Shared challenges, divergent practices. The impact of institutional frameworks on area-based initiatives in Barcelona and Paris

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, the persisting inequalities in European cities have spurred the implementation of area-based initiatives (ABI) in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This paper investigates how the interplay between diverse institutional frameworks and housing ownership regimes influences the design and execution of ABI policies in France and Spain. Focusing on the specific cases of Pla de Barris in Barcelona and Contrat de Ville in Paris, the study elucidates the strengths and limitations of different urban renewal strategies, emphasizing the imperative of a multi-level governance approach for effective ABIs.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban policy
• urban renewal
• area-based initiatives
• multi-level governance
• disadvantaged neighbourhoods
• residential segregation

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their sincere gratitude to the individuals who participated in the interviews for this research. They would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments during the revision process. This study benefited as well from feedback at the ENHR Annual Conference in Lodz, 2023.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The translation of these programmes is Contract of the city, for Paris, and Neighbourhood Plan, for Barcelona, however we will refer to them by their original name throughout the article.

2. Foment de Ciutat is a municipal society affiliated with the Municipal Management of the Barcelona City Council, specializing in the management of comprehensive urban projects that require multiple agents’ coordination.

3. CAF stands for ‘Caisse d’Allocations Familiales,’ which translates to the Family Allowance Fund. It is a government agency responsible for distributing family benefits and social assistance to eligible individuals and families.

4. Although the boundaries of the intervention areas and neighbourhoods do not overlap, the law always uses the term ‘neighbourhoods’ to refer to the territories where interventions take place. In line with this, here we will also use the term ‘neighbourhood’ to refer to the intervention areas.

5. Jean-Louis Borloo, former head of the Ministry of the City, prepared a report commissioned by Emmanuel Macron with guidelines for the Priority Neighbourhoods. The report was presented in 2018 and is the result of the reflections and work carried out over several months with elected officials and associations.

6. These are positions that allow certain unemployed residents to carry out social and cultural mediation work in their local community, within the framework of an integration contract.

7. See for example the volume 24 (2019) of the journal ‘Participations’ dedicated to the study of these bodies.

8. In France, the concept of social mixing is based on the idea that the concentration of low-income residents in a neighbourhood is an obstacle to social integration (Escafré-Dublet and Lelévrier 2019).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) under Grant [LCF/BQ/DR20/11790003].