Àlex Balletbò welcomes us to the hotel he manages, the Hotel Arc de la Rambla, at number 19 of the illustrious Barcelona promenade. With him, we talk mainly about the remodeling of La Rambla, its deficits and its challenges, but above all about how to recover La Rambla for the people of Barcelona. When did we lose it? Did we really lose it? And why? And why should we know how to recover it now, and how do we do it so as not to spoil it again? In him, we find an interlocutor who knows the neighborhood, is open to dialogue, demanding, and an old hand. Perhaps he can shed some light on how we can all be better friends of La Rambla together.
— Let's start with the remodeling of La Rambla. What do you think of it? Have you followed it closely? Is the assessment positive so far?
— It's quite good. In fact, the City Council, through the Secretariat, keeps us informed at all times about the evolution of La Rambla and the timings. Therefore, we are doing quite well. Evidently, now in February, we will finish the works, and small details will remain.
— February?
— The inauguration will take place in February, and, as with any other work, there are always small touch-ups that need to be done afterward: a sidewalk that doesn't quite look right, some specific detail... But, in general terms, we are quite happy. Now we will see what acceptance it has from the public. Always, when there is a reform and works are done, there is a visual adaptation process. People always say "I liked it better before." But you have to give yourself time to adapt to this new vision, and perhaps you will end up liking it more. The comments we have heard so far, in general, are good.
— How would you summarize this reform? What need did it cover, and what is the big change?
— The big change is mobility. It will be much easier to walk along La Rambla. In the end, it is a space with many visitors, and a reform was needed to facilitate pedestrian viability. Now we also have the terrace excellence zone, which implies reducing the number of terraces so that the passage is wider... Let's say we have now done the hardware part. Afterward, the software part will be missing, that is, ensuring that the terraces are well placed, that the businesses function properly... But, in general terms, La Rambla will be much more beautiful and much more pleasant to walk along.
— On a commercial level, what do we gain? Often, when a promenade is pacified, some merchants are afraid of losing customers if cars stop passing through.
— In this case, I don't think so. La Rambla was not a place that particularly depended on cars for shopping either. There are many means of transport: you have metro line 3, which connects you with all of Barcelona; you have two car parks in Drassanes and another one right opposite; you have Plaça Catalunya. It's a relatively easy place to park without having to cross La Rambla. Therefore, you can park calmly, do your shopping, return to your vehicle if you need to, and if not, public transport is very well resolved.
— I don't know if La Rambla is the center of Barcelona, but it is its heart. Do you have the feeling that Barcelona residents have abandoned La Rambla?
— That's a difficult question. It's not that Barcelona residents have abandoned La Rambla; what we have seen is that, in recent years, many other centers of interest have appeared in Barcelona. We are a million and a half Barcelona residents, and if La Rambla used to be one of the most attractive centers, now there are four or five more that are also attractive. Therefore, Barcelona residents are dispersed. There is also a certain reluctance to come because it is considered that there is too much tourism. But let's remember that La Rambla is the street where more cultural activities are organized throughout the year, and where there is more cultural offer. In the end, if a Barcelona resident wants to participate in many of these activities, they have to go down to La Rambla. In this sense, we would like them to come down much more often, obviously, but I don't think they have abandoned us.
— So you don't feel abandoned.
— No. In fact, there is a very interesting fact that occurred, unfortunately, as a result of the August 2017 attack: there was a very positive reaction from all Barcelona residents, who returned to La Rambla as a gesture of support. This means that all Barcelona residents continue to feel La Rambla as their own, but perhaps they don't come down as often as we would like. That's why, from the association, we have many activities specifically aimed at Barcelona residents. In fact, one hundred percent, all our activities are directed at Barcelona. Sometimes a tourist joins in, but we target Barcelona residents.
— One thing is to come to cultural activities, or to do your Tast de la Rambla, and another is to live. Could it be that there are fewer and fewer Barcelonians living in Ciutat Vella?
