Whose is that Square? Cruise tourists' mobilities and negotiation for public space in Barcelona

Identifier:  imarina:5132774

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina5132774

Authors:  Brandajs, Fiammetta; Russo, Antonio Paolo

Abstract:
This paper investigates how different human mobilities negotiate public space and with which results. The case in point is that of cruise tourism in Barcelona, a city where the relentless growth of visitors and the expansion of accessibility gateways like the cruise port may well be behind the rise of 'anti-tourism' voices in social and political circles. Our work focuses on the transits of cruise passenger groups in two exemplary public spaces of the city, analysing how they come to fence off, engage with- or feed the mobility of other collectives. This research provides fresh insights on the processes that may generate disaffection among different 'place users', eliciting a revision of the expectations on the quality of public space. On a more technical level, this paper introduces a complex but cost-effective methodology, involving a mix of geo-analytic and qualitative methods, which manages to track the 'mobility clash' in public space and make sense of the response tactics