; ) is an extensive neighborhood of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

’s Sant Martí district that borders the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

to the south, Sant Adrià del Besòs to the east, Parc de la Ciutadella in

Ciutat Vella Ciutat Vella (, meaning in English "Old City") is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ''Ciutat Vella'' is nest ...

to the west, and Sant Andreu to the north. Originally, it was a town entirely separate from Barcelona proper.

History

During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

of the 19th century, Poblenou was the epicenter of Catalan and Iberian industry, earning it its

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

of the ''Catalan Manchester''. Surrounding the extensive cluster of factories stood mostly working-class residential areas. When the industrial buzz passed, the neighborhood fell into a state of abandon and after a period of decay, the neighborhood underwent a dramatic transformation. The

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in 1992 were the main trigger for this massive transformation of El Poblenou. Many of the areas that have been developed — including the Vila Olímpica, the Diagonal Mar area, and the Fòrum area — arguably comprise their own neighborhoods. Completing its original, unfinished plan, The

Avinguda Diagonal Avinguda Diagonal (; in Spanish language, Spanish: Avenida Diagonal) is the name of one of Barcelona's broadest and most important avenues. It cuts the city in two, diagonally with respect to the grid pattern of the surrounding streets, hence th ...

now stretches from Plaça de les Glòries to the sea. The massive 22@ plan is set to convert Poblenou into the city's technological and innovation district, as well as to increase leisure and residential spaces. Alongside the newly built, upscale Vila Olímpica and Diagonal Mar areas, many artists and young professionals have converted the former factories and warehouses into lofts, galleries, and shops. Art & Design schools and studios have also opened, making the area known for its creative outlook. Some of the old factory buildings are now declared historic monuments and are under protection. This is the case of the Factory Hispania SA, built by the Cuban-German merchant Emilio Heydrich, and architect Josep Graner in 1923, or the Valls, Teixidor i Jordana chemical factory. The leafy Rambla del Poblenou, which stretches from

to the beach, is the main commercial street.

Life in El Poblenou

El Poblenou lies between the great beaches of Barcelona and city center, which allows its residents a great relaxed beach lifestyle and proximity to a huge variety of shopping centers, bars and restaurants. Due to its rising popularity, prices of flats in the area have increased dramatically. Besides good beaches, this neighborhood offers wide open spaces, green parks and relatively few tourists. Despite local efforts to maintain authenticity, La Rambla de Poblenou is battling the effects of

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

and

mass tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

. The annual light art festival Llum BCN is celebrated since 2012 every February in Poblenou.

Landmarks

Notable buildings of Poblenou include the

Torre Agbar ''Torre'' (plurals ''torri'' and ''torres'') means ''tower'' in seven Romance languages ( Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italian, Occitan and Corsican) and may refer to: Biology * Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrom ...

(

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. is an international architecture firm headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with additional offices in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York City, Paris, and San Francisco. Founded in 1978 by Jacques Herzog and ...

's Forum Building (which houses Europe's largest scale model of a city), and the ME Barcelona Hotel (former Habitat Sky Hotel) ( Dominique Perrault). Major public spaces include the Parc de Diagonal Mar (

Enric Miralles Enric Miralles Moya (12 February 1955 – 3 July 2000) was a Spanish architect from Barcelona. He graduated from the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in 1978. After establishing hi ...

), the Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, the Parc Central del Poblenou (

), the beachfront Parc del Poblenou, the vast Parc del Forum, Oficines Diagonal 197 (

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, , (born 18 December 1953) is a British architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985, which grew into a global architectural practice with offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago d ...

), the Media-Tic Building ( Enric Ruiz Geli - CLOUD 9), the historic Poblenou Cemetery as well as many kilometres of beaches. Image:[email protected], View of construction in Poblenou, Barcelona, resulting from the 22@ urban renewal plan. Image:RamblaPoblenou.jpg, Modernista building on a corner of Rambla del Poblenou (Barcelona). Image:Poblenou-Contrasts.jpg, View of Carrer Pallars in Poblenou, showing renovation of underground infrastructure, as well as one of many former factories next to a modern building.

Public transport

* Barcelona Metro line 1 stations:

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

, Glòries * Barcelona Metro line 4 stations: Selva de Mar, Poblenou, Llacuna, Bogatell * Trambesòs stations: Glòries, Ca l'Aranyó, Pere IV, Fluvià

References

External links