— Yes. There are two important factors here. On the one hand, as the City Council has explained several times, we would like there to be more residents on La Rambla. But this is an urban planning and building problem. On the other hand, we must not lose the residents we already have. Let's remember that practically 90% of the buildings on La Rambla are protected and cataloged. This means that you cannot modify them. When you have a building with one or more residents who cannot install an elevator because Heritage does not allow it, or cannot make enclosures that improve thermal and acoustic insulation, it is very easy for them to end up thinking: "I'm going to live somewhere else." And if you want to attract new residents, you can't tell them: "You will come to live in a 19th-century building, you will climb stairs every day and you will have constant noise all night." This makes many people back down.
— Who ends up coming, then?
— Young people, some expats or people who don't care about this. But it's not exactly the kind of neighborhood we would want. Now the City Council, through the commissioner of Ciutat Vella, has explained to us that at the end of the year a rehabilitation office will be launched. We have already said that we will actively participate because, precisely, many of our associates demand this: elevators and acoustic and thermal improvements. Therefore, we start here. If we want to keep residents and increase their number, we first have to prevent the current ones from leaving. We rehabilitate what we have and then we will build more housing.
— If right now the person most willing to come and live is a young expat, or, unfortunately, a family without economic capacity, could young Barcelonians be encouraged to make the city center their own? Encourage the purchase or rental of flats in Raval by young people, for example, even if it was for a season?
— It's a matter of urban planning policy. When the Rambla del Raval opened, or even El Born, which had also been very neglected, suddenly exactly what you say happened: many young people thought they would love to live in that neighborhood for a period of their lives, four, five or six years, or until they got married and had children. It would be great if this also happened on the Rambla. But it's a matter of housing policy. The fact is that we have to build housing, and housing under certain conditions.
— Fermín Villar, one of your predecessors, used to say that the Rambla is the oracle of Barcelona: what happens there ends up happening in the rest of the city. Do you agree?
— Yes. Both positively and negatively. Any positive policy you implement on the Rambla is extrapolable to the rest of Barcelona. All the issues of cultural activities or housing, for example. I am convinced —and we discussed this with Ivan Pera, Commissioner for the Pact for Ciutat Vella— that if we implement a good housing rehabilitation policy on the Rambla, which is the most difficult street because it is highly listed and protected, it will be much easier in the rest of Barcelona. Because, what is Barcelona's main problem? Housing. Well, let's start with the Rambla, which is the most difficult, and then we can make a good housing offer throughout the city.
— And insecurity?
— Insecurity will always be there, on the Rambla. It is part of a very particular environment.
— Is it a curse?
— Look: when you have so many tourists who don't report crimes, the problem multiplies. Let's think that a tourist stays here for an average of 2.7 days. Imagine they are robbed on the first day. Will they spend the rest of the day at the police station queuing only to be told that, if there's a trial in three months, they'll have to come back? Obviously not. The report is not filed, and everything is forgotten. If we had more Barcelonians, there would be much less insecurity. Because a Barcelonian, if told there's a trial in three months, will respond: "I'll be there, and therefore, I'll file the report."
— This idea that with more Barcelonians it probably wouldn't happen as much is interesting.
— Exactly. On Rambla Catalunya, they don't rob you as much because you're no longer a tourist; you're a Barcelonian. And a curious thing happens: if you talk to a thief or a delinquent, they know the Penal Code much better than we do. Because it doesn't occur to me to steal, or rape, or murder. Therefore, I have never studied the Penal Code. On the other hand, they know it perfectly. They know that if they steal without violence, it's one thing; they know what happens if the value is less than a certain amount; they know perfectly how it works.
— There has also been a lot of talk about recidivism. Do you already notice any change with the new legislation?
— Not much yet, but I hope we start to notice it. Evidently, now the City Council is becoming firmer. There has been a change compared to Ms. Colau's stage, where it was believed that, with good will, everything would go well. And it wasn't like that. Now we have a consistory with Albert Batlle, a very powerful and experienced security chief, who is setting a different pace. In any case, if we were all Barcelonians here, there would be a third of the crime that there is currently. The same that you find above Diagonal.
