22@ Barcelona 2000-2015: Barcelona's innovation district

22@Barcelona
2000-2015
Barcelona’s innovation district

Report done by:
Team INNOVA coordinated by Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway
Research Group CRIT ‘Creativity, Innovation and Urban Transformation’
Faculty of Economics and Business
University of Barcelona
Council of Business and Tourism of the Municipality of Barcelona

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
6
DISTRICT NEIGHBOURHOODS
District 10. Sant Martí
64 el Camp de l’Arpa del Clot
65 el Clot
66 el Parc I la Llacuna del poblenou
67 la Vila Olímpica del POblenou
68 el Oblenou
69 Diagonal Mar I Front Marítim del Poblenou
70 el Besòs I el Maresme
71 Provençals del Poblenou
72 Sant Martí de Porvençals
73 la Verneda I la Pau

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Executive summary
This report presents an evaluation of the milestones reached in Barcelona’s
22@ innovation district from the moment of its conception and implementa-
tion up until the present. The last 15 years of 22@Barcelona are presented in
a synthesized and concise way, following a holistic approach to the area that
considers urban as well as economic and social aspects. We also present the
synergies created in the area as a result of the implementation of the project.
Why 22@Barcelona?
The project emerges from the strategic municipal will to transform an
area occupied by abandoned factories, economic activities that produce re-
duced added value, and empty spaces that are scattered throughout the dis-
trict. The project is understood within the context of the city of Barcelona’s
tradition in long-term strategic city planning and city model design.
How is 22@Barcelona shaped?
22@Barcelona is a project shaped around three axes: the urban, econo-
mic, and social renewal of an area, all framed within the overall transforma-
tion of the east of the city together with the La Sagrera station, the Vila Olím-
pica (Olympic Village), and the Forum. It began in 2000 at a time of economic
boom and as a result of the leadership exercised by the local government.
The implementation of the project involves the creation of the 22@Barcelo-
na municipal company, which brought together efforts and hopes linked to
the development of the project until 2011, the year of its dissolution. The
22@Network unites the interests of businesses installed in the area, headed
first by the City Council of Barcelona, and today operating under the leader-
ship of the businesses themselves.
What are the project’s basic characteristics?
· 22@Barcelona covers 198.26 ha, 1,159,626 m2 of land, and 115 blocks.
· 4614 pre-existing houses are recognized in the area, and 4000 new
subsidized housing units are planned (25% rented housing).
· Increase of green areas covering 145,000 m2 of land.
· New facilities: 145,000 m2 of land.
· Heritage elements to be conserved: 114.
· Investment through the Special Infrastructure Plan (PEI): 180 million
euros.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
8
What urban transformation has taken place in the neighbour-
hood (by September 2014)?
· The 22@ sector has more than 1600 subsidized housing units comple-
ted.
· 40,737 m2 have been developed for green areas (public and private).
· Approximately 14,000 m2 have been constructed above ground level
for facilities for the productive fabric (for example, the MediaTIC buil-
ding or the business incubator Almogàvers Business Factory) and the
neighbourhood fabric (CEIP Llacuna primary education centre or the
Camí Antic de València Community Centre and Senior Citizens’ Centre).
· 15 km of streets have been redeveloped.
In total, 50.60% of 22@ land awaits completion of its transformation.
What kind of economic transformation has taken place in the
neighbourhood?
· While in 2000 3473 companies were calculated in the neighbourhood,
according to the Business Census (2015), the number of companies
installed in 22@ is currently 8823.
· Since 2000, 4500 businesses have installed themselves in the district,
which means an average of 545 new businesses installed each year.
Of these 4500, 47.3% are newly formed and the rest are relocations.
Approximately 30% are involved in knowledge- and technology-inten-
sive activities.
· In 2015, 22@ has a total of 2914 freelance workers.
· The number of workers (Business Census, 2015) is estimated to be
around 93,000. Of this number, workers with university qualifications
represent, on average, 32.2% of overall workers in 22@.
· Exporting companies invoice on average 38% of their sales volume
abroad.
· While in 2010 the percentage of businesses located in 22@ with a po-
sitive view of the evolution of the economic context for the following
year was 53%, this percentage increased to 72% in 2015.
What kind of social transformation has the neighbourhood
experienced?
· The population of the Sant Martí district increased by 3.69% for the
period 2007-2014.

9
· The foreign population from the EU-28 is over-represented in the
neighbourhoods of Vila Olímpica (10.63%), La Llacuna (8.06%), and
Diagonal Mar (8.22%).
· Household disposable income is higher than in Barcelona overall and
has increased substantially since 2009 in the neighbourhoods of Dia-
gonal Mar and Vila Olímpica. The rest of the neighbourhoods present a
household income that is below Barcelona’s and that has been decrea-
sing since 2009.
The transformation of the Sant Martí district for the 22@ project has ge-
nerated multiple synergies in the area both in the real estate market and due
to the creation of an atmosphere that fosters the arrival of artists, busines-
ses, and associations related to innovation and creativity. Therefore, beyond
what was planned at the end of 1998 under the leadership of the City Coun-
cil of Barcelona, the 22@ district has become consolidated as an innovation
district in the city of Barcelona.

11
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. 22@ and Barcelona: The context and the district . . . . . . 19
2. 22@: A strategic and integrated project . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.1. Urban transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.2. Economic transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.3. Social transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.4. Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3. Development of the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.1. Timing and accomplishment of the
urban transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.2. Economic transformation and
business characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.3. Lines of action in the social dimension
4. Externalities and collaborations produced in the area . . 68
4.1. Cultural and social projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.2. Universities, technology and innovation centres,
and the Smart City Campus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.3. DHUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.4. Barcelona Urban Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.5. Hotel construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Index

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
12
Table 1. Percentage of housing built according to
period of construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 2. Population in Barcelona and in the
Sant Martí district, 2007 and 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Table 3. Rate of ageing in Barcelona and the
Sant Martí district, 2007 and 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Table 4. Population according to nationality in percentages, 2014 29
Table 5. Number of companies and relative weight
of the 22@ district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Table 6. Companies according to size in 22@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Table 7. Number of registered patents in 22@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Graph 1. Price of second-hand housing per square metre,
Barcelona and Sant Martí, December 2001,
2005, 2010, and 2015 (*) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Graph 2. Population with higher education over 16 years,
2001 and 2009-2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Graph 3. Evolution of the average disposable household
income by neighbourhood (DHI Barcelona = 100) . . . . . 61
Graph 4. Evolution of the number of companies located in 22@ . 57
Graph 5. Number of companies according to year of arrival
to the 22@ district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Graph 6. Percentage of companies according to
knowledge intensity in 22@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Graph 7. Estimated turnover in millions of euros of
the companies in 22@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Graph 8. Evolution of the number of workers in the
companies located in 22@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Graph 9. Demand for office space (square metres) in
Barcelona and in 22@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Index of tables and graphs

15
The transformation of Barcelona since the arrival of the democratic
city councils at the end of the 1970s has been in the spotlight as a model
for other cities on an international scale. The management, organization,
and governance of Barcelona as well as the different urban development
strategies adopted over the years have been the focus of analysis by a
significant number of experts from different disciplines (Nel.lo , 2012; Degen
i García, 2008; Capel, 2005; Marshall, 2004). The city has reinvented itself
numerous times in order to respond to new challenges at the local and global
scale: the determinants of these changes are complex and they are the result
of the city’s own socioeconomic, institutional, and political diversity. The
1992 Olympic Games initiated a process of metamorphosis in the city that
turned it into a clear paradigm of urban change and international exposure
where political will plays a determining role (Pareja-Eastaway, 2009).
The need to find strategic alternatives for the future of Barcelona at
the end of the 1990s was very much influenced by the exhaustion of the
expansive wave resulting from the Olympic Games and which motivated the
revival of economic activity from 1986 to 1992 and the economic crisis of
1993-1995 (Trullén, 2011).
The publication of the document Poblenou: The Renovation of
Industrial Areas. Planning Criteria, Goals, and General Solutions in
1998 is considered the starting point of the 22@ project.
The 22@Barcelona project is framed within the context of the area’s
economic transformation: from an eminently industrial business fabric to the
tertiarization of activities and projects. The knowledge economy underpins
the economic rationale for a much further-reaching renovation of the
city: as would be witnessed later, in 22@, the urban, social, and economic
restructuring of the district converge. The project extends the city to the
area defined by the limits of the Ciutadella Park, Gran Via, Rambla del Prim,
and the sea front, mainly occupied by the old and obsolete industrial areas
of Poblenou, on the basis of the conviction that the city of Barcelona must
grow in a comprehensive way, facilitating the coexistence of residential and
productive activities. It is thus the compact city model that guides the new
project, ‘combining housing, business premises, facilities and green areas,
promoting industrial, commercial, and services activities, as well as technical,

