El Poble-sec, Barcelona
El Poble-sec (Catalan pronunciation: [əɫ ˌpɔbːɫəˈsɛk], Catalan for 'Dry village') is a neighborhood in the Sants-Montjuïc district of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). The neighborhood is located between Montjuïc mountain and the Avinguda del Paral·lel.[1]
The Poble Sec station of the Barcelona Metro is located in, and named after, this neighborhood.
Following the planning policy of the City of Barcelona led by Xavier Trias and exacerbated focused on increasing tourism, Poble-Sec has suffered serious and radical changes that are affecting its historical and architectural heritage and the lives of its neighbors. Since 2013 neighbors have started protests and manifestations, especially about noise and huge tourist crowds flooding the neighborhoods. What used to be a small and quiet neighborhood area far from the huge tourist crowds of the rambla, the Poble Sec has converted itself into a new "hip-area" which thousands of tourists coming here every day. Small tapas places that used to serve good food and drinks at a great price have augmented their number incredibly and almost no more good food is to be found here. Locals are not stepping Blai street anymore and once the area is not hip anymore, neither locals nor tourists will be here. In 2015 with the change of government, the protests have stopped trusting the promising new mayor Ada Colau, who assured a review of the plan that affects the neighborhood and the special regulation for Blai and Blesa streets. Direct attacks against tourists have been reported. Furthermore, new movements against massive tourism and gentrification have started.
References
- ↑ "Poble Sec". barcelona.cat. Ajuntament de Barcelona. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
Coordinates: 41°22′25″N 2°9′48″E / 41.37361°N 2.16333°E