— This is very graphic: when there is a serious incident in Balmes, it is big news throughout Barcelona.
— This is the clearest example. Luckily, both the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana continue to say that Barcelona is a safe city. And it's true: Barcelona is a safe city. If we compare it with many cities in the United States, there's no comparison. But, like any tourist city or any tourist neighborhood in the world, you have the phenomenon of pickpockets and pickpockets.
— What will be, then, the big change that Barcelonians will find when the renovation is finished?
— That they will be able to walk better. We will have a greater width, which is what the PEOR and the new layout of La Rambla establish. It should also be noted that not only will the tables on the terraces be reduced, which will happen. It was something that seemed very difficult, but we have achieved it by working together with the guild. And now it's time for a second step: to improve the quality of these terraces. To get all operators to want to raise the quality of the service they offer. Perhaps they will have fewer tables, but they will be able to have a more beautiful, more welcoming, and more pleasant terrace. This will ensure that people continue to go.
— And the Teatre Principal project? What is your assessment of it?
— We are very excited about it. In fact, it is very stimulating that this theater, after so many years closed, is starting to open. The City Council has put a series of obstacles, very typical, because the existing laws are so complicated that in the end no one can fully comply with them. But we are very happy. The lack of public-private collaboration always goes to the detriment of the citizen. Having a building here, closed and deteriorating, is bad for public administration, bad for the city, and bad for the citizen. Therefore, we are delighted with the project.
— In recent years we have seen private cultural initiatives, such as the renovation of the Museu de Cera, the Teatre Principal, the Llibreria Sant Jordi, the Club Capitol, the new FNAC... Can this dynamic continue?
— Yes. And everything that has to do with the roots of Barcelona is good to maintain, and we try to protect it. The City Council also has this will. We would like historical premises to be preserved. Don't forget the Fundición de la Generalitat, where they will create a digital culture center. As for the new FNAC, they have eliminated all the home appliance section —vacuum cleaners and all that— and now there is practically only culture, a bit of technology, and mobile phones. There are five floors dedicated to culture within La Rambla. As we said, La Rambla is the main cultural axis we have in the city and it is being greatly reinforced with these initiatives.
— And the Teatre Principal tops it off.
— Absolutely. It's 10,000 square meters dedicated entirely to culture. Before they weren't, because there was the Jai Alai, but now they are, following the exchange that was made. It's 10,000 square meters dedicated to culture, it's spectacular. And this is an area that needs it more than any other.
— What projects do you have underway from the association?
— A very important project is the one we have with the City Council and with GetYourGuide, which is called La Rambla, a new model of urban tourism. What we do is rethink the tourism management model to make it equally attractive for the heritage we have, both for locals and for visitors.
— Any other initiatives?
— We organize many routes. We have the women's route, the historical route, the true crime route, the Port route, the florists' route, the theaters' route, even the one that explains the relationship of La Rambla with Barça... When a Barcelonian signs up, they are absolutely surprised. They discover a Rambla they didn't know. What we seek is to bring people from Barcelona so that, when you tell them these stories, they then become prescribers.
— In the end, is it about people from Barcelona reoccupying the center?
— Yes. That's why we do many activities. The Tast, the participatory forum —which is also part of this project— or, right now, an exhibition of souvenirs at the Columbus monument. These are souvenirs designed by the students of Elisava. After all, we ask ourselves the same question that the city's museums ask themselves: how do we get Barcelonians, who fill the museums of Paris and Amsterdam, to also fill the museums of Barcelona and not just have them filled with tourists? How do we get Barcelonians to enjoy the center and its attractions again? No one doubts the attractions that Barcelona has, but we have, in a way, given up on its center.
— On its heart, in any case.
— Many Barcelonians have not even set foot in Barceloneta. We talk a lot about La Rambla, but this also happens. We have to recover this city pride. If we have achieved it with the Sagrada Familia, how do we make this pride settle among us?