Inter-Group Perceptions and Representations in Two Barcelona Neighbourhoods: Poble Sec and Sagrada Família Compared

The main focus of this chapter is on two Barcelona neighbourhoods: Sagrada Família (situated in the Eixample District) and Poble Sec (in the Sants-Montjuïc District). Among the outcomes, it can be highlighted that in both neighbourhoods, schools, public libraries and civic centres emerge as spaces where encounters and interrelations occur. Furthermore, the existence of a well-knit network of social organizations at neighbourhood level is a very useful tool for social cohesion, especially in Poble Sec. In the Sagrada Família neighbourhood, both cooperation and conflict between groups are rather scarce, and they are not as important to the neighbourhood's life and to the residents' perceptions as in Poble Sec. In explaining these differences, while the difference in the percentage of foreigners is an important factor, the urban fabric is equally crucial. Place and space do not only play a secondary role as the setting of the interaction; rather the configuration of areas where encounters occur has a significant influence on conflict and cooperation in neighbourhoods. Thus, a clear practical direction emerging from our research in Barcelona is that immigrant integration policies should be designed with space and place in mind not only as settings but also as objects of those same policies

The case of Spain

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Living with climate change risks: stakeholders' employment and coastal relocation in mediterranean climate regions of Australia and Spain

Published online: 02 February 2017Climate change impacts are no longer just a future issue for communities in the Mediterranean climate regions. This comparative study offers insights on climate change risk perceptions and attitudes among environmental, economic and social stakeholders in coastal areas in northeastern Spain and South Australia, as well as compares interviewed stakeholders’ risk perceptions with available documentary data and participant observation. Using a community risk assessment approach, the results show that some stakeholders perceive that climate change is already and/or may further continue to affect their employment, mostly in a predominantly negative way. Interestingly, some other interviewed stakeholders consider that climate change creates opportunities through new and additional areas of work. The findings also suggest that climate change may influence relocation of coastal residential populations in both case studies, which is likely to be an acceptable option among the stakeholders. This acceptance can be linked to the fact that in both areas there is a significant percentage of resident population with migrant background. This study calls for a need to understand better the personal experience of climate change in industrialized countries, as well as to consider coastal relocation in the integrated coastal planning and other territorial and population policies.Sandra Fatorić, Ricard Morén-Alegret, Rhiannon Jane Niven, George Ta

Immigration and integration policymaking in Spain

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Co-development as transnational governance: An analysis of the engagement of local authorities and migrant organizations in Madrid

Fauser M. Co-development as transnational governance: An analysis of the engagement of local authorities and migrant organizations in Madrid. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 2014;40(7):1060-1078.This article provides an analysis of the co-development engagement of local authorities and migrant organisations from the city of Madrid. 'Co-development' has become a key notion that relates to the transnational involvement of migrants in development (cooperation). It is argued that co-development serves as transnational governance in which local authorities and migrant organisations collaborate and where links are established between integration, development and migration control and management. In order to analyse and understand these forms of engagement, the article combines an approach to the rescaling of governance with a transnational perspective on cities and migrants