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
16
scientific, and cultural development, without overlooking infrastructure and
public services’ (Molas i Parellada, 2011: 13).
The 22@ project was launched in 2000 with the creation of the 22@
Barcelona municipal company. At that time, nothing indicated that in eight
years we would witness one of the most dramatic global economic and
financial crises, with serious consequences for the periphery of Southern
Europe. The dynamic of the project has been strongly conditioned by this
event,showingahighcapacityforresistanceandadaptationtoneweconomic
references. Therefore, the change experienced by the real estate sector in
the city and in the state as a whole has also had its repercussions on the
development of the project both when it comes to price increases and the
overheating of the sector and in the more delicate situation of stagnation
and lethargy in new construction and overall transactions.
The first official innovation districts are 22@ in Barcelona and the
Seaport Innovation district in Boston.
22@Barcelona, understood as an international benchmark, has already
had tangible replicas in different cities around the world like Medellin
(MedellinovationInnovationDistrict),Tunja(Tunja’sTechnologicalInnovation
District), or Montreal (Montreal’s Quartier de l’Innovation). Since 2007,
more than 300 delegations per year with managers from diverse areas of
different local governments have visited the city interested in transferring
and adapting Barcelona’s model to their own area, receiving advice and
support from the City Council of Barcelona.
This report, which aims to evaluate and synthesize the 15 years that have
passedsincethebeginningofthe22@project,comesatthemostappropriate
time: firstly, a project of the scale of 22@ in the city of Barcelona needs
indicators of its evolution and a holistic system for gathering and analysing
the information available on the development of the different areas of
action envisaged. Secondly, many of the variables that have given the seal
of approval to the project’s validity (i.e. political continuity) are experiencing
changes in terms of priorities and opportunities for the coming years. Lastly,
for the design of a strategic city project for the future, it is worthwhile having
access to organized and synthesized results of 15 years of developments in
one of the most iconic projects in the city of Barcelona.

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Scale of the project

21
The values of urban compactness and complexity developed in the
past take on critical importance in the development of the new district in
Poblenou. Not only is there a reassessment of the economic specialization
that characterizes the area, but also a search for the creation of a productive
area combined with the provision of accommodation for neighbours and
new arrivals (Nel·lo, 2004).
The integrated perspective of city-making adopted by the 22@ model
finds its origins in the strategic considerations of the first PEM (Economic
and Social Strategic Plan of Barcelona), signed in March 1990. The general
objective of the Plan is ‘To consolidate Barcelona as an entrepreneurial
European city, with influence in the macro-region where it is situated, with a
modernqualityoflife,sociallybalancedandstronglyrootedinMediterranean
culture,’ taking into account the desires and sensibilities of all the agents
and institutions that are ‘sensitive to and concerned about the future of the
city and representative of its economic and social sectors and of the area.’
The 3rd Economic and Social Strategic Plan of Barcelona, approved in 1999,
made reference to ‘new 22@ urban planning for a new economy’, focusing
on the concept of the knowledge city.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
22
22@ is a compact city project where productive
and residential functions converge.
As considered in the study carried out by Terradas et al. (2008), the area
where 22@ is located has some ‘a priori’ essential characteristics: among
others, the design of Cerdà’s plan, the place’s identity as industrial heritage,
the extension of Avinguda Diagonal, and the sea front. The new city-
making model formulated in the Plan for the Urban, Economic, and Social
Transformation of Poblenou had to confront a large variety of building types
in the district, housing blocks developed over the decades, the existence
of empty sites, and an urban layout that was not very suitable for the
reformulation of uses.
The 22@ urban planning project is framed within the so-called second
(or third) renewal of the city since the milestones of the Olympic adventure
in 1992 were reached (Esteban, 1999). Barcelona’s urban planning project
incorporated new elements that no longer had a specific deadline in their
implementation and that had to respond to new challenges for the city
in a context of budgetary limitations. Once international recognition was
achieved after the Olympics, Barcelona had to back a new integrated city
model where the improvement of infrastructure, the development of specific
projects with the predominance or collaboration of private initiatives, and
connections with the metropolitan area would be decisive.
The decade of the 1990s witnessed a change in the scale of the city of
Barcelona and the emergence of a new model of metropolis with different
nuclei (poly-centric city): certain concentrations of economic specialization
as well as diverse production and an organized urban network formed a
network of cities (Trullén i Boix, 2003). From then on, public intervention
aimed at the improvement of the city’s competitiveness also had to include
the territorial network of already established cities.
After the construction of the Ronda de Dalt (B-20 motorway) and the
Ronda Litoral (B-10 motorway) and the redevelopment of the area of the
Vila Olímpica as a result of the celebration of the Olympic Games, Poblenou
was resituated in an area of new centrality and good connectivity. The
consolidation of Cerdà’s grid and the transformation of the sea front with the
burying of the train lines created an ideal situation to proceed towards the

23
regeneration of the industrial area of Poblenou in a much broader framework
of reforms associated with the eastern part of the city and defined by the
triangle formed by:
- The La Sagrera ‘corridor’
- Rambla Prim
- The extension of Avinguda Diagonal to the sea
This area includes the inter-modal station for high-speed trains at La
Sagrera, the new urban centre around Plaça de les Glòries, and spaces along
the river Besòs, together with the area that served in its day as the stage for
the 2004 Forum where the Conference Centre or the photovoltaic panel will
be located.
The transformation of 22@ forms part of the set of transformations that
have taken place since the end of the 20th century in the east of the city of
Barcelona of which the last to be carried out is the Sant-Andreu-La Sagrera
operation, which involves the transformation of 164 ha around this new
infrastructure corridor. The implantation of large communication axes is
essential for creating cohesion in the area and boosting economic dynamism.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
24
The consolidation of La Sagrera as an important centre of
international connectivity turns 22@ into one of the
best-connected districts in Barcelona
The Special Infrastructure Plan (PEI) envisaged that in ten years 48% of
people that travelled to Poblenou would do so in public transport, 29% in
private transport, and 23% by other means. Public transport, like in the rest
of the city, became a key element for connecting the 22@ area with other
surrounding neighbourhoods and municipalities.
Since the end of the 1980s, the reintroduction of the tram in the city
of Barcelona was considered as a complement to the metro line. In the
Metropolitan Transport Authority’s 1999 Infrastructure Master Plan (PDI)
the Trambesòs network was included. The Trambesòs started operation on
8 May 2004, a day before the inauguration of the 2004 Forum, connecting
the Plaça de les Glòries to the Sant Adrià station. Different stations would
be gradually added to this tramline, reaching Badalona in 2007. Today, the
Trambesòs has a total of 37 stations across lines T4 (14 stations), T5 (12
stations), and T6 (11 stations).
The neighbourhood has become one of the best-connected in Barcelona
with multiple facilities and services: this central location close to leisure areas
and its atmosphere of a traditional neighbourhood make it a very attractive
area for new arrivals from other parts of Barcelona or from overseas. This
appealisalsomadepossiblethankstothecreationofasignificantnewhousing
stock. The rate of housing construction in the Sant Martí neighbourhood has
been unequal over the years: there are consolidated neighbourhoods with
a very old housing stock together with newly created neighbourhoods such
as the Vila Olímpica and Diagonal Mar. Table 1 presents the distribution of
the housing stock according to its period of construction. For the case of

25
On the other hand, the area’s appeal and the context of the housing
market in Barcelona have determined unique housing price evolution. Graph
1 reflects the evolution of second-hand housing prices by square metre in
Barcelona and in Sant Martí.
Sant Martí, the neighbourhoods of Poblenou, Diagonal Mar, and Provençals
de Poblenou are those most affected in the period 2001-2012 in terms of
housing construction.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
26
Graph 1. Second-hand housing prices per square metre, Barcelona and
Sant Martí, December 2001, 2005, 2010, and 2015 (*)
Although the prices of second-hand housing present a similar trend in the
first years of comparison, their fall is more pronounced in Barcelona than
in Sant Martí, which maintains a higher price per square metre than the
average of the city of Barcelona. Without doubt, neighbourhoods such as
Diagonal Mar or Vila Olímpica, with a demand that is resistant to falls, curb
the decrease in prices.
From the point of view of social cohesion, one of the criticisms made of
the 22@ project has been that the evolution of the price of housing could
push a large part of the inhabitants of those neighbourhoods into exclusion.
In relation to the overall city, it is true that there are two neighbourhoods, La
Vila Olímpica del Poblenou and Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou,
in which this hypothesis could be corroborated in the future, given that the
average prices of housing in these neighbourhoods in 2013 was located
between 25% and 37% above the average price for Barcelona. However,
the same cannot be said of the rest of the neighbourhoods in the district,
since the prices in 2013 were between 7.5% and 37% lower than the average
prices of housing in the city.
Source: Department of Statistics (DES), City Council of Barcelona (*) Third trimester

27
The population of the Sant Martí district increased by 3.69% in the
period 2007-2014.
SantMartí,where22@Barcelonaislocated,isoneofthedistrictsthathave
changed most in recent years both in terms of population and productive
specialization. While the population of Barcelona decreased during the
period 2007-2014, the Sant Martí district shows a positive percentage,
fundamentally determined by the population increase in Diagonal Mar
(34.59%), in the neighbourhood of La Llacuna del Poblenou (11.52%), and in
Poblenou (9.38%) (see Table 2).
The population that has arrived to the district is an especially young
population that has made the rate ageing decrease (the quotient between
the number of people aged 65 years and over and of people aged under
15 years in X per cent; an increase of this rate means more ageing in the
population, while a reduction means the opposite, a rejuvenation of the
population) by 5 percentage points from 2007 to 2014 in relation to the
average of Barcelona which decreased by 3.8 points for the same period
(see Table 3).

