Assignment 02A – PROBLEMAS EN BARCELONA
1. Overtourism
The topic that appeared most frequently in my search of the news for Barcelona was tourism. Most articles discussed tourism in a negative context, describing tourism in Barcelona as overtourism which leads to various problems and supports negative phenomena such as petty theft.
Social Interaction Tool Categories Addressed: land uses of social space, job access, demographic differences
Qualities: services: public/private and type, housing type, foreignness, language of menu, language of business name, signage
2. Housing Affordability / Inequalities
The topic with the second most frequent articles in my search of the news related to real estate values, housing inequities, and a lack of affordable housing. Affordable housing is a key issue that relates to social equity. Furthermore, patterns of housing affordability often correspond to patterns of environmental quality.
https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/06/02/economia/1654173219_279064.html
Social Interaction Tool Categories Addressed: land use, social housing
Qualities: housing: rental cost / cost per sq. m / housing type / # of bathrooms and bedrooms, job type / access (and proximity?)
3. Technology Growth (and Electricity Needs)
Another topic that came up frequently in my search was tech companies moving to Barcelona. This topic could be elaborated on in the context of energy availability, as electricity is needed to support these businesses. Furthermore, electrification is essential to reducing fossil fuel use. Electricity availability in Spain is already less that that of other developed nations. The availability of electricity will be worsened by blackouts caused by heat waves, the frequency of which will increase as the climate changes. The need for power will likely grow in the future. (Additionally, this topic seems poetic to me in the context of superillas microgrids for microgrids could be used for more sustainable, self-sufficient energy production.)
https://www.elperiodico.com/es/economia/20220627/mobile-world-congress-seguira-barcelona-13943496
Social Interaction Tool Categories Addressed: job access, infrastructure: information technology
Qualities: service type, job type, wifi available, cell strength, (and electrical infrastructure available)
Energy – general sustainability,
Guallart self-sufficiency (auto-suficiente,
Net-zero – at what scale of building, a block, superille
…insulation reduce loads, cooling Passive Cooling in Spain