The Development Process in Barcelona - a brief guide
Resources required for site development
Resources required for site development
Expertise:
- architects dominate the process, but draw on other skills at various stages; only members of the local College of Architects can sign drawings that form applications for licenses to develop. UK firms of chartered surveyors are dominant in the office development sector, particularly in those parts of central Barcelona which are of interest to international investors.Finance:
- depends on the uses proposed.Housing:
- the Generalitat is responsible for subsidised (for rent or for sale) housing - particularly in the old city and in poorer areas; the banks (especially the Caixa savings bank) and specialist development companies (normally in more up-market districts).Offices and retail:
- these tend to be financed by foreign funds (French, Swiss, US) and large retail chains (especially French) plus some Spanish investors (banks, construction companies, retail cooperatives like the Basque giant Eroski or the smaller Valencian Consum).Industry:
- rarely allowed in the city, most multinational investors go further out; either directly developed by particular companies or by INCASOL, development agency of Generalitat, which builds industrial estates.Public open space:
- this is the responsibility of the city council; but given scale of creation in recent years and subsequent maintainance burden now, they may be reluctance to adopt more space and may be searching for lowest maintainance solutions.Cultural facilities:
- these are generally managed now by consortia made up of the council, the Generalitat and sometimes private bodies. Different ideological perspectives have to be balanced, between for example those emphasising most nationalist (Catalan) understandings and those with a more international flavour. Local community centres have been promoted on a wide scale by the council, as part of its support for residents associations and for community development.Roads:
- the city council's 1986 roads strategy indicates the broad directions for road investment, which it controls, within the city.Public transport:
- buses and metro are run by, and taxis licensed by, the metropolitan transport entity, made up of the municipalities of the metropolitan area. The overall finance (current subsidy, debt management) is worked out in negotiations between this body, the Generalitat and central government. Such negotiations also take place for investment and subsidy of the local rail network, run by the government owned rail corporation RENFE (with a small network of differently gauged trains run by the Generalitat). Privatisation by central and perhaps regional government is likely to start to affect this framework from 1998 onwards, if and when schemes are agreed for privatisation of rail, port and airport systems.
Stages in site development
1 Check general planning situation, normally in discussion with the planning officials in the council
- PGM classification (broad zoning, detailed regulations)
- any PERI or Estudi de Detall (like a development brief) for the area
- whether affected by Cataleg of listed buildings, or within any area subject to special conservation treatment
- whether in any Area of New Centrality, and how affected by this
- how affected by any public transport investment (via council or direct to metropolitan transport entity (EMT)
- how affected by most recent broad political lines, such as Barcelona 2000 Strategic Plan of 1995, to help in presentation of case
- retail planning situation, whether Generalitat currently pro or anti large hypermarket proposals.
2 Check ownership situation - council will generally know.
3 Check views and expectations of any local groups of residents or other influential interests.
4 Prepare scheme, and if discussions with council officials and others successful, obtain College of Architects signature through authorisation of College member and apply for Licencia for development and building. This occurs right at the end of the process and will normally only be done if acceptance is completely certain.