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
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According to data from the population register, the foreign population
of Barcelona and the Sant Martí district for the year 1996 represented
approximately 2% in both cases. For the year 2014, the foreign population
represented 17% in the city of Barcelona and 16% in the Sant Martí district.
The composition of the population according to nationality on 1 January
2014 can be observed in Table 4 below. We can see that in the different
neighbourhoods of the Sant Martí district there is an over-representation
in relation to the average in Barcelona of the population from the EU-28,
particularly in La Llacuna, Vila Olímpica, Poblenou, and Diagonal Mar. On the
other hand, the concentration of Asians in the areas of Besòs and Maresme
is evident with 12.31% of the population being of Asian origin, in comparison
to 3.8% for Barcelona overall.
Taula 3. of ageing in Barcelona and in the Sant Martí district, 2007 and 2013
Source: Department of Statistics, City Council of Barcelona

29
Table 4. Population according to nationality in percentages, 2014
On the other hand, and taking into account the attraction of talent to
Barcelona during the period, it is interesting to observe the evolution of the
level of education among the population over 16 years of age. Looking at
recent years (2009-2013) in general in Barcelona, the population with higher
education increases progressively. The qualitative jump observed when we
compare the data with those of 2001 is substantial in the city of Barcelona
but more interestingly a specific parallelism is seen with the Diagonal Mar
neighbourhood (Graph 2).

31
Graph 2.
Population with higher education over 16 years of age, 2001 and 2009-2013
Lastly, comparing household income from 2008 and 2012 in the different
neighbourhoods of Sant Martí (Barcelona = 100), we can verify the increase
in disposable household income in two neighbourhoods, Vila Olímpica and
Diagonal Mar. While in the rest a slight downward tendency is observed, ex-
cept in the case of La Llacuna where a more significant fall in income is seen
across the neighbourhood (see Graph 3).
Graph 3.
Evolution of average disposable household income by neighbourhood
(DHI Barcelona = 100)
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
2001 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
BCN
Sant Martí
El Parc i la Llacuna
del Poblenou
La Vila Olímpoica
del Poblenou
El Poblenou
Diagonal Mar i el
Front Marítim del
Poblenou
106.2
88.9
133.3
146.6
93.6 89.8
104.4
127.4
61.1
52.4
85.1
80.4
40
80
120
160
2008 2012
El Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou
La Vila Olímpica del Poblenou
El Poblenou
Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del
Poblenou
El Besòs i el Maresme
Provençals del Poblenou
Source: Compiled by authors using data from the Department of Statistics of the City
Council of Barcelona

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
32
In summary, we can confirm that the 22@Barcelona project forms part of
the overall transformation of the eastern side of the city, which at the same
time is interweaved with the polycentric metropolitan region of Barcelona.
Connectivity has improved substantially over the years, making the neigh-
bourhood an attractive area for many families. The population that arrives
to the Sant Martí district is not necessarily linked to the productive activity
of 22@ but it does produce an increase in the level of disposable household
income in the overall district as well as an improvement in the percentage of
the population with higher education. As we have seen, the appeal of some
of the neighbourhoods in Sant Martí is observed above all in the arrival of a
significant number of families from other European countries.

A strategic
and integrated
project2

35
In the 1980s and 1990s, Barcelona became internationally recognized
for the extent and quality of its urban transformation. High-profile physical,
economic, and cultural improvements transformed the city of Barcelona
from an industrial and port city in decline into a metropolis that often finds
itself at the top of rankings of the most attractive European cities for living,
working, and investing (Observatori de Barcelona, 2015).
A city’s present is strongly determined by its path dependency: the course
of history leaves its marks and guides the future of cities (Musterd and
Murie, 2010). The industrialization of Poblenou began in the 19th century
with the establishment of the textile industry in the area, and later with the
settling of food and metallurgical industries. From 1861 to 1904 the textile
sector led industrial expansion while at the same time new specializations
also developed, with notable large facilities such as Macosa, Vidrieria Vilella,
or Papelera Godó. Between 1905 and 1939 industrial consolidation took
place, with the first generation of the metallurgical industry and the first
car factories: Hispano-Suiza, Ford, and General Motors. Between 1940 and
1964 there was new momentum facilitated by a period of expansion in the
mechano-metallurgical and car industries. This period corresponds to the
establishment of Hispano Olivetti, Pegaso-ENASA, and Montesa (Marrero,
2003).
The relocation or dismantling of industry in the area in the 1960s led to the
predominance of transport and logistics industries. The relative obsolescence
and the different degrees of abandonment of the old industrial areas of
Poblenoutogetherwiththeneedtotackletheholistictransformationofapart
of the city of Barcelona that was relatively underused became the two most
important catalysts for the initiation of the 22@Barcelona transformation
project under the initial leadership of the City Council of Barcelona.
The planning of Barcelona by Cerdà (1859) already incorporated the
extension of the city towards the sea, although at the beginning of the
redevelopment only industrial activities occupied the blocks designed for the
area of Sant Martí de Provençals, where Poblenou is located. However, it is
the configuration of the metropolitan and central mobility and accessibility
systems promoted after the Olympic Games (i.e. Ronda Litoral to Poblenou)
that grants Poblenou, for the first time in its history, a powerful set of

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
36
accesses and connections all along its seaside limit (City Council of Barcelona,
Memòria PEI, 2000).
The 22@ project is more than a planning project because it marked a
new way of understanding the city (Oliva, 2003). The main objective is to
transformwhatusedtobetheparadigmofindustrialsocietyinBarcelonainto
one of the key areas in the knowledge society, specifically, in next-generation
activities related to education and requiring creativity and innovation.
22@ covers 1.4 million square metres (115 blocks from Cerdà’s
Eixample) and an above ground level building potential of some 4
million square metres
One of the first elements to be confronted by the proposal to renovate
Poblenou with the 22@ project was potential speculation on the land and
the existing housing stock. We must not forget that the shortage of housing
in comparison to the strong increase in demand (baby boom generations,
immigration, etc.), together with the liberalization of the financial sector, was
one of the burning problems in the city and, at the same time, a sure source
of profit for investors. As indicated by Clarós (2005): ‘once pressures from
the real estate sector (which demanded a mass rezoning of the old industrial
land of Poblenou for residential use) were overcome, the determined
municipal backing of economic and productive activity in the city, at a time
when the loss of the specific weight of Barcelona and of the Catalan economy
in the Spanish context demanded a revamping of the industrial sectors, was
without doubt the decisive factor in the first phase, which would conclude
in July 2000 with the approval of a modification to the General Metropolitan
Plan to transform the industrial areas of Poblenou.’

37
2.1 Urban transformation
The industrial zoning (22a) of this area required an initial urban
transformation instrument: the definitive approval at the end of 2000 of the
Modification of the General Metropolitan Plan (MPGM) for the renovation
of the industrial areas of Poblenou, the 22@BCN activities district, which
would allow for further construction, more public spaces or green areas, and
social housing uses. The previous industrial activities would be substituted
by offices, other business services, and facilities related to new technologies
and knowledge.
Considering the subsequent economic transformation that the area would
experience, it was necessary to provide a critical mass of high-density office
buildings (a potential of 3.2 million m2) appropriate to a central business
district that aimed to be competitive on a global scale, capable of competing
in the real estate market and of attracting new economic activity (Mur and
Clusa, 2011).
On the other hand, the Special Infrastructure Plan (PEI) for Poblenou,
which would allow for the redevelopment of 37 kilometres of streets in

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
38
the 22@Barcelona district with highly competitive services, also presents
innovative elements by enabling private financing mechanisms for the
unitary redevelopment of the district according to high-quality criteria with
regard to the electricity supply, telecommunications, and rubbish collection.
There should be full coordination with higher urban planning authorities
(i.e. MPGM): ‘The PEI is an instrument that accompanies and is based on
the main urban development plan, the Modification of the PGM, and in
this regard the basic requirements are that its proposals and decisions are
carried out in strict and direct relation with the different transformation
provisions provided for in the Modification of the PGM: predetermined
areas of transformation, other areas defined over time, isolated actions on
pre-existing sites and/or buildings, etc.’ (City Council of Barcelona, Memòria
PEI, 2001).
The third planning mechanism provided for is the Modification of the
Special Plan for Historical/Artistic Architectural Heritage of the city of
Barcelona, approved definitively in November 2006. The planning derived
from the MPGM22@ reinforces the idea of preserving ‘a significant number
of buildings and complexes, either for their industrial heritage value or to
shape the landscape and history of the area’ (City Council of Barcelona,
MPEPAH, 2006). The concept of heritage in the MPGM22@ promotes
the industrial legacy through interventions that revitalize buildings, while
maintaining their most remarkable characteristics. The process is carried out
in three phases:
- The creation of an industrial census through field
research;
- The creation of an inventory that gathers all the most
significant elements and with enough importance to be
maintained totally or partially; and
- The design of the template file that gathers the
elements that form part of the Special Plan.
The modification of Barcelona’s Catalogue of Heritage Sites (Modification
of the Special Plan for Historical/Artistic Architectural Heritage in the
city of Barcelona) is a result of the will to recognize the city’s industrial
past and its contribution to defining the urban space. To the 33 elements
already catalogued, 68 new elements are added, of which 6 are proposed
as Cultural Assets of Local Interest. The preservation of the industrial

