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t first, it was like a whisper. Then it stood out from the exalted or exhausted conversation in Spanish and Catalan normally found on the Barcelona metro, mixing with the noise of trains, squealing engines, and closing doors. A few minutes before arriving at one of Barcelona's supposedly most famous neighborhoods, her face was already showing when two women in their twenties sat across from me on the train.
Poblenou went from being an old industrial center to a masterpiece of the startup scene in Barcelona. As part of the city's renovation for the 1992 Olympic Games, the district, which used to house warehouses and industrial factories and was nicknamed the Catalan Manchester, began to change its appearance.They wore ripped jeans, baggy wool pants in bright colors and feather earrings, and spoke loudly in American English. They were not tourists; there was no nervous way of clutching their bags or a tired expression on their faces. They seemed to be at ease and feeling comfortable, as if they knew how to move. They got off at Llacuna station, holding self-rolled cigarettes, along with a couple of men in suits, an old woman with a shopping cart, a man in his mid-40s in worn work clothes, and me, a novelty. City journalist who wants to know what all the fuss is about. Welcome to the Poblenou neighborhood.
It was a sunny December morning when I arrived in Poblenou, a neighborhood sandwiched between the busy Diagonal Avenue and Bogatell beach. The area, with its approximately 33,000 inhabitants, is part of the Sant Martí district and went from being an old industrial center to a masterpiece of the startup scene in Barcelona. As part of the city's renovation for the 1992 Olympic Games, the district, which used to house warehouses and industrial factories and was nicknamed the Catalan Manchester, began to change its appearance.
In 2000, the Barcelona government approved the plan now known as 22@, a project to increase the value and reform the area, build homes and office spaces. The objective was "to turn Poblenou into an important scientific, technological and cultural platform", attracting international and local companies to settle in the neighborhood.
From time to time, I come across a group of workers, who seem to be speaking in English, German, French and, occasionally, Spanish.Walking in the full sun through the quiet streets of the neighborhood, almost twenty years later, I pass by many offices. Nowadays, the area is famous for hosting startupsas the messaging serviceGlovo, spaces ofco-workingas the international unicornWeworkor the local competitorValkiria, as well as research and development centers, or offices of companies established there such as Vodafone or Amazon.
There are almost no people on the streets, however, the sounds of drilling and hammering from construction cut through the strange stillness of an area that could be considered quite busy. But this can change in the afternoon or evening. From time to time, I cross paths with a group of workers, who seem to be speaking in English, German, French, and, occasionally, Spanish.
"Barcelona reminds me of young San Francisco," says the businesswoman, who grew up in the Bay Area in California. But the city must be careful how it continues to develop and needs to "keep in mind all members of the community who do not belong to the technology sphere."The international dimension of the neighborhood is something that, to Eloi Alcaide, Marketing Director ofCodeworks, he especially likes it. Codeworks is an academy that teaches students to code inbootcamps[intensive courses that allow specialization in cutting-edge technologies], and has been in the area since its inception in September 2016. "The scene is definitely growing and the neighborhood is changing," says Alcaide, referring to the construction work in the area and the transformation of buildings. According to him, there is a lot of collaboration between the different companies in the neighborhood, for example, meetings or shared projects. "It creates a great atmosphere and you can feel the scenetech!", he insists. While he welcomes the fact that there are many expatriates living in the neighborhood, he is also cautious: "The international atmosphere is incredible, as long as it doesn't deter locals."
I enter Spaces, a different corner of Poblenou, across the street from one of those construction sites and next to a large glass building that houses the Spanish tech company Zemsania. With its headquarters in Amsterdam, Spaces rents offices or desks in its co-working spaces to companies like Ticketmaster or to solo entrepreneurs.
This is where I've arranged to meet Katrina Walker, an American who recently started her own company in Barcelona. She chose to live and work in Poblenou due to its creativity and innovative atmosphere. "Barcelona reminds me of young San Francisco," says the entrepreneur, who grew up in the Bay Area in California. But the city must be careful how it continues to develop and needs to "keep in mind all members of the community who do not belong to the technology sphere," adds the American, referring to the fact that the rise and popularity of Silicon Valley over the years caused the city to suffer a dramatic housing shortage and increased inequality.
Perhaps a similar thought has led the regional government to currently review the 22@ project in Poblenou. According to local media reports like El País, Mayor Ada Colau is considering creating more housing and focusing less on office spaces in some parts of the project area, which in this case is north of Diagonal Avenue.
Today I don't walk to the other side of the road that crosses the district. Staying by the sea, perhaps once wild, I pass by the much-discussed offices, hidden in loft-like spaces that seem to have been factories in a previous life. In front of car mechanics and old two- or three-story houses whose ground floors are occupied by one of the many restaurants or shops selling paintings or artistic clothing, I see people pushing shopping carts full of pieces of wood, trash, and scrap metal. They push past the tall, shiny glass buildings and past crumbling facades, decorated with graffiti and other works of art that are sometimes lucid, while other times they are simply colorful. Welcome to Poblenou.