Casc antic: centre(s) comercial(s): estructura i paisatge de l’espai comercial de Ciutat Vella

Abstract

The ongoing application, during the last decades, of commercial schemes imported from the USA, has had considerable effects on consumer behaviour in our society. These changes also had significant influence on the shapes and on the urban landscape of the traditional commercial zones of the historic centre of Barcelona. The elevated sales-numbers of retail and the overwhelming touristic allure of its monumental ensemble cannot camouflage the collective perception of the difficulties that small-scale traditional shops have to sustain themselves economically. The neighbourhood offers an interesting occasion for a comprehensive case-study of its commercial structure and its specific urban image, a point of view that has not been explored until now. The study of spaces with and without activity will be approached from four different thematic angles: structure, urban landscape, temporary evolution, and 'shoppingmall-ing', with an overall argument in common: the system of commercial concentrations of the Ciutat vella.