39
heritage is accompanied by conservation measures for other elements such
as alleyways, residential buildings, or structural elements, with specific
regulatory instruments.
With the will to build a compact city where the mix of uses characterizes
the functionality of the new environment, deciding on the housing units that
were to be incorporated into the design of 22@ became a critical element
at the beginning of the project. At the end of the 1990s, Barcelona and its
metropolitan area found themselves subjected to strong pressure from a
housing demand that would determine, among other things, the beginning
of the increase in prices that would end with the speculative bubble. The
area of intervention had some 4,614 housing units, in an illegal situation
given their location on industrial land (Mur and Clusa, 2011). However, 22@
planned the construction of 4000 new subsidized units on the land provided
by the City Council, of which 25% would be subsidized rentals.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
40
Financing the project: obtaining profits
The 22@ project required innovative formulas for obtaining extra
resources to facilitate the development of the transformation. Some of
these resources would be achieved through the transfer of part of the
profits made with minimum general investment participation from the
City Council coming from extraordinary expenses.
The block in Cerdà’s Eixample is the basic planning unit through which
urban planning management and the obtainment of profits are exerci-
sed, with prior agreement from more than 50% of the owners of the land.
The block facilitates the distribution of duties and profits in proportional
relation to the ownership of the land occupied by existing businesses. It
is the incentive of development potential (up to 2.7 square metres for @
activities pertinent to the knowledge society and up to 2.2 square metres
for other tertiary uses such as hotels) that generates profits that serve to
pay for:
- compensation for relocation (around 600 euros per
existing square metre);
- demolition;
- compensation for existing buildings (around 200
euros/m2 of current buildings);
- internal development costs of the block; and
- proportional contribution to the redevelopment en-
visaged in the PEI.

41
The 22@BCN project is the result of two years of intense debates around the
future of Poblenou and represents the settlement of the city’s historical debt to
the neighbourhood, preserving the productive character of the area but promo-
ting its modernization and harmonious incorporation into the rest of the city.
García-Bragado, 2001

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
42
2.2 Economic transformation
The economic pillar of the 22@ project is supported by backing a
model characterized by the ‘internationalization of the economy, the
tertiarization of activity, growing productive flexibility, and the emergence
of a new technological paradigm around information and communication
technologies’ (Trullén, 2011: 22).
At the beginning of the 21st century, what is produced is not as
important as how it is produced. Theories based on the industrial district
and the clusterization of activities, where the creation of synergies between
companies, corporations, and individuals is the essential axis of the
productive system, serve to justify the adoption of this model as inspiration
for the 22@ project. A project where the urban dimension, the city, is an
indispensable element in the creation of ecosystems that are favourable to
innovation and immaterial production. Agglomeration economies caused by
the close location of activities are sought out by new top-down governance
strategies that take place in Poblenou with the development of the 22@
Barcelona project.
The book La metròpoli de Barcelona cap a l’economia del coneixement:
diagnosi econòmica i territorial de Barcelona 2001 (The metropolis of
Barcelona towards the knowledge economy: economic and territorial
diagnosis of Barcelona 2001), prepared by a team from the Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), gathers the main contributions of different
discussions on the city’s new direction. It is in this document where we
find the variables that, economically, would design the architecture of the
economic aspect of Poblenou as a technological district, the new 22@.
Characteristics of @ activities
They use production processes with intensive use
of new technology media.
They have high occupational density.
They are directly related to the generation,
processing, and transmission of
information and knowledge.
They are non-polluting and non-invasive and they
can be developed in central urban environments.

43
The new knowledge-intensive activities would present higher occupational
density than the industrial manufacturing activities requiring the use of
land and planning instruments that incorporate these peculiarities. Now the
‘sector’ is no longer decisive, but rather the ‘district’.
Theeconomicinspirationofthe22@districtispresentedinBarcelonaCiutat
del Coneixement: Economia del Coneixement, tecnologies de la informació
i la Comunicació i Noves Estratègies Urbanes (Barcelona Knowledge City:
Knowledge Economy, Information and Communication Technologies, and
New Urban Strategies), published in 2004 by the City Council of Barcelona.
The general vision of what Barcelona will be, where, on the one hand,
research, development, and innovation and, on the other, human capital
play a key role, is concretized and particularized with recommendations that
are very present throughout the development of 22@.
1. Increase the knowledge base through the creation of new knowledge.
2. Increase knowledge by attracting knowledge.
3. Intervention in the transfer and exchange of knowledge.
4. Management and commercialization of intellectual property and knowledge products.
5. Re-investment in knowledge: profits redirected towards knowledge production.
6. Development of support for knowledge activities.
7. Compatibility in the development of complementary activities and knowledge ac-
tivities.
8. Intervention in complementary infrastructures, especially transport.
9. Land for knowledge activities.
10. Intervention in the quality of life.
11. Intervention in the social system.
Barcelona Ciutat del Coneixement (2004)

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
44
The development of economic activity in the 22@Barcelona district is
influenced by boosting and promoting different sectors that are considered
strategic for the city’s development. The dynamic of this approach is based
on the identification of clusters around which the economic planning of
the district is centred. As defined by Porter, ‘A cluster is a geographically
proximate group of interconnected companies and associated institutions in
a particular field, linked by commonalities and complementarities’ (Porter,
1998).
Strategically, in 22@Barcelona initially four clusters were defined with
the aim of concentrating economic activity with growth potential in the
district, later adding a fifth. In some cases, the sector presents an observable
tradition in Catalonia and, in particular, in Barcelona. This would be the case,
for example, of design. In other cases, we find more so the will to promote
new emerging sectors with a high growth capacity in the global economy.
The selection of these groups was not based on existing activities or on
traditional sources of growth in the area, but rather on their role in the area’s
future and the desire of some large companies to establish themselves in
the area (Pareja-Eastaway and Pradel, 2010). As a catalyst, the City Council
moved some public companies and universities to the district in order to
support the industrial clustering. In terms of economic development, the
strategy could be labelled as a top-down approach to the creation of strategic
clusters.

45
In 2008, with the strategic goal of reinforcing support to businesses that
wanted to install themselves in 22@, the 22@PLUS initiative was promoted.
This initiative was conceived as a value proposition for companies exploring
their possible implantation in the district and a services catalogue was
developed presenting all of 22@’s added value elements: technological
infrastructure, knowledge infrastructure, networks for business cooperation,
cluster strategies, access to public and private funding, access to talent,
access to markets, facilities, and innovative spaces for companies and
entrepreneurs, business landing and take-off platforms, etc. Within this
service there is the ‘Business One Door’, through which a company that wants
to install itself in the district receives support in this installation process, the
necessary information for its integration into the cluster, and access to the
services and instruments that 22@Barcelona provides.
It is worth highlighting the important role in entrepreneurship promotion
played by Barcelona Activa, the city’s local development agency. Its support
programmes for entrepreneurs and the business incubators in Glòries
and Almogàvers Business Factory have been key in the creation of a new

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
46
generation of entrepreneurs in the district. These entrepreneurial initiatives
have been complemented by the active participation of university incubators.
The combination of leading companies such as Telefónica, T-Systems, or
Mediapro with new technology-based companies has led to a true space
for innovation and interrelation. The ‘innovation ecosystem’ has been
enriched by companies like Telefónica developing open innovation and
entrepreneurship programmes (e.g. Wayra). Many of the companies that
have grown in an incubator such as Wayra subsequently locate in the district
and maintain close links with the original company.
Intermsofemploymentcreation,intheforecastsmadebytheMPGM22@
in relation to the creation of new jobs, an average occupation of between
25 and 30 square metres was considered per worker. This would lead to
a total of 100,000 to 130,000 jobs. The characteristics of the jobs created
must include their capacity to pay high rents and prices for land and offices.
Companies that cannot generate enough added value to compensate for the
increase in prices in the area have no other alternative than relocation and
transformation.
2.3 Social transformation
22@ is located in Poblenou in the district of Sant Martí, characterized
until the beginning of the 22@ project as a district that not only changed the
physical aesthetic of the neighbourhood with new and better infrastructures,
but that champions the meaning of ‘compact city’ and aims to promote a
social transformation of the area, both from the point of view of new arrivals
and of the residents of the neighbourhood before the transformation.
The Poblenou neighbourhood originally housed workers from the large
companies located in the district. Historical activism, relational networks, and
the proliferation of all types of civil society association activities contributed
to a strong sense of neighbourhood belonging that took root in a large part
of the population. As indicated by Clarós et al. (2005), ‘the complexity of
transformation in a socially and culturally vibrant area would soon reveal the
first disagreements with citizens that were not against the transformation
but were unsatisfied and disappointed by the proposals and by the lack of
participation.’

47
Therearetwolinesofactionintermsofsocialregeneration:thecreationof
a space for professionals and for citizens in general. In this sense, the district
promotes ‘the creation of new formal and informal relational networks,’
fostering the implementation of projects or collaborations between
companies, whether national or international. In general, all programmes or
actions that promote both the use of new information and communication
technologies and the collaboration of citizens and companies with social,
educational, and cultural organizations in the district are welcome.
The importance of the ‘triple helix’
Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff (2000) define a model of innovation that is based on
the interaction between university, industry, and government. This model explains
the development of knowledge-based economies. The model goes beyond lineal
systems based on demand-based innovation policies (market pull) or supply policies
(technology push); it suggests strengthening the synergies that emerge between the
agents from a bottom-up perspective as opposed to innovation initiatives promoted
at the national or regional level; i.e. top-down.
This model could include ‘markets’ as a fourth element. In this sense, demand
becomes a key factor for the development of innovation. The agents can act sepa-
rately or by coordinating actions through the development of new knowledge, new
economic sectors, or regions: by promoting innovation ecologies, actors can take on
the roles of others, with hybrid structures emerging that allow for the permanent
articulation of joint actions.
On the other hand, the importance of the appropriate educational facilities is
key for ensuring the production of talent in the area: high-quality public and private
schools as well as universities. The presence of this infrastructure would guarantee
the availability of a high-quality labour force and thus attract companies to the area.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
48
2.4 Governance
The integrated regeneration of an area presents some specific challenges
when we are dealing with previously occupied areas that already belong to
the existing urban fabric. The physical, economic, and social characteristics
inherent to these areas present particularly complex challenges and proces-
ses for those exercising political and technical leadership of the process.
For these reasons, the planning of districts like 22@ that combine eco-
nomic vitality with social and environmental sustainability require sophis-
ticated leadership and a proactive approach (Barber and Pareja-Eastaway,
2010). The development of the 22@ project over time and the achievement
of the progressive regeneration of the district have relied on the indisputable
leadership of the City Council of Barcelona.
Leadership of the planning process: 22 ARROBA BCN, S.A.U.
The leadership of the planning process, together with a broader view of
regeneration, was promoted by a single agency: the municipal company 22
ARROBA BCN, S.A.U., which was created in 2000 by the City Council of Bar-
celona with the aim of boosting and managing the transformation planned
in the 22@Barcelona project. Not only did it take charge of the urban trans-
formation, but also had the mission of promoting the implementation and
development of strategic content in the new spaces created and of favouring
the international visibility of new business, scientific, teaching, and cultural
activities in the area.
The 22 ARROBA BCN company is a management instrument with its
own legal status that gathers all the necessary instruments for rebuilding
the district, including overall management and promotion. It is important to
highlight that this company is responsible for the most strategic content of
the project, including steering it towards the knowledge economy and deci-
ding on the suitability of the profile of the new companies.
While in the beginning the organizational structure of the company was
complex and integrated all the different facets of the project (see Figure x), in
2011 it reduced its field of action to urban development alone

49
Leadership of the clusters: non-profit organizations
Vertical alliances
The 22@ project had well-defined timing: the beginning of the physical
transformation would come first, accompanied by the economic transforma-
tion of the district. The initial forecast for the accomplishment of the diffe-
rent phases that form the integrated perspective of the district’s transforma-
tion was approximately 10 years.
The timing originally planned for the project experienced a relative dis-
ruption due to the dramatic consequences of the 2008 crisis. Nevertheless,
as we shall see in the following section, 22@ is one of the districts that has
best withstood the crisis, maintaining more employment creation than des-
truction over the years.

53
3.1 Timing and accomplishment of the urban transformation
Urban transformation over these 15 years has been at the service of the
economic and social dynamization of the district. The rezoning of industrial
land has been crucial for providing the area with new residential areas and
new productive activities. 22@Barcelona has used 150 planning instru-
ments. The current situation of the area effected by the MPGM is 70.07%
with urban development management approved, and of this, 70.50% also
has transformation planning approved. That means that, in total, 50.60% of
22@ land after 15 years is awaiting completion of its transformation.
In the last five years (2010-2015), urban development in the area has
been clearly marked by the negative impact of the crisis and the generalized
uncertainty about the future and viability of new proposals for urban deve-
lopment on a global scale.
ð The percentage of approved land reached, within the 22@ area, goes
from 68.92% on 31 December 2010 to 70.5% on 31 December 2014.
ð Public green areas or private green areas for public use increased by
6857 square metres since 2010, representing a total of 40,737 square
metres on 31 December 2014.
Housing
The balance between productive and residential activity involves the
construction of new housing in the area and the promotion of rehabilitation.
The project recovers approximately 4600 houses built in the old industrial
areas and that were affected by their location on non-residential land since
1953.
The goal that guarantees social diversity in the area is the construction of
4000 new subsidized housing units. By September 2014, 1600 new subsidi-
zed units had been built. Clearly, the real estate crisis has left a mark on the
course of social housing development and in December 2010, the construc-
tion of subsidized units was already, since the beginning of the project, 1520.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
54
Public space
The creation of new public spaces and green areas in the 22@ district in-
volves using 10% of once industrial land mainly in private hands for this pur-
pose. Overall the development of the whole district would allow for 114,000
square metres for this use.
40,737 square metres have been developed for green
areas (public and private) within the 22@ area.
New facilities
The 22@ project established that 10% of the land transformed would be
used for public facilities. This represents approximately 145,000 square me-
tres. Of these facilities, priority is given to those intended to promote 7@
activities; i.e. that involve training, research, and outreach in the area of new
technologies. Basically, two types of actions can be distinguished: on the
one hand, those that are linked to the new productive profile of the district
such as spaces for communication between new research centres and com-
panies and, on the other hand, facilities that are intended to address the
deficit in community facilities.
· Facilities for the productive fabric: around 14,000 square metres of
land have been developed for this type of facility. Among others, the
Media-TIC building, the Mediacomplex, the business incubator Almo-

55
gàvers Business Factory, and spaces occupied by universities such as
UOC, UPF, UPC, or UB.
· Facilities for the community fabric: newly built facilities include the
CEIP Llacuna primary education centre, the Camí Antic de València
Community Centre and Senior Citizens’ Centre, the Community Centre
in Vila Olímpica, and the Aliança childcare facility.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of the main elements of the project’s urban transfor-
mation, with very competitive services such as centralized air-conditioning,
modern energy networks, or selective pneumatic rubbish collection beco-
ming some of the area’s competitive advantages. The goal for redevelop-
ment at the beginning of the project was 37 kilometres of streets.
The 22@ project has redeveloped 15 kilometres of streets

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
56
The real estate sector has decidedly backed the 22@Barcelona project:
86 of the 141 plans approved have been promoted by the private sector
and licences have been granted to build 691,291 m2 above ground level for
productive activity.
3.2 Economic transformation and business characterization
Since the beginning, 22@Barcelona has been the focus of the municipal
promotion of the location of high added value technology companies in the
district. The backing of the ‘new economy’ as a driver of economic growth
and employment creation in Barcelona is shown to be highly resistant to the
shocks caused by the economic crisis since 2008.
Since 2012, there has been a 12.2% increase in
the number of companies installed in 22@
According to the classification criteria used for the development of the
Business Census, since 2007 and excluding freelance workers, the 22@ dis-
trict shows an increase in the number of companies located there (see Graph
4).

57
Graph 4. Evolution of the number of companies located in 22@
Source: 22@ Census 2015 (GAPS)
The number of freelance workers in the district in 2015 was 2914, while
in 2010 there were 4400 (GAPS, 2012, 2015). This reduction in the number
of freelance workers could be determined by the high failure rate of these
workers during periods of economic crisis and recession.
In 2012, 775 new companies located in 22@, which compensated for the
359 closures and the 151 relocations outside the district. For the year 2015,
the net growth of 894 companies co-
rresponds to 1937 new companies,
612 relocations outside of 22@, and
the closure of 431 companies. Accor-
ding to the 2015 Business Census, 41%
of companies located in 22@ are the
result of relocation, coming mainly
from other neighbourhoods in Barce-
lona (65%) or the metropolitan area of
Barcelona (24%).
The progression of companies setting up in the 22@ district, once the
area was ready to accommodate new knowledge-intensive companies,
shows a change in trend from 2000: while 36.6% arrive to the district before
the year 2000, 61.5% arrived later (1.9% of businesses responded ‘Do Not
Know’ or ‘No Opinion’). The critical period for the arrival of businesses was
between 2007 and 2010: 29.9% of the companies installed in 2015 arrived in
this period (see Graph 5)
The calculation of the number of
companies installed considers:
- Newly created companies in
the district
- Relocation of existing compa-
nies to the district
- Companies leaving the district
(due to relocation or closure)

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
58
55.1% of companies installed in 22@ in 2015
arrived to the district after 2007
Graph 5. Number of companies according to year of arrival to the district
Enterprise creation is highly sensitive to the economic context and future
prospects: phenomena such as the global, financial, and economic crisis that
began in 2008 represent a substantial change in the situation observed up
until then in the district. Thus, while between 2000 and 2010 approximately
450 new companies were created, a certain downturn is observed since then
with only 59 companies created between 2010 and 2012.
The tertiarization of the economy also affects 22@: since 2001 a decrease
is observed in the district in manufacturing activity and this is replaced by
almost exclusive dedication to services. While services represented 76.5%
of economic activity in the district in 2001, in 2015 they represent 87.7%.
Therefore, manufacturing activities go from covering 22.9% of activity at the
beginning of the 2000s to 11.5% in the year 2015.
The comparison between the years 2012 and 2015 of the number of bu-
sinesses in the 22@ district in relation to all of Catalonia, the province of
Barcelona, and the city of Barcelona reveals the growing importance of the
district in this period. The number of companies in 22@ increases its relative
weight with regard to all three territories by more than one percentage point
in all cases (see Table 5).

59
Table 5. Number of companies and relative weight of the 22@ district
(*) All companies-companies without salaried employees
(**) Year 2014
Considering the primary activities of these companies, one interesting
element for analysing the district’s capacity to create high added value and
respond to market demands is the knowledge intensity of the companies
installed. According to the Business Census in 22@, knowledge-intensive
companies have increased progressively in the district, representing 32.3%
in 2015.
Of this 32.3%, the vast majority are dedicated to the provision of knowled-
ge-intensive services such as technical architecture and engineering services
or information technologies services. Of the activities with low knowledge
intensity, services are still the majority (46.1%); here we would include all
activities related to restaurant services, the hotel business, or trade (see
Graph 6).

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
60
Graph 6. Percentage of companies according to knowledge intensity in 22@
According to the 2015 Census, among knowledge-intensive services, the
following especially stand out:
· Professional, scientific, and technical activities (69 to 75) (*) (13,4%)
- Legal and accounting services, consultancy, architecture and engi-
neering.
- R&D, advertising, market research, design, photography, and translation
- Veterinary services
· Information and communications (58 to 63) (*) (9,0%)
- Editing, cinematography, video, radio, television, and sound.
- Telecommunications, information technologies, information servi-
ces.
(*)(National Classification of Economic Activities – CNAE, 2009)
The estimated turnover of the companies reaches 10,300 million euros,
showing a considerable increase (13%) since 2012 (see Graph 7)
According to the survey carried out by GAPS on a sample of 812 com-
panies, 58% of employees in 22@ are contracted by companies with more
than 199 employees, while companies with between 10 and 49 employees
contracted 28% of employees, and small companies (between 1 and 9 em-

61
ployees) represented 14% of employees in 22@ (see Table 6). Small- and
medium-sized enterprises have been over-represented in 22@ since the be-
ginning, responding to a large extent to the characterization of the business
fabric in Catalonia.
Graph 7. Estimated turnover of 22@ companies in millions of euros
Table 6. Companies according to size in 22@
The extrapolation of the results of the Business Census allows us see a
significant recovery in the number of workers in the district. Of the 90,000
calculated in 2010, a substantial decrease of 5.5% is produced in 2012, which
is more than recovered in 2015 with a total of 93,000 workers (see Graph 8).
The number of workers in 22@ has gone from
approximately 85,000 in 2012 to almost 93,000 in 2015.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
62
Graph 8. Evolution of the number of workers in businesses located in 22@.
Workers with university qualifications represent, on average, 32.2% of
overall workers in 22@ and foreign workers represent on average 11%.
The internationalization of companies in Catalonia has been the key in
many cases to withstanding the crisis. This is also the case in 22@ where the
number of exporting companies went from 24.9% to 27.4% in the period
2012-2015.
Offices
The 22@ district has a stock of more than 789,000 square metres of
office space distributed over a total of 38 projects with a current offer of
95,000 square metres (Cushman & Wakefield, 2015). In the last 10 years
(2004-2014), there has been an investment volume of more than 1600 mi-
llion euros in office space in the vicinity of 22@. In 2014, 22@ registered
the only land purchase intended for developing office space in the last five
years (2009-2014). Benson Elliot has decided to develop a project of around
23,000 square metres of office space in 22@.

63
The demand for office space in 22@ increased in 2014
by 136% compared with the previous year
Cushman & Wakefield’s study Business Briefing. 22@ District indicates fu-
ture growth in the demand for offices in Barcelona and, in particular, in 22@
given its position as a ‘prime zone in the city’ (see Graph 9).
Graph 9. Office space demand (square metres) in Barcelona and in 22@.
Source: Cushman & Wakefield, 2015
One indicator of the dynamism of the innovation ecosystem created in
22@ is the number of registered patents in the district. As shown in Table
7, the number of patents increased considerably in the period 2008-2012 in
comparison to 2001-2005.
Table 7. Number of patents registered in 22@
Source: Register of patents and brands

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
64
In short, economic activity in 22@, although having suffered the difficul-
ties caused by the crisis, presents a positive outlook demonstrated by the
growth in the number of businesses and workers in the district. At the same
time, the business perception of the economic context has changed conside-
rably in the last three years: while in 2012 32% of companies considered that
the economic context tended towards positive evolution, this percentage in-
creased to 72% for the year 2015.
3.3 Lines of action in the social dimension
Two main types of programmes linked to the district’s social dimension
can be distinguished: on the one hand, programmes addressed to people
that arrive to the district attracted by the possibilities for capturing talent
and managing entrepreneurship that are associated with the district’s pro-
ductive excellence. On the other hand, programmes aimed at residents of
the area that have installed themselves recently or that were there before
the beginning of the project.
22@Barcelona has been a leader in establishing actions addressing the
creation, management, attraction, and retention of talent as an indisputable
tool for the provision of human capital for the development of the knowled-
ge economy (Granados, 2011). Therefore, entrepreneurship has been foste-
red by the public bodies in programmes designed by the City Council, some
of which are specifically linked to the district.
Of the set of programmes associated with the 22@ area, there are ge-
neral ones for the overall business fabric such as 22@Network, and there
are particular ones with very specific target groups such as 22@CreaTa-
lent. Some of the programmes have lasted during the entire period of the
district’s existence, transforming themselves and adapting to changes in the
area and in their members; others have had a more ephemeral life conditio-
ned by circumstances external to their own success or failure. Throughout
its history, the district has placed different emphasis on the will to spread
the international image of Barcelona as a host city for professionals. Some
programmes, although falling under the umbrella of the overall city, have a
special impact in 22@. This is the case of ‘Do it in Barcelona’, a programme
aimed at facilitating the installation of foreign entrepreneurs with ideas to
develop projects in the city.

65
Programme Description
22@CreaTalent During the school year 2008-2009 in nine primary
and secondary education centres in the 22@
district. The objectives of this programme were
the promotion of scientific-technological vocations
among young people, the development of their
creative and innovation capacity, the incorporation
of English and new technologies as habitual training
tools, and the participation of parents and teachers
in the training process
22@Staying in
Company
This programme includes a series of scholarship
programmes intended for national and international
university students that wish to carry out internships
in innovation-based companies in Barcelona.
IN22@ This initiative has the goal of incentivizing the
establishment of personal and professional relations
among and between the local business community
and the international business and professional
communities present in Barcelona and linked to the
areas of innovation and the knowledge economy
22@Breakfast Continuous meetings of an hour and a half in
duration, normally once a month, open to all
companies and professionals installed in the area
where the district’s news is presented and mention
is made of milestones reached by specific companies
or professionals.
Conferences on
Urban Clusters
(2007, 2008, 2009,
2010)
Conferences for the exchange of experiences and
knowledge between the academic world and the
professional world around urban clusters and 22@
in particular.
ICUF – International
Corporate
Universities Forum
This forum has the goal of creating collaborations
between business centres and universities

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
66
Other organizations, such as the International Network of Science and Te-
chnology Parks, have promoted actions that fit perfectly with the character
of 22@. Among others, the fem-talent initiative, which together with other
organizations such as the Department of Women and Civil Rights of the City
Council of Barcelona, promotes equality of opportunities and the manage-
ment of women’s talent in the knowledge economy. Its activities include ta-
lks, seminars, and conferences on issues related to female entrepreneurs as
well as award-giving ceremonies.
22@Network
In 2004, under the leadership of the City Council of Barcelona, the Asso-
ciation of Companies and Institutions 22@Network was set up as a civil so-
ciety initiative to ‘actively participate in the process of developing and conso-
lidating the 22@ district as a dynamic area that is both transformational and
in the technological vanguard.’(http://www.22network.net/qui_som/index.
php?idioma=eng&) .
Formed currently by 104 companies, the Association
is governed by the General Assembly and the Board of
Directors.
The services offered to the partner businesses are
diverse: from the most general, such as discounts in the
use of certain spaces, facilities, or services, to the most
specific, such as the 22@Breakfasts, when each month
the partners are informed about the district’s news and
Neighbourhood Association of Poblenou
The Association emerged in the 1970s with the democratization of
the country and the recuperation of neighbourhood mobilization and
demands. The beginning of the relationship between the new 22@ pro-
ject and the Neighbourhood Association required the willingness to dia-
logue and negotiate. Both the demand for social housing in the neigh-
bourhood, achieving a third of the 4000 planned for the entire district,
and the protection of Can Ricart have been two of the most significant
demands made around the urban transformation of Poblenou. As well
as the need to guarantee fluid and effective mobility in the modification
of the Glòries junction.

67
topics relevant to their profiles. Three Business Conventions have also been
organized, the last one in June 2015.
Among other achievements, the publication of the book 22@ laboratori
de sostenibilitat (22@ laboratory of sustainability) is noteworthy. It was pro-
moted by the Business and Environment Commission of the 22@Network
Association and it specifies how sustainability contributes value to the most
innovative businesses in the district that introduce it into their products and
services.

69
Externalities
and
collaborations4

71
4.1 Cultural and social projects
Art Factories
The Art Factories (Fàbriques de Creació) project launched in October
2007 stems from the need expressed by the city’s artists and collectives to
have spaces to create, responding to a historic demand for well-conditioned
spaces for artistic creation and research. Rents and prices of facilities are
high and, at the same time, there is a successive loss of large factory spaces
in disuse, a process experienced with particular intensity in the Poblenou
neighbourhood.
Facing this reality and in order to respond to these needs, the city’s go-
vernment initiated research on municipally-owned spaces in disuse in order
to turn them into Art Factories. From this point on an open network of cen-
tres was created which grew with the incorporation of new centres including
both pre-existing spaces with an already consolidated operation and new
spaces.
The Art Factories emerge, thus, as ideal spaces for innovation and cultu-
ral production. The final goal involves placing culture as a strategic axis in

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
72
Barcelona for the development of economic, social, and urban aspects of
the city, as well as helping to boost the creativity of its inhabitants. In this
regard, creativity must be understood in the broadest sense, involving the
development of artistic abilities, intellectual exchange, the promotion of cri-
tical thinking, research, and leisure-based proposals.
Within the project, promoted by the Institute of Culture of the City Coun-
cil of Barcelona, four of these spaces are located in the Sant Martí district
and three in 22@: Hangar, La Escocesa, and La Central del Circ. All are mu-
nicipally-owned buildings managed by private organizations, the Association
of Visual Artists of Catalonia, the Association of Ideas, and the Association of
Circus Professionals of Catalonia.
Poblenou Urban District
Poblenou Urban District is a professional non-profit association founded
in 2012 that works to ‘establish the neighbourhood as the newest cultural
and entrepreneurial epicentre inside the metropolitan frame of Barcelona.’
It organizes a series of activities and events that aim ‘to show the richness
and quality of the artistic, historical and cultural heritage Poblenou has.’ The
celebration of the ‘Open Day’ and ‘Open Night’ is worth highlighting. These
events invite participants to get to know the reality of the partner spaces and
serve as a driving force for organizing multiple activities.
The Association periodically publishes a guide of the partner spaces

73
Name Description Location
El niu
Artists’ centre for contemporary creation.
Produces, displays, and disseminates
audiovisual and multimedia creations,
multiplatform art, and independent
contemporary music. The subject of study,
creation, and exhibition is ‘audio and visual’
culture based on the emergence of digital
technology in the world of art, design,
and communication. People working
there include musicians, DJs, VJs, graffiti
artists, illustrators, dancers, performers,
photographers, video creators, ephemeral
architects, and interior designers, among
others.
Almogàvers, 208
http://niubcn.com/
Nau21
Nau21 is a space for open production,
exchange, and dialogue, intended for
projects that require the collaboration of
different disciplines and diverse creators.
It is a resource centre and a meeting place
for all disciplines involved in science, art,
and technology. The Nau21 project is the
heir of the experiences of many people
and collectives directly related to the urban
environment of Can Ricart and the city of
Barcelona.
Can Font (Nau 21 in Can
Ricart)
http://www.nau21.net/
index.en.html
Can Framis
Museum,
Vilacasas
Foundation
Can Framis was inaugurated in Barcelona
in April 2009. Around 300 works are
displayed, from the 1960s up until today
and from diverse artists born or residing in
Catalonia. Temporary exhibitions are held in
Can Framis’ Espai A0.
Can Framis Roc Boronat,
116-126
http://www.
fundaciovilacasas.com/
en
Poblenou
Crea!
The overall set of spaces dedicated to
creation in the neighbourhood.
http://poblenoucrea.
cat/en
Centres for artistic and creative expression in the neighbourhood

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
74
4.2 Universities, technology and innovation
centres, and the Smart City Campus
Since the beginning, 22@ has welcomed the installation of university cen-
tres in the district. Five universities have sought a space there: the Universitat
Pompeu Fabra (UPF), the IL3 of the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), the Universi-
tat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC),
and the BAU Centre of the Universitat de Vic (UVic). In 2013, a public-private
collaboration agreement was signed between the 22@Network Association and
universities located in the 22@ district (UPF, UPC, UOC) with the objective of dy-
namizing the 22@ district. This agreement was developed by the 22@Network
Commission of Universities and Technology Centres where as well as the univer-
sities, the district’s technology centres are also represented. One of the progra-
mmes in the framework of this agreement is a volunteering programme for post-
graduate students to carry out internships in businesses related to knowledge in
the district and to promote and dynamize their activity.
Under the 22@MÀSTER programme, universities have access to a database of
internships in companies in 22@Barcelona where they can sign up the students
that are best suited to the business needs. In this programme, any university
located in or outside of the district can participate. In order to participate in the
programme, at least one of the parties (university or business/institution) must
be located within the 22@Barcelona district. Therefore, universities outside of
the district have the opportunity to access internships in companies located in
22@Barcelona.
The area has welcomed the installation of centres specialized in research and
innovation. On the one hand, large companies such as Telefónica or Isdin have
located their R&D departments in 22@ and, on the other hand, specialist cen-
tres such as the Biomedical Research Park or the Catalan Energy Institute have
sought out spaces in the district or very close to it.

75
Catalan Energy Institute (ICAEN) http://icaen.gencat.cat/ca/index.html
Blood and Tissue Bank http://www.bancsang.net/en_index/
Barcelona Biomedical Research Park https://www.prbb.org/
Research Centre for International Economics (CREI)-UPF http://crei.cat/
Centre for Research in Health and Economics (CRES)-UPF https://www.upf.edu/cres/es/
Research Centre in Economics in the Mediterranean (CREMed)_UPF https://www.upf.edu/rdi/parcs/parcsch.html
Research Group in Computational Imaging and Simula-
tion Technologies in Biomedicine (CISTIB-CIlab)
https://www.upf.edu/recerca/en/grups/
Catalan Institute of Climate Sciences (IC3) http://www.ic3.cat/?idioma=1
University Institute of Culture (IUC)-UPF https://www.upf.edu/iuc/en/
University Institute for Applied Linguistics (IULA)-UPF http://www.iula.upf.edu/indexuk.htm
Audiovisual University Institute (IUA)-UPF https://www.upf.edu/iua/en/
Science Communication Observatory (OCC)-UPF http://www.occ.upf.edu/?idioma=l3&wseccio=&data_agenda=
Eurecat, Technology Centre of Catalonia http://eurecat.org/en/
Telefònica R&D http://www.tid.es/
Orange R&D
Fusion for Energy http://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/
Leitat Technological Centre http://leitat.org/english/
b_TEC Park, Barcelona Technological Innovation http://en.btec.cat/
CINC Barcelona Business Centre http://www.cinc.com/en/centro-de-negocios/centro-de-
negocios.php
Design Hub Barcelona http://www.dissenyhubbarcelona.cat/main/in-
dex.html
Hangar https://hangar.org/en/
IaaC Fab Lab BCN http://iaac.net/fab-labs/fab-labs-bcn/about/
Niu: contemporary artistic space http://www.niubcn.com/
Palo Alto http://www.paloaltobcn.org/
Porta 22 http://w27.bcn.cat/porta22/es/assetsocupacio/
equipaments/pagina19142/centro-para-el-desa-
rrollo-profesional-porta22.do
UPC School of Professional & Executive Development http://www.talent.upc.edu/
Barcelona Activa http://www.barcelonactiva.cat/barcelonactiva/cat/
Barcelona Activa Entrepreneur Centre and Business
Incubator
http://emprenedoria.barcelonactiva.cat/empre-
nedoria/en/index.jsp
Technological Circle of Catalonia (CTECNO) http://www.ctecno.cat/en/
KIM-BCN, Knowledge Innovation Market http://kimglobal.com/en/
BANC- Business Angels Network Catalonia http://www.bancat.com/es/
Isdin http://www.isdin.com/eng/
22@Network Innovation Commission http://www.22network.net/index.php?idioma=eng&
Source: Research and Innovation Map of Barcelona and the 22@Network

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
76
The Smart City Campus is one of the latest projects under development
in 22@. This project is framed within the Smart City ethos and aims to bring
companies, technology and innovation centres, universities, and other
agents related to urban technology and innovation together, in order to pro-
mote synergies, generate co-creation spaces (incubators, laboratories), and
to provide testing grounds for urban solutions.
The Smart City Campus includes important elements of Barcelona’s in-
dustrial heritage, such as Can Ricart, La Escocesa, and Ca l’Alier. The cost of
the reform of Ca l’Alier is expected to be six million euros, covered jointly by
Cisco and Schneider. The upgrading of existing heritage elements is accom-
panied by new buildings, with investments from companies such as Cisco or
Schneider Electric, research centres from the ICT field, and the headquarters
of the Barcelona Institute of Technology (BIT).
The BIT and the Smart City Campus are an example of public-private co-
llaboration models fostered by Barcelona that promote the city as a platform
for research and development of new market opportunities that arise from
Barcelona as a Smart City.
Can Ricart and Can Jaumandreu have been conceded by the City Council
to the Universitat de Barcelona, which already has a space in the district, the

77
IL3 (Institute for Lifelong Learning), in order to develop the Humanities and
Social Sciences Park (PHCS) within the framework of the Minerva Project.
This will bring together all of the initiatives related to research in the Social
Sciences in the UB. Can Jaumandreu will begin to operate in April 2015, and
Can Ricart will be put into practice in two phases, the first throughout the
first semester of 2017, and the second in 2019.
4.3 DHUB
The premier space for design in Barcelona, Design Hub Barcelona, ope-
ned its doors in 2014 and become the headquarters of Arts and Design Pro-
motion (FAD), the Barcelona Centre of Design (BCD), and the Museum of
Design of Barcelona. The DHUB concentrates the main cultural, economic,
and social events related to design in the city. Promoted by the City Council
of Barcelona and the main design promotion organizations, it contributes to
locally and internationally projecting the image of Barcelona as a benchmark
in design.
Design Hub Barcelona represents, moreover, a new community facility in
the neighbourhood with a new public library, a road axis connecting it to
different neighbourhoods, and recovered urban space in the surroundings
with new gardened areas.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
78
4.4 Barcelona Urban Lab
The consolidation of Barcelona’s role as an innovative city is reflected in
the use of certain spaces in the city as urban laboratories. Since 2008, 22@
has established itself as a space for testing innovative solutions for busines-
ses that wish to implement trials and even pilot tests of prototypes in all
types of spheres: urban development, education, mobility, etc.
Barcelona Urban Lab aims to boost business innovation in 22@Barcelona,
allowing companies to try out innovative projects that search for a better
quality of life for citizens in a real space so they can be subsequently com-
mercialized in Barcelona or in other cities around the world.
Some of the pilot projects tested in 22@ include:
SIIUR: Integral
Solution for Urban
Infrastructure
PublicstreetlightingwithLEDtechnologyandintegrationofservices
for citizens. SIIUR consists of a new lighting system equipped
with LED technology and sensors that process environmental
information and detect presence, temperature, humidity, noise,
and pollution.
Sensors on rubbish
containers
Installation of sensors to determine the level of fullness of rubbish
containers and selective rubbish collection (glass, paper, and
plastic).
Noise pollution Installation of noise micro-sensors on different lampposts in public
areas to evaluate their viability and reliability in the detection of
levels of urban environmental noise and to be able to make a noise
map of the city in almost real time.
Sensors for parking
space availability
Installation of sensors that communicate the availability of parking
spaces and that allow for use of this information to guide drivers to
empty parking spaces in a more efficient way, through informative
panels on the street or mobile applications.
Traffic control Installation of traffic control sensors to control and manage transit
in an automatic way, through data sent via 3G by 50 sensors
installed in different points in the city.
Pilot for the
remote reading of
gas, electricity, and
water meters
Installed in more than 150 homes in 3 buildings developed by
the Municipal Housing Trust. This system can test the possibility
of obtaining consumption data in an instantaneous way and
transmitting it to central headquarters, thus avoiding estimations
in consumption and residents themselves or authorized operators
having to carry out the reading manually.

79
Sustainable
mobility project
Deployment of the necessary infrastructure to install recharge
points for electric vehicles (pylons).
Fibre optic in
homes
This pilot aims to make a fibre optic network (FTTH) that reaches
homes in Poblenou to increase the bandwidth that comes with the
traditional system with copper cabling.
Traffic lights
adapted for blind
people in all
crossings in 22@
Barcelona
Remotecontroltoactivateandthusreducetheconstantnoiseofthe
traffic lights. Includes an automatic volume regulation mechanism
that allows for emission of acoustic indicators according to the
external environmental noise.
Traffic control
cameras
Connected by fibre optic to the public roads central office to control
traffic in real time.
Bicycle lanes Different types of bicycle lanes have been tested in the 22@
district in order to detect which of the pilots contributed to better
circulation and security for cyclists and at the same time did not
impede the normal functioning of transit.
4.5 Hotel construction
Due to the relative delay in the development of the end of Avinguda Dia-
gonal, at the beginning of the project Poblenou and the 22@ district did
not offer a critical mass of hotel rooms, particularly of those that would be
appropriate for the type of business tourism expected in the area. Today,
there are more than 15 hotels of different ranges distributed throughout the
district.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
80
Hotel Hilton Diagonal Mar
Barcelona
Passeig del Taulat, 262-264
(Barcelona)
5* Hotel
Hotel Amrey Diagonal Avinguda Diagonal, 161
(Barcelona)
3* Hotel
Hotel GBB 4 Barcelona Carrer del Doctor Trueta, 164
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Barcelona Princess Avinguda Diagonal, 1
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Confortel Barcelona Carrer de Ramon Turró, 196-
198 (Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Barceló Atenea Mar Passeig de Garcia Fària, 37-47
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Sallés Pere IV Carrer de Pallars, 128-130
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Apsis Porta Marina Carrer de Sancho de Ávila, 32-
34 (Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Me Barcelona Avinguda Diagonal, 272-286
(Barcelona)
5* Hotel
Hotel & Spa Villa Olimpic@
Suites
Carrer de Pallars, 121
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Rafaelhoteles
Diagonal Port
Carrer de Lope de Vega, 4
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel AC Barcelona Passeig del Taulat, 278
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Hotel Husa Barcelona Mar Carrer de Provençals, 10
(Barcelona)
4* Hotel
Holiday Inn Express
Barcelona City 22@
Pallars, 203 (Barcelona) 3* Hotel
Hotel Ibis Barcelona Pza
Glories 22
Calle Ciutat de Granada, 99
(Barcelona)
2* Hotel

81
Conclusions
5

83
Barcelona’s innovation district, 22@Barcelona, has become an internatio-
nal benchmark for analysis and replication. Since its launch, 15 years have
passed and it is worth exploring where in the process the district finds itself,
what has been achieved, what is yet to be completed, and what is envisaged
for the future.
The international recognition that surrounds the transformation of Bar-
celona in this period has been seen as the contemporary expression of the
city’s long tradition in innovative and progressive planning dating back to
the 19th century. Many milestones have been reached over the decades of
strategic planning that distinguish Barcelona from other cities in the world
and the 22@Barcelona innovation district is one of them.
This report uses existing partial reviews that have been developed at di-
fferent points in the transformation of the district and key examples from
the process. Among others things, we have made use of the Business Census
(GAPS, 2012, 2013, 2015) and the analysis of the real estate and housing im-
pact (Mur and Clusa, 2012), as well as in-depth interviews carried out by the
authors of this document throughout the year 2014.
22@Barcelona is considered as a challenge for the city at a time when it is
necessary to lead the transformation of the economy towards cross-cutting
knowledge-intensive specialization determined by the emergence of new te-
chnologies and the digitalization of contents on many scales.
The local government’s leadership role in the process moving towards
the knowledge economy is, without doubt, a model based on a top-down
approach guided and planned by the public authorities. However, this me-
tamorphosis follows a holistic approach that not only involves the economic
transformation of the area but also its urban transformation and the integra-
tion of social aspects.

22@Barcelona- 2000-2015
84
The urban regeneration carried out in the 22@Barcelona district clearly
reveals a will to promote regeneration and innovation without forgetting the
area’s roots in the past. Thus, the compact city emerges as a model that
combines both the area’s productive function since it was called the ‘Cata-
lan Manchester’ and its residential function, promising the construction of
accessible housing on the part of the local government. Furthermore, the
project has acted as a driver for the social transformation of the district, both
in terms of population growth as well as creating a suitable environment for
the settling down of a wide range of associations, artists and other stakehol-
ders related to innovation and creativity.
The clusterization of economic activities first under four specializations
(ICT, BioMed, Energy, and Media, later adding Design) is considered as a stra-
tegy for the generation of synergies and externalities between businesses
in sectors considered key for the economic development and growth of the
city.
The development of the
process in 22@ was planned
for approximately a decade
but the arrival of the econo-
mic and financial crisis spoiled
the dynamic of the process.
Despite that, a fundamental
part linked to infrastructure
was carried out before the
slowdown of activity. The arri-
val of businesses to the area is
blocked by the paralysis of economic activity in the city as a whole, although
22@ is an area where the preservation of jobs and the exporting dynamic of
the businesses soften the effects of the crisis.
More recently, and in a context of improvement in the behaviour of the
economic activity, the 22@ district continues advancing towards the conso-
lidation of a new pole of innovation with a new model based on the colla-
boration between universities, enterprise and the public sector, by means
of initiatives such as the Diagonal-Besòs Campus, while at the same time
strengthening the attention towards the social and sustainable dimensions,
as well as incorporating the social and solidarity economy into the transfor-
mation process of the productive model.

85
The 22@ model based on clusters of activity expands to other parts of
the city such as the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Knowledge District where, under the
guidance of the City Council of Barcelona and with the collaboration of all
the relevant agents in the district, there is consistent backing of the idea of
the ‘clusterization of the city.’
22@Barcelona is today a benchmark for many cities that coincide in their
desire to transform old underused industrial zones and their decisive backing
of sectors that generate jobs and wealth. The model applied to Barcelona
has been a source of inspiration for other cities around the world, granting it
the added value of transferability.

87
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