1 Wednesday 3rd April 2013
We arrived in Barcelona this afternoon. The weather was nice and we were given a few options of activities to choose from. Many of the boys went to see Nou Camp, Barcelona’s famous football stadium, others choose a walking tour of Barcelona with Denis and Liam, a few others and I choose to go on the cable car ride. The cable cars went high up into the air and Barcelona city could be admired. Unfortunately we were too late and there was too many us to be accommodated. Instead we got a good feel for the city itself. We now knew where our hotel was in relation to La Rambla, the main strip. We found the man made beach which was very popular today with the good weather. We also walked along the newly designed port of Barcelona which was also very popular with many people sitting in cafés and restaurants facing out onto the port. I saw a lot of things I spoke about in my blog previous to visiting Barcelona. There were many street performers on La Rambla, all in different costumes with different acts. There is also so many different means of transport within Barcelona city. I saw buses, taxis, bike stalls, metro, trains, tram and cars. Everything more or less as I expected so far!
Review on three articles from the International Encyclopaedia of Human Geography
I read three articles which I will review as a whole. The first article being “Sustainable transport challenges in a suburban University: The Case of the Autonomous University of Barcelona”. I learned that the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) is one of the largest Universities in Spain and it is located in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona (MRB). The MRB has 4.6 million residents and the college is located 23km from the city of Barcelona. This meaning that some means of transport must be used by a lot of the Universities students and staff. The study carried out surveyed how many trips per person, per day (average 3.1) total trips per working day (10.2million trips per week) which has increased by 26.8% in the last four years, even though the population only increased by 7.6%. This means the amount of car trips also increased in unity with the “global trends in car use.” The article went on to give ways of how all these tips could be minimized and how the government could push incentives for people to use public transport to lower emission’s and traffic etc. As well as that they should use disincentives for people using private transport, no free parking etc. Estimated amount of 15,600 people use private transport each day, this is around 41.1% of people.
The second article I read was based on urban tourism. This article discussed Barcelona and how it became a ‘hotspot’ around the mid-19th century, when tourism became popular both business and with cities hosting large events in form of exhibitions of arts, crafts etc. Barcelona had a good adoption of the development of its urban tourist economy. Diane Dodd is said to have argued that Barcelona practiced tourist development encouraging both economic development as well as remembering its culture and identity. With this pursuit of culture the tourist reaction turned Barcelona into a city of mass beach tourism. Although on the plus side Barcelona being host to the 1992 Olympics was a great advantage to the city. It saw development of buildings, landscapes and museum’s throughout the city. Although the regeneration of the city was in fact a successful one, the growth of hen, stag and party orientated tourism is a threat on losing the tourists interested in travelling to see different cultures and sites.
The third article is on “Urban planning, gender and the use of public space in a peripheral neighbourhood of Barcelona”. The article is to examine the use of public space in Barcelona. It looks at this from the point of view of women and feminist literature. Historically town planning and architecture was designed predominantly by male “as if men’s interests and needs were universal”. The design and layout of a town has a larger impact on the lives of women more so than men. Women have a much closer bond with their environment and town as they spend more of their time outdoors. The article explains how it surveyed men and women in different family work and educational situations. The article went on to say that the observations showed a balanced use of public space by men and women of different age groups in many activities. I found this article interesting as it isn’t an issue that would have come to mind when I initially thought of Barcelona.
All three articles found in the “International Encyclopaedia of Human Geography”.
Street Performers in Barcelona
Las Ramblas is Barcelona’s busiest street and is known for many things, one being street performers. All the performers have different quirky and spontaneous personalities. Each performer doing his/her job to keep the tourists entertained along their stroll down this long busy street. Many of these act as ‘Human Statues’ looking for loose change, and when money is dropped into their hat or box in front of them they grace the tourist with a special performance. Reading an article on “the Statues of Las Ramblas- Barcelona’s Creative Works” I found that many people have been performing as statues for many years and the competition between costume’s and performance’s is very intense in these economic times.
http://gospain.about.com/od/barcelon1/ig/Las-Ramblas-Street-Performers/
http://www.oh-barcelona.com/en/blog/2009/bcn-life/interviews/street-performers-barcelona-2117
Traffic in Barcelona
Barcelona has one of the highest amounts of traffic accidents in the whole world. On average and accident occurs every 19 seconds in Barcelona. These roads are jam packed with cars, motorcycles and pedestrians. In traffic survey carried out 50% of people in Barcelona said their main mode of transport was driving. This is a large volume of cars to have on the road. Although since the 1992 Olympics the roads and road conditions have improved majorly. As well as that drivers in Barcelona are said to be more patient and cautious than other drivers in Spain in general.
http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/travel-spain/driving-in-barcelona.htm
http://www.numbeo.com/traffic/city_result.jsp?country=Spain&city=Barcelona
http://www.ehow.com/about_6614415_unusual-barcelona.html
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