Comunicado DE PRENSA
“Make cities more democratic and healthy”
Master talk by Ada Colau in San Juan (access here link to the recording on EA's YouTube channel)
(San Juan, Puerto Rico – April 8, 2024) –The former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, gave a keynote talk today in Puerto Rico titled “Government and citizen participation…Municipalization, gender and housing”, in which she gave a brief review of the emblematic projects of his management at the head of the capital of the Catalan autonomous community. The activity, originally announced to be held at the Río Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), was suddenly moved to the headquarters of the Espacios Abiertos organization in Hato Rey, since the university campus was without electricity service. .
Even so, the event sponsored by Espacios Abiertos and the Project 85 initiative, which stimulate the participation of Puerto Rican women in political life, as well as by the UPR School of Planning, had a large in-person and virtual audience that continued with attention to the presentation of the outstanding Barcelona politician.
Colau, who led the second largest city in Spain from 2015 to 2023, focused his talk on the idea that guided him during his mandate: “Make a more democratic and healthy city.” According to the former mayor, his project initially confronted “the neoliberal dynamics that stimulate individualism and promote gentrification.”
“All of this is also influenced by geopolitical and climatic situations, such as the wars in Ukraine and the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, as well as the heat waves, fires and the terrible drought that we are experiencing as a result of the climate crisis. “Those are factors that affect the quality of life in the city,” he explained.
Tourism, housing and gentrification
Colau acknowledged that tourism, in general, is positive. “I think it's good to travel and learn. I love that you visit us in Barcelona, as I visit you today in Puerto Rico, to better understand your culture and enjoy your charms as a country.”
“But tourism must be a balanced experience and at the service of the cities and the people who live in them, not of the predators of speculative tourism that alter the prices and services that we must ensure for everyone,” he said.
“Barcelona is a city that has suffered the blows of uncontrolled mass tourism. At one point, in the historic center of Barcelona there were more apartments for tourists than for citizens, for residents, and that affects community life, it unbalances the harmonious functioning of the city,” he assured. As a project, Colau assures, his administration set out the mission of organizing mobility, addressing climate change, reducing inequality and raising democratic quality in the city.
“But tourism must be a balanced experience and at the service of the cities and the people who live in them, not of the predators of speculative tourism that alter the prices and services that we must ensure for everyone,” he said.
“Barcelona is a city that has suffered the blows of uncontrolled mass tourism. At one point, in the historic center of Barcelona there were more apartments for tourists than for citizens, for residents, and that affects community life, it unbalances the harmonious functioning of the city,” he assured. As a project, Colau assures, his administration set out the mission of organizing mobility, addressing climate change, reducing inequality and raising democratic quality in the city.
The program of the coalition of organizations that make up Barcelona en Comú, a political platform led by Colau, highlights the recognition that this is “a diverse city with many, many diversities.”
“All diversities are at the center of our politics… We need everyone to feel like they are protagonists of the city, that this is their city,” he pointed out.
“All diversities are at the center of our politics… We need everyone to feel like they are protagonists of the city, that this is their city,” he pointed out.
Thus, she came very excited to the emblematic project of her administration, the “superilles”, or superblocks, a model for transforming the streets of the entire city, with the aim of recovering for the citizens a part of the space occupied by private vehicles. The objective of the superilles is “to achieve a healthy, greener, fairer and safer public space, which favors social relations and the local economy.”
In this way, small and medium-sized businesses are also strengthened, which according to the former mayor “give life to communities, they are small lights that illuminate our streets, which provide security, social life and neighborhood cohesion.”
A panel of four Puerto Rican women formed the reaction panel to the keynote talk, linking what Colau explained to the Puerto Rican urban experience.
A panel of four Puerto Rican women formed the reaction panel to the keynote talk, linking what Colau explained to the Puerto Rican urban experience.
It was made up of Dr. Angeliz Encarnación from the UPR School of Planning, planner Cristina Miranda Palacios, executive director of the League of Cities; Ariadna Michelle Godreau Aubert, executive director of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico; Dr. Omayra Rivera Crespo, assistant professor of the School of Architecture of the UPR, moderated by Dr. Melody M. Fonseca Santos, assistant professor of the Department of Social Sciences and Center for Applied Social Research of the UPR-Mayagüez.
Also during the event, planner Raúl Santiago Bartolomei presented the foundations for the creation of the Housing and Community Development Research Center of the UPR, which will integrate the faculties of Planning, Architecture, Law and Social Sciences as well as the work of leaders, academics and professionals.
Colau, 50 years old, who entered politics as an activist with the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages and who led one of the most vibrant European cities, concluded his presentation by insisting that “there is still much to do.”
Contact: Madeline Ramírez Rivera 787 225 3466