Gabi Jené is an orderly man, with strong ideas and gentle manners, who has been advocating for many years for a more commerce-friendly city model. We meet at the foot of the staircase of La Mallorquina, the company he manages, and which is one of the two most beautiful store staircases in Barcelona, along with that of Santa Eulalia.
Jené warns us about the degradation of Ciutat Vella, how Barcelona runs the risk of becoming a bad experience for visitors, and how businesses depend on a good mobility policy. He envies the commercial freedom of other large cities, points out the strengths of the Catalan capital, and deviates very little from the central lane of common sense. It doesn't seem, after the interview, that he asks for much. But there are things that here mean asking for a lot.
--- They say that Barcelona has not recovered after the pandemic.
--- Barcelona yes, Ciutat Vella not entirely.
--- How?
--- Ciutat Vella, after the pandemic, has entered a worrying process of degradation. This can obviously affect the attractiveness of the city, because Ciutat Vella is the heart, the essence, the root of Barcelona. And all this is due to the fact that it does not have strong district leadership, and that during the pandemic there was a decrease in commercial offerings. Many companies could not cope with the drastic reduction in income combined with high expenses, for example, the rent of premises, which is high in tourist areas like this one. You have to think that during the pandemic there were no tourists or local customers, because Barcelonians do not usually live in Ciutat Vella.
--- But now, has it not recovered either?
--- Now simply the brands that were there have not returned, or inferior quality ones have come. The old building of the Modelo tailor shop became an H&M, to be clear, and it has been closed for two years. All this is deeply symptomatic. If this had happened on Paseo de Gràcia or Diagonal, the building would already be occupied. Ciutat Vella has a leadership problem coupled with excessive restriction on uses, as well as obstacles in processing new activity files, and above all, little support for businesses. The sufficiently expected result is degradation.
--- Well, Fermín Villar told us in this very space that what happens in Ciutat Vella ends up happening in the rest of the city!
--- In part it is true, because to all these elements I have mentioned, add the reform of Via Laietana, which, as it is being carried out, will undoubtedly affect commerce in the area and also in nearby neighborhoods. The rest of the city is still doing well, in fact, from a commercial point of view, it's going like a rocket, although with demand restrictions due to the war in Ukraine, the cost of energy, rising prices… What has been noticed a lot, and very favorably, is the recovery of tourism.
--- Therefore, should the oracle of Ciutat Vella not cast a shadow of curse over the rest of the city?
--- It could happen, of course. Look: for such an essential part of the city to degrade so much cannot be good for the image of the rest. This loss of image causes a decrease in investors in the sense of a loss of interest from brands.
--- Barcelona Oberta has been demanding a city council sensitive to its demands for years. But what exactly is a business friendly city council?
--- One that does not hinder commercial or economic activity. One that facilitates and accompanies investments, ensuring they are carried out, and in return, this economic activity generates jobs. Look at the example I gave you of the Modelo building: making things easier, being proactive, not letting it sleep.
--- Here we also talk a lot about historic commercial establishments. Whether it's Pitarra, Schilling, or Gran Café… Should they be subject to special protection?
--- Commerce must adapt to the new needs of the market. Being emblematic is not enough. One can be emblematic, but it is necessary to carry out reforms and adaptations. Offer good product, at a good price. What I mean is that, if emblematic businesses are protected, this cannot mean protecting an inefficient activity. Everyone needs to adapt to new times, it's part of the process, we must compete.
--- Another controversy: commercial hours. What is happening to us?
--- We have reached a minimum pact, which is freedom of hours between May 15 and September 15, including weekends and holidays. I say it's minimal because what we had before was very little. Having four consecutive months of freedom now is a good breath of fresh air, but it is still far from what Barcelona should be as an international shopping city. For example, does it make sense for this calendar to exclude Easter? Everyone closed? And for Sant Jordi, which this year falls on a Sunday, except for bookstores, we won't be able to open! Does this make sense?
--- What would be the model, then?
--- It's bad for me to say it: Madrid.
--- Here we go again.
--- Wait, wait: and London, and Paris… All these cities open on Sunday, this regime of ours only happens here! But I'll tell you more, several Catalan tourist destinations allow freedom of commercial hours. On the other hand, our tourist and commercial capital, look at that, does not.
--- Why does this happen?
--- In fact, Barcelona Oberta was born with this specific demand: we want to be able to open! Barcelona can choose not to do so, but it must take into account that here we must meet an international demand.
--- But what about local businesses? And those who cannot afford it?
--- Local commerce is that which supplies you close to home. We can say that this type of commerce is well located, supplies its neighborhood, can adapt its hours and its dynamics to its neighbors. In addition, the network of municipal markets is very wide and makes it possible for many establishments to guarantee fresh produce close to home. But the centrality, the center, the heart of the city needs people from outside if it wants to hold on. Look at Paris: do you think that a business in the center of Paris can be viable without the complement of visitors to the city? And I'm not referring to tourists, but to people from the rest of France. Is it possible? I tell you it's not.
--- Do you depend so much on visitors?
--- Well, 56% of the business. And not only that: 23% of those visitors are tourists, the rest are non-residents in Barcelona. The hinterland.
--- Catalans.
--- Catalans, Spaniards, people from nearby. That's why when we complain about mobility in Barcelona, we do it thinking about these people, about those who come from nearby cities, who if they have a bad city experience while moving around Barcelona will end up preferring to stay and shop in La Roca del Vallès. And rightly so.
--- Therefore, are changes in mobility a key factor at this moment?
--- Absolutely. We do not have a consolidated metropolitan transport network, as I assure you exists in Berlin. Here, if you don't come by private vehicle, it's very difficult to get around.
--- And solutions like the tram, how do you see them?
--- Solutions? To what? The tram is an obsolete infrastructure; cities are doing away with it in favor of electric vehicles and electric buses. Furthermore, a tram needs a very specific traffic light frequency, too favorable and too fluid, which affects and harms the rest of the traffic. There was an alternative route for a tram, like Gran Via, which is an avenue in the form of a cut. However, Diagonal is a living and permeable mesh. If you put a tram in its central section, it's like putting up a wall.
--- You were telling me about your skepticism regarding the works on Via Laietana.
--- Via Laietana can become a boulevard without any problem, but not like this. In this project, the vehicle is too criminalized, and this only favors a bad city experience: I should be able to go more fluidly from the Eixample to the port. Thinking about businesses, but also about Barcelona residents and visitors!
--- Madrid wins in some things, okay. And our strong point?
--- The Eixample, without a doubt. The Eixample is a natural mix of culture, commerce, citizenship, associations, gastronomy, architecture, etc., with a diversity of uses not seen in Madrid. There, everything is more dispersed, there's a place for everything, while in the Eixample everything is right here. That's why we express our strong opposition to deconstructing the Eixample.
--- Can it be that serious?
--- In the coming years, if we continue to denaturalize the Eixample, those who will lose will be the services. Doctors, notaries, lawyers... Because it will be difficult for clients to come to Provença with Rosselló, and the notary will end up preferring to set up their office in L'Hospitalet. We will have transformed Barcelona into a dormitory city.
--- What you want is the concept of the "15-minute city"?
--- No, I'm not saying that. Or at least it's not a model for the center. Hostrafrancs can perfectly obey this concept, where everything is 15 minutes from your home, but the center must be something else. A center is a center, and it addresses the country and the world, not just its neighborhood.
--- Finally: write me your letter to the Three Kings for the coming years.
--- That there be a city project, that is, to know where we are going. This, first. Second: dialogue, consensus, and public-private cooperation. And third: airport.
--- The third runway, you mean?
--- It is necessary that it expands its capacity. It is undoubted and it is urgent.
--- I don't know if the citizen understands that urgency.
--- The direct airline between Barcelona and cities like Tokyo must exist. And if not, the whole world will end up changing destination.
--- As clear as that?
--- As clear as that.