The paradoxes of cultural regeneration: Artists, neighbourhood redevelopment and the 'creative city' in Poblenou, Barcelona

Abstract

This paper examines the limits of the creative city hypothesis. It discusses the ways in which creative-based urban regeneration strategies, rather than stimulating art production practices, hampers them. The paper analyses the discursive and urban conflicts between the art community in Poblenou — a deindustrialised and now bohemian district in Barcelona — and the 22@Barcelona Plan, a large-scale, government-led urban intervention aimed at the conversion of Poblenou into a 'creative cluster'. The paper argues that the Plan, in spite of its discourse, destroys art spaces, forces the relocation of artists and transforms the cultural landscape of the neighbourhood. The paper also contests the mainstream scholarship on the creative city by showing how artists, far from being mere gentrifiers, are politically engaged neighbourhood agents. Finally, the paper outlines some key policy recommendations regarding the implementation of more sustainable creative-based urban regeneration